Let me just preface my review with this: I am so glad that there is a Ben & Jerry's parlor on the corner of 8th and 43rd :) I had a bit of stress getting into the city (cab I called never   came, so I had to drive and find a place to park, and then I missed the early train), but I got there with about 45 minutes to spare and after a cup of Cherry Garcia I was calm again.

Anyway. Here goes.

Prologue
   -I always hated the Auctioneer's voice. Why is it so nasal? Everyone I've ever heard play that part does it the same, too. Irritating.

   -Raoul (Gary Mauer)'s voice cracked on "co-LLEC-tor's piece."

   -I want very much for ALW to explain "When all the REST of us are dead." Scott insists that Raoul and Christine got married but now she's dead. I don't want to write it off to just that.

Overture
   -couldn't see the chandelier after it got to a certain height. Yes, we were sitting in rear orchestra (row S). Other than this part tho, we had a great view.

Hannibal
   -I always feel sympathy for Carlotta. you can tell from her first entrance whether she's in good voice or not. Tonight Liz McCartney was Carlotta, and she certainly WAS in good voice.

   -Piangi (Larry Wayne Morbitt)'s high note in his Hannibal entrance was *glorious!* No wonder
Carlotta loves him :)

   -Carlotta's preface to "Think of Me" was very melodramatic; great. After the first verse, Firmin (George Lee Andrews) began to clap very loudly; Andre (Jeff Keller) had to reach over and shush him. Very funny touch.

   -Who shouts to Buquet after the scenery falls? Whoever did it tonight did it without any attempt to hide his American accent. It sounded like "Boo-KAAAAAAAAAY!" Yuk.

   -Meg (Geralyn Del Corso) was very sweet to Christine (Adrienne McEwan); you can feel the
friendship-vibes between them. Meg draped Christine in the scarf before she started to sing, and patted her several times before pulling back to let her show off to the managers.

   -Christine was in very good voice too. Her voice is very like what I imagine for Christine: high, delicate and trembly, very childish.

Gala scene
   -Raoul is one of those characters I love to hate; and Gary Mauer is one of those actors I hate to love. He really *is* a good Raoul. Too bad I despise Raoul so much.

   -after the gala when Mme. Giry praises Christine, "Yes! You did well. He will be pleased ..." and turning to the ballet rats, "... and YOU, you were a disgrace!!!" was delivered so well .... she didn't change her tone at all, so the poor rats thought she was going to praise them and all they ended up with was sarcasm! WONDERFUL!

   -Erik (Howard McGillin)'s "Bravi's" were tremulous and *exquisite*. They SOUNDED like they were coming through a mirror, or maybe through water!

Angel of Music
-Adrienne's timing on "AoM" was off. She was dragging! I could hear Meg trying to speed her up,
but she obstinately refused to cooperate. The effect was unpleasant, as you can guess.

   -Meg gives this cute little interjection after Mme. Giry shoos her away ... "Oh, more practicing!" she murmurs to herself as she leaves Christine's dressing room :)

   -Howard had impressed me on the "bravi's" but then turned my stomach on "Insolent boy!" He
SPAT out every word, and the whole thing sounded very wet. In fact I felt this way through the
whole show- his consonants are just too hard.

Phantom of the Opera
   -I have to hand it to Erik's body double; he executed this wonderful Michael-esque cloak swirl after "And though you turn from me to glance behind, the Phantom of the Opera is there inside your mind ..." <swirl!>

   -The whole song was very VERY good. Adrienne's and Howard's voices mesh very well.

   -in the boat, Adrienne turns back to look at Howard as she sings "...were both in you." This added a great sensual touch.

   -Howard is very gentle with Adrienne when he turns her toward the audience on "Sing!" I've seen some Phantoms (ahem-cough-Ted-Keegan-cough-cough) really grab and TWIST Christine roughly;
not a very Erik-like thing to do. But Howard did it well. In fact he's really very gentle with her the whole time - until the Final Lair, of course.

Music of the Night
   -again, Howard's consonants are very hard. but he managed to carry off MOTN very beautifully. His note on "soar" was *gorgeous* but "BE!!!!!" was a little too loud, I thought.

