 The Majestic Theatre | I went to New York City with Karen and Gill, but they were more interested in seeing Titanic again than in coming to Phantom with me. Whatever. :-) So, I went alone and it was well worth it!
Thomas James O'Leary was a great Phantom...he was my main reason for going to see the show in New York, because of all the great things I'd heard about him! The Majestic is a beautiful theatre as well! Kelly Ellenwood as Carlotta was kind of strange...I can't really explain why. I guess I'm just so used to Kim Stengel. :-) Piangi (Frederic Heringes) was REALLY good...he got a lot of laughs. "Think of Me" was nice...Raoul in the box stood up to shout "Bravo!" and clap, and then he turned around to find the managers staring at him and he kind of sheepishly sat back down again. It was cute. :-) |
Music of the Night was just gorgeous...very soft and sensual. The mannequin was really cool...they must do it differently than in Toronto, 'cause after the initial jerk, she just kind of bounced there for a second. It wasn't just one action.
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"Poor Fool" was excellent. Don Attilo especially was incredible...he held his low note for the *longest* time!! He was checking his nails and stuff as if he was bored while he was holding it! :-) People applauded when he finally finished! Tom's "A toad, madame? Perhaps it is you who are the toad" was SO funny. And when he sang, "Behold, she is singing to bring down the chandelier", he actually pulled the cord to make the chandelier shake! I was worried it was really going to fall!! :-)
Tom's angel scene was so incredibly sad!! It was the best I've ever seen, and I told him so. :-) He just kept saying "No" over and over again very, very softly and covering his ears, until the end where he just screamed "NO!" and then was very powerful at the end as the chandelier fell. The lightening is better than in Toronto. :-) |  Me and a picture of Tom in front of the Majestic |
"Point of No Return" was WONDERFUL! No one in the audience was surprised that is was Tom though, 'cause Piangi's pretty big, and Tom is rather small. :-) The table was at a different angle than in Toronto, so instead of sitting on the end of the bench, he was sitting sideways in the middle. When she pulled the hood off, he just stood there and looked at her, as if he didn't really understand what was going on. Then his "Say you'll share with me" was very soft and sweet. When the guy fired at Tom, he was only about 3 feet away...there's no way he should have missed him. :-)
 Me and Tom after the show | Alright, the final scene. :-) His "This face, the infection which poisons our love" was wonderful, as were the next few lines. I was in tears already. When Raoul arrived, Tom was very condescending..."we have a *guest*!" It was great. :-) And when he put the noose on him, it was as if he meant to kill him then -- "nothing can save you know" -- and then this light came into his eyes, and he looked at Christine -- "except perhaps
Christine". After the kiss, when Christine came back, he spoke the words, "Christine, I *love* you", as if he had just realized it himself. After she left, he
repeated those words over and over...just very softly, and it was so moving. So there I was, seeing the show for the 10th time, and crying just as much as the first. :-) I managed to find the stage door afterwards (more difficult than it sounds!) then he came out, and he came right over to me and was just like, "Stacy, hi, how are you doing?" It was really sweet that he knew who I was! :-) |
If you want to read more about my New York trip, try our New York City site.
The Quotes:
"I feel so involved now!"
The woman in line behind me, after holding my flowers for Tom while I bought a program.
"Have you seen Tom before?"
Me, at the stage door to the other two people there, who then informed me it was their 48th time seeing him. :-)
The cast:
| The Phantom of the Opera | THOMAS JAMES O'LEARY |
| Christine Daaé | SANDRA JOSEPH |
| Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny | JOHN SCHROEDER |
| Carlotta Giudicelli | KELLY ELLENWOOD |
| Monsieur André | JEFF KELLER |
| Monsieur Firmin | GEORGE LEE ANDREWS |
| Madame Giry | LEILA MARTIN |
| Ubaldo Piangi | ERICK BUCKLEY |
| Meg Giry | GERALYN DEL CORSO |
| Monsieur Reyer/Jeweler ("Il Muto") | TED KEEGAN |
| Auctioneer | RICHARD WARREN PUGH |
| Hairdresser ("Il Muto")/Marksman | GARY LINDEMANN |
| Monsieur Lefèvre/Firechief | KENNETH H. WALLER |
| Joseph Buquet | JOE GUSTERN |
| Don Attilio ("Il Muto") | JOHN KUETHER |
| Slave Master ("Hannibal") | WILLIAM PATRICK DUNNE |
| Solo Dancer ("Il Muto") | PAUL B. SADLER JR. |
| Passarino ("Don Juan Triumphant") | CRAIG A. BENHAM |
| Page ("Don Juan Triumphant") | PATRICE PICKERING |
| Porter/Fireman | MAURIZIO CORBINO |
| Spanish Lady ("Don Juan Triumphant") | DIANE JENNINGS |
| Wardrobe Mistress/Confidante ("Il Muto") | MARY LEIGH STAHL |
| Princess ("Hannibal") | REBECCA PITCHER |
| Madame Firmin | MELODY JOHNSON |
| Inkeeper's Wife ("Don Juan Triumphant") | TERESA ELDH |
| The Ballet Chorus of the Opera Populaire |
EMILY ADDONA MARISA CERVERIS LORI MacPHERSON HEATHER McFADDEN ELIZABETH NACKLEY CHRISTINE SPIZZO |
| Dance Captain/Ballet Swing | HARRIET CLARK |