Russell

Ahhhh....The Monkey has got it about right in this case. This highly-touted and virtually iconic show is, in reality...a bit clunky, dated and simply not all that great. 'Good....not great. My biggest gripe is that the great singing that one would have every right to expect from an "opera-based" show is virtually nonexistent. The Phantom fellow no-doubt has a very good voice, but the absurdity of the scriptwriting/directing is such that he only unleashes his lovely voice in force on exactly TWO notes. The rest of the time he sings in a low-level, half-speaking-half-singing manor that I find most unsatisfying, if not actually irritating (as someone hoping to see great singing). The story is interesting. The sets quite good........and some of the songs quite memorable. The problem is that I've heard them performed much better elsewhere. Whoever directs this show deserves to swing from the iconic chandelier for effectively muzzling the eponymous star of the show.