   -a lot of tenderness and attraction betwee Howard and Adrienne in this scene. She follows him around alot. When he goes upstage and stretches out (Christ-like) on the portcullis, I thought she would embrace him; she came right up to him as though offering her body to his arms, then realized what she was doing and stepped quickly downstage, only to look longingly over her shoulder at him again!

   -"Touch me, trust me" was not given correctly in my opinion. I like it sung ... Howard whispers it with a sort of ill-concealed aching. Too blatantly sexual for me. :P But that was the only moment where he gave it away. There are some Phantoms I've seen who will run their hands all over themselves or gesture towards Christine in a really suggestive way at "Hear it, feel it secretly possess you." I don't like that :P Howard didn't do it, though, so I was relieved.

   -after he pulls the cover off the mirror, Howard nearly sinks to his knees in a suppicating gesture. It was very touching. And after Adrienne fainted, he seemed so concerned; he even reached out and fanned his fingers over her hair as he sang "Help me make the music of the night."  Unfortunately, "night" was FLAT! He resolved it as the orchestra reached their final chord, but it sounded a little *too* dischordant up until that point and it left me with a sour taste in my mouth.

Stranger Than You Dreamt It
   -Howard does not *slink* along the floor as he sings, which I thought was a definite improvement.

   -There was such tenderness between him and Adrienne as she hands back his mask ... and after he puts it back on, he reaches as though he would cup her cheek in his hand ... she inclines her head as though she would *let* him! and then, "Come, we must return ... " So abrupt and heartbreaking.

Magical Lasso
   -Mme. Giry (Leila Martin, who I LOVE!) lingered over "He will burn you with the heat of his eyes."  Splendid!

Notes
   -I LOVE the current managers in the New York cast. This is the second time I've seen them and I would go again just for them. Firmin is so miserly as he sings the opening phrases of "Notes" - he even kisses the newspaper before "Gossip's worth its weight in gold!"

   -the duet between these two is just PERFECT. At "someone with a puerile brain", I nearly lept to my feet to applaud - it was *SO* well delivered.

   -GREAT reaction from Carlotta at "You will therefore cast Carlotta as the *pageboy*" ... she looked so utterly offended it was priceless!

   -when did they add Piangi's line, "You don't deserve her!" This is delivered just before Carlotta starts to lament ... it's a wonderful addition and I love it! Also, Carlotta's lament is now in english? When did THAT happen?

Prima Donna
   -Mme. Giry stands downstage left and *rolls her eyes* as the managers kiss up to Carlotta ... perfect touch!

   -the entire number was great, as usual.

Il Muto
   -I LOVE Il Muto. It's absolutely hilarious, and I've been singing to myself "The faithless lady's bound for Hades; shame, shame, shame!" ever since. :)

   -Don Atilo's low note was so long and wonderful that the audience broke into applause. He
demurred twice, then took a little curtsey - very cute. This was the one moment ALL NIGHT when
the audience reacted properly, by the way! I would have hated to be on stage - it wasn't a responsive crowd at all.

   -after Carlotta rips away Christine's skirt, Don Atilo gets such a look of shock, turns to the audience and points with his walking-stick. At this point I started bouncing up and down in glee, I was so *pleased* by the whole thing.

   -Richard was wonderfully nervous as he took to the stage to announce the ballet. He was so petrified that he couldn't remember what he was supposed to be saying. He stammered, "We will be giving you the ballet from act ... " then started rustling through his own program, then announced, "THREE!"  And as if that weren't funny enough, his voice cracks (on purpose) as he's saying, "Maestro, the ballet," so it sounds like "BA!-let!" :)

   -the ballerinas don't respond enough to Erik's shadows across the traveller. They *never* do and it bothers me. You'd think they'd be cowering and screaming, not still dancing around.

All I Ask of You
   -Christine is *sharp* with Raoul on "I've BEEN there." It's defiant and great.

   -Maybe I was looking too hard, but I kept finding little moments in this song where it's hinted that Christine doesn't mean what she's singing to Raoul. Great example: her "And you, always beside me," sounded almost distasteful, like she had to force herself to say it.

   -This is a personal note - but the way Raoul spins Christine is just how I envision Erik spinning Christine in "Al Fin" after they sing together at their "wedding".

   -Howard's "no's" from the angel almost broke my heart. I've never misted over during Act I before, but I did this time.

