The Phantom of the Opera is the longest running show on a Broadway stage, and it’s no wonder why. From the set designs to the acting, the iconic musical is so lovable that no critic dares to decry the play’s love-triangle, scary substance that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. After seeing the incredible performance on Saturday, October 15, in the Majestic Theatre, New York City, it became clear that The Phantom of the Opera set the high standards for all Broadway musicals.

The popular musical takes place in a nineteenth century French Opera House where a newly appointed Christine Daaé takes the role of lead soprano after the previous lead, Carlotta, refuses to perform after a scary phantom haunts the very stage she walks on. Christine is appointed this role thanks to her surprising voice due to the teachings of a mysterious tutor.

After performing her first night as the lead, she is greeted by an old friend named Raoul who wants to rekindle some old feelings from their childhood. Fearful of what her teacher might think, Christine chooses to learn from her “angel of music”, the very same phantom who haunts the opera house, rather than recapitulate with Raoul’s current life.

As the phantom’s power over Christine grows, so does his emotions, as he murders a man due to Christine’s lack of obtaining the lead, frightening the performers and the audience of the opera. More than anyone else, Christine is panic-stricken and tries to run and hide. There to comfort her, Raoul finds her and confesses his love for Christine.

Relieved that she loves him too, the two long-lost lovers describe their hopes for the future while belting a duet entitled “All I Ask of You,” which is heard by none other than the phantom. The phantom is overcome by rage and jealousy as he hears his beloved student confess her love for another man.

Feeling used and betrayed, the phantom haunts Christine to try to get her to join him in the afterlife. There to stop Christine’s spur of the moment demise, Raoul stops the phantom and tries to fight him off. Livid, after the phantom’s ludicrous behavior, Raoul devises a plan to expose the phantom and execute him. Failing, Christine gets taken away by her former teacher who wants to marry her. There to save the day, Raoul rescues Christine yet again from a horrible fate, and the phantom disappears from a world where no one loves him.

The Plot: 5/5

The plot of this musical is based off of Gaston Leroux’s french novel: Le Fantôme de l’Opéra. It is based off of historic events of a skeleton haunting the Paris Opera in the middle of a performance. After this book grew more popular, it was adapted into a Broadway stage where it stayed to perform over 10,000 performances. There was never a dull scene in this show as the numerous characters amused and frightened the audience at times. The way that each character’s position interlaced with the others fit perfectly, weaving together a perfect plot to exercise your mind wondering what will happen next.   

The Acting: 4.5/5

Acting is crucial in any show, as the performers are required to be a triple threat. The acting in this musical was phenomenal, especially upon Ali Ewoldt, who portrayed the lead, Christine Daaé. Her acting was seamless, as she exhibited the struggle and fear of her character. The two male leads, Jordan Donica, portraying Raoul, and Paul A. Schaefer, an understudy portraying the role of the phantom did equally as well. Upon realizing that the phantom was an understudy, I was shocked at how amazing Schaefer played his part. The phantom is the antagonist of the entire show, and to hold back in the department of deviousness would be an act of sacrilege upon the character. Thankfully, Schaefer played the phantom just as amazingly as his co-stars. However, the reason for the 0.5-star loss in this department is not for either of the three leads. Kara Klein, who portrayed Christine’s friend Meg Giry could have deciphered her character’s emotions a bit more. Her acting was decent, but not as up to scale as the rest of the cast.

The Music: 4/5

The Phantom of the Opera is most known for its intense music, and scarily thrilling theme. Although the musical had many memorable and admirable songs such as “Think of Me,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” and “All I Ask of You,” there were songs such as “Notes/Prima Donna” and “Notes/Twisted Every Way” that were more confusing. The reason for this confusion is that there were eight characters singing different parts with different lyrics at the same time. This isn’t unordinary coming from the Broadway stage, but when eight characters are all trying to tell their side of the story at the same time, the audience is bound to get lost in their words.

The Dancing: 4/5

There isn’t much dancing in this show as there is singing, but as it takes place in a nineteenth century French opera house, the main genre of dance is classic ballet. The moves were well choreographed, and performed well, except the timing was off. Synchronization is key in any Broadway show, and some of the ballerinas had a timing of their own.

Set Design: 5/5

While the stage itself wasn’t very big, the set designers utilized their space extremely well. From scenes where the phantom was taking Christine to his lair, beautifully lit candles filled the stage and smoke machines filled the air with misty fog, imitating a beautiful lake. The outline of the stage itself was decorated with beautiful golden statues, one of which was a prop used in one scene to descend down to the audience’s field of vision as the phantom pops out of it and begins to sing in anguish. Other scenes use a scintillating staircase upon which the extras perform a number on, adding to the high appreciation the audience had for the show. Overall, the set designers did a phenomenal job decorating the gorgeous Majestic Theatre in Broadway.

Costumes: 5/5

The opening scene of the musical consists of a performance of “Hannibal” where the performers are to dress up like ancient Romans. The designs were absolutely exquisite, as it highlighted the beautiful red, green, white, and gold, which was popular in that time period. The other major scene in which the costumes were impeccable was when the entire cast performed the song “Masquerade” in which they all wore masks and elaborate costumes of many colors. The costume crew clearly didn’t hold back their creative capabilities for this show.

Overall Show Rating: 27.5/30

I would highly recommend this show to Broadway lovers, and those who are in New York looking to try something new. The Phantom of the Opera is a great show to start out with while exploring the world of Broadway, and once you see it, you will get hooked. It’s impossible not to love this iconic show. Even though love triangles are often overdone, this one adds an element of suspense, always making the audience want to know more.