Attending The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre was certainly a spectacle, if you will. It seems the production consciously tried to become the ultimate night out for Londoners and tourists alike. Every aspect of the show was perfect in a capitalist sense. The convergence of a Parisian love story with sweeping melodies, death and destruction misunderstood, likable comic relief, and massive ensemble numbers ultimately lead to the most successful entertainment venture of all time, grossing 3.5 billion pounds worldwide, or just over 5 million dollars. For comparison’s sake, James Cameron’s incredibly popular Titanic grossed only 770 million pounds the world over. The Phantom is no “shape in the shadow” any longer, on the contrary: he, and this Really Useful Group production, is beyond the realms of musical theatre as we know it. A few simple choices by the creative team used to connect with the audience in 1986 have catapulted this Gaston Leroux story into a blockbuster without precedent.
A key aspect that makes this production “work” is the love triangle. Every girl in the audience wants to choose between the genius mystery man and the heartthrob aristocrat, represented by the Phantom and Raoul, respectively. Scenes depicting beautiful ingenue Christine’s dilemma include the gorgeous “The Music of the Night” and the sensual “The Point of No Return,” both questioning whether she should give in to her “urges” and submit and succumb to the masked figure whom she secretly craves like no other. The idea behind “The Point of No Return” is rather fantasy-like, as Christine’s position as a character player in the Opera being produced at the Opera Populaire in Paris compromises her decision-making abilities as a woman with a choice in love and loss. Unknowingly falling into the Phantom’s trap onstage after he has switched places with the intended actor, Christine’s fate rapidly declines into an epic duel in the final scene, fittingly titled “The Final Lair”. The creative team exploits the feelings of the women in the audience in many ways during this sequence, as every girl in the audience would love to see the Phantom nab Christine into some passionate escapade of a type of love he has never known. Similarly, the pursuit of Christine by blond babe Raoul pulls on the heart-strings of every female who would love such a hunk to pursue them.
Save from something such as Ultimate Cage Fighting, most modern-day entertainment choices are dictated by the enjoyments of females. It appears nobody has understood this more than the 1986 creative team behind The Phantom of The Opera. The idea of the intense love triangle and its effect on the women in the audience works the world over, as Phantom has been produced on six continents and over 20 countries. It seems Phantom will live on as long as heartstrings can be pulled on with beautiful melodies, perfect tableaus, and most crucially, a passionate, intense, captivating love triangle.
Christie Pryor, UCSB
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