“Webber's gothic spectacular is totally '80s in the best possible way...The most successful entertainment event of all time...It still works hard for its audience...‘Phantom’ remains strong because its high production values haven’t been allowed to sag...Lost since the days of Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman is a measure of acting ability, but if Rauch and Escobar are rather stiff (her in particular) then they do enough to successfully ride the wave of this still awesome spectacle.”
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“’The Phantom Of The Opera’...puts spectacle to the service of an exciting story and...music is used, in a Pucciniesque way to intensify a dramatic situation...It may be hokum but it is hokum here treated with hand on heart rather than tongue in cheek...It is determinedly old-fashioned but when the new fashion is for boy-meets-laser-beam, it is refreshing to find a musical that pins its faith in people, narrative, and traditional illusion.”
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“This is a powerfully emotional account of the saving grace of love. Despite clumsy lyrics, the music is Webber at his best. He has a real feel for the Victorian theatricality of the tale, from the melodramatic overture, with its thrilling organ chords, to the seductive ‘Music of the Night’ and yearning ‘All I ask of You’...It is sentimental and conservative in its view of women but ‘The Phantom of the Opera’s’ sheer theatrical verve is also immensely satisfying.”
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