This
past weekend they filmed, and showed in movie houses, the live
performance of the 25th anniversary of "The Phantom of the Opera" and
will repeat the film in special engagements.

I
was really looking forward to it as I had been to see the filming of
the live performance of "Company" on Broadway and was excited at seeing a
theatre performance I knew I would not see otherwise. I was looking
forward to a possible announcement that the same thing would be done
with the current production of "Folles" and still hope it will take
place. The auditorium showing "Company" had been full so I rushed to get
a ticket to the Phantom showing and was disappointed to count only 14
people when it started.

In
the past I have seen 3 performances on stage of this show plus the
Gerard Butler starring film version and was always caught up in the
music more than the book. It was also the case here only I was bored
with most of the production. To me the highlight was the encore section
where they brought out the original Christine, Sarah Brightman, and 4 of
the past phantoms to sing the title song. Michael Crawford, the
original phantom, was there and acknowledged by all but he didn't sing.
As he is in another show maybe he didn't have the time to rehearse with
the others. Though all the phantoms were impressive Colm Wilkinson is a
stand out for me.

In
this 25th anniversary production the phantom is played by Ramin Karimbo,
Raoul by Hadly Fraser and Sierra Boggess. The latter was most
impressive with her soaring voice and porcelain looking skin. The men
were also strong in the acting and singing department.
It
won't be long before the DVDs of both this performance, and the
unproduced on Broadway sequel called "Love Never Dies", will be
available. I really want to see more in these theatre series but I would
recommend, which I very rarely do when it comes to film, is that you
wait for the DVD as paying $20-25 for the remaining showings in movie
houses isn't worth spending the money.