If you go:What: ‘The Phantom of the Opera’Where: Crouse-Hinds Theater at the Mulroy Civic Center at OncenterWhen: Sept. 25-Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 8:00 p.m. on Fridays; 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on weekends.How much: $32.50 to $72.50

New York City’s famous theater-lined street may be four hours away, but currently Syracuse University students can look no farther than downtown for a Broadway-caliber production of famed musical ‘The Phantom of the Opera.’

While the ticket prices -ranging from $32.50 to $72.50 – might scare away students on a budget, the elaborate two-and-a-half hour production is worth the splurge. Sunday afternoon’s production played to a full house in the 463-seat Crouse-Hinds Theater at the Mulroy Civic Center, where the play runs until Oct. 7.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Phantom of the Opera,’ the longest-running show in Broadway history since it opened in October 1986, is a complex play, difficult to produce well. But the touring cast produced by the Famous Artists Broadway Theater Series offered an excellent show to its enthusiastic audience, which held first-timers and Phantom veterans alike.

‘I’ve wanted to see it for forever,’ said Dawn Blaisdell, who drove from Fulton to see the performance. ‘It was just fantastic. I was blown away.’

‘Phantom of the Opera,’ based on French writer Gaston Leroux’s 1911 novel, explores strange events within the Paris Opera House in the late 1800s.

The play opens in 1911 at an auction of old opera memorabilia, but quickly flashes back to the year of the opera house’s mysterious disaster, which left its beautiful chandelier in ruins.

The play follows the rise of chorus girl Christine Daae, whose beautiful soprano catapults her past opera diva Carlotta. Her voice also brings her to the attention of the opera house owners and childhood friend Raoul, who is now a nobleman and patron of the opera.

But her joy is short-lived. Her ‘angel of music’ turns out to be the opera house’s legendary Phantom, who lives beneath the opera house. The Phantom, a musical genius who hides deformities underneath a white mask, quickly becomes obsessed with his musical protege.

The phantom torments the opera house, killing anyone in his way in his quest of taking Christine as his own. In the play’s emotional peak, the Phantom lets Christine leave with her fiance Raoul, telling them to never return. He then simply disappears, leaving nothing but his mask.

On Sunday, crowd favorites such as ‘Think of Me,’ ‘Music of the Night’ and ‘All I Ask of You’ were performed beautifully.

Sara Jean Ford shone as Christine. Ford’s crystal soprano became shrill at times, but her highpoints greatly outnumbered her lows. Her best performance came in Act II’s solo number, ‘Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again,’ one of the show’s most popular songs, where Christine sings to her deceased father near his grave.

Phantom understudy Stephen Tewksbury’s performance greatly improved between the first and second acts.

‘He’s not as gripping as I have seen in the past,’ Sharon Summerson said after the first act. It was the Cortland resident’s ninth time seeing the play.

While Tewksbury seemed a bit timid at first, in the second act, he skillfully portrayed the Phantom’s emotional pain at being shunned by the world for his deformities. Near the play’s end in ‘The Point of No Return,’ his deep voice filled the theater.

Greg Mills gave a stirring performance as Christine’s lover Raoul. The two had great chemistry and their voices blended well.

Kim Stengel was hilarious as opera diva Carlotta. Her purposely overbearing soprano could be heard echoing throughout the theater.

While the entire cast gave solid performances, the elaborate costumes and rotating set really stole the show.

In a show riddled with costume changes, each and every cast member was clothed in gorgeous, intricate outfits throughout the play. The most stunning display of costume artistry came in the second act’s opener ‘Masquerade,’ where the majority of the cast performed onstage in a variety of colorful, detailed costume ball outfits.

And the set’s seamless transitions through a variety of settings – from the Phantom’s underground lair to the various opera house sets – helped transport the audience to Paris more than 100 years ago. The sets were especially impressive for a traveling show.

A ‘Phantom of the Opera’ performance would not be complete without special effects. Sunday’s show was complete with pyrotechnics, fog and various moving parts of the set.

Also, the production made the audience feel as if they were actual opera audience members in all of the opera’s productions that the play shows through various techniques.

When the lengthy play ended, the cast was greeted with a standing ovation.

Phantom veteran Summerson said the musical was close if not equal to the caliber of more expensive performances she had seen of the classic play.

And first-timer Blaisdell was speechless.

‘It’s all so great, I can’t pick out one favorite part,’ she said. ‘I had a ball.’

Published on September 22, 2007 at 12:00 pm