   -at the same time, I hated the "Go" line. It was too short and delivered *before* the laughter, not after. the order was somehow wrong, and it left a big hole of silence as the chandelier fell.

Act II
Masquerade
   - same as always

Why So Silent?
   -I love this part ... but is it pre-recorded? I know that Erik's notes are, and "The Phantom of the Opera" is, but is this? I mean, could an actor actually sing from inside that mask?

Notes part II
   -Piangi had this great reaction to "Our Don Juan must lose some weight." He and Carlotta were in rare form tonight. In fact, they also had this cool new line in this song ... after Mme. Giry says she can't help them, they both shout, "She's his accomplice!" It seems the writers are working on developing Carlotta and Piangi, and they're doing a great job.

Twisted Every Way
   -all I wrote for this was "I HATE CHRISTINE". :) I'm sure you can imagine why.

Rehearsal
   -not much new here. but I did notice that one of the male members of the chorus offered Christine a chair as she wandered in, which she gratefully accepted. it was sweet, a nice touch.

Wishing
   -very powerful. Adrienne's voice is nicely showcased.

   -this thought struck me during this scene: Is she singing to Erik or her father? I know she's really supposed to be singing to her father, but so many things could be taken either way.

Wandering Child
   -Howard is wonderful; his voice is enticing and sweet.

   -Raoul is a buffoon.  I love how he's saying "Leave her - can't you see she'll never be yours?!" to Erik while Christine is not only walking right towards Erik, but also completely insensible to Raoul's presence.

Don Juan Triumphant
   -I never noticed Piangi throw Meg a purse as she leaves his room before! such a naughty part for such a sweet girl.

Point of No Return
   -WHOA, Adrienne's Christine is super-duper into this song. I've never seen her behave so sexy before! And it's so obvious that she knows it's Erik, and yet she's touching him all over and throwing her whole body into the part. I loved his reaction to "bodies entwining." But just when I was starting to really love it, *she pulls away* and the whole scene just goes downhill.

   -the ring was ALL WRONG. Howard grabs Adrienne and forces it onto her finger, which I
HATED.

Down Once More
   -From this point on I really hate Howard; he's too crazy, violent and snappish.

   -I could see the sympathy on Adrienne's face and she actually reached out towards him on his
"mother" lines, but he knocked her hand roughly aside.

   -Howard had this almost cute pouty tone to his voice on "You have truly made my night." On the other hand, Adrienne's voice was ugly and ragged on "Raoul, it's useless."

   -Speaking of Raoul, from the moment he's punjabbed until "Christine, forgive me ..." he's strangely still and silent, which wasn't really effective.

   -the "Make your choice" line wasn't screamed, but it *was* shouted ... I don't think that anyone ever made me happy with it but Michael.

   -the kisses were good ... Adrienne pulls Howard close for an embrace before she kisses him a
second time, but he never touches her at all. He's too busy waving his hands in the air like a crazed skeleton. ie, yuk.

   -too much screaming on "Go now." And I'm still not sure how I like the new line "Promise me never to tell the secret you know of the Angel in Hell" which takes the place of "Leave me here, go now, don't wait."

   -I didn't like Howard's "I love you's"; they were shouted! They should be sobbed. But he did cry into her veil, which was very touching. As was the exchange of the ring; he took Adrienne's hand (not just the ring), and she lets him hold it for just a moment before sobbing into her hand and running offstage.

   -I just didn't like Howard's "It's over now." In fact, if I had to sum it up, I just didn't like HOWARD.

   -Meg hogs the spotlight in the last scene; she really milks her advantage as the only person on stage.  Oh, and the mob wasn't loud enough throughout this last scene.

Bows
   -I never really pay attention to this part of the show, but it bothered me that Adrienne kissed Gary at curtain call. As if my heart weren't already broken. And why does she NOT kiss Howard? Unfair.

So in conclusion, I DESPISE CHRISTINE. And in the end, I didn't really like Adrienne either. She had a few high points, but they were just outweighed by the things I disliked.

So: I didn't really like the Phantom or Christine in this particular cast, but I did LOVE the Managers, Mme. Giry and Carlotta and Piangi.

There now! If you all didn't drown in this review, heaven help you :)