Phantom in Manila

The Good Life with Eli F.J. Tajanlangit

When someone said she liked the Manila production of “Phantom of the Opera” better than the one she saw in New York, I thought she was being extravagant.

I had seen the Broadway version, and I thought, how can the Manila production top that? For starters, our venue here, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, wasn’t exactly made for “Phantom…” like the Majestic Theatre was; the CCP stage is  small and shallow, the production has to cut here and there, maybe even compromise something along the way.

I recall how the local production of “Miss Saigon” had to cut most of its sets two, three ways to be able to move them with ease as the scenes changed. What more with “Phantom…” I thought, which has opulent, massive sets.

Well, what do you know: the Manila production, yes, can very well give Broadway a run for its money. The CCP stage did not expand, sure, it is still pitifully small. But brilliant lighting, wise production design, and dynamic choreography played beautifully to make the Manila edition of “Phantom” just as grand and sweeping as it was in New York.

To solve the shallowness of the stage, the director opted to use a lot of stage black-outs to transition to the next scenes, which did not harm the production at all but, in fact, added to the overall feel of the haunted opera house, with shadows falling and plenty of dark corners.

It is amazing how theatre people can manage to evoke feelings and historical periods wherever you ask them to – whether in a stage built according to their specifications, or in a space they hardly knew.

The size of the stage, in fact, may even have effectively contributed to the lush feel of the Manila production. This was most evident in the behind-the-scenes scenes of the play – the ones that happen at the back of the opera house, the ceilings, the labyrinthine byways, the lake under the building.

You can credit choreography for helping pull off this production, especially in Masquerade, the opening scene of Act Two set on the front steps of the opera house. Here is a clear example of what choreography can achieve: with minimal hand and feet movement, and of course, the right fabric for their costumes, the characters managed to convey the pulsating energy of party in full swing.

The chandelier’s dramatic rise and fall here were not as stunning as it was in NY; maybe because I’ve put a lot of expectations over it. I also thought the chandelier wasn’t as grand. Somebody beside me, who saw the play in Vegas, also thought it was more dramatic and awe-inspiring there than it was here.

But all told, the Manila Phantom of the Opera does justice to the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical based on Gaston Leroux’s novel: a dark, romantic musical set in the early 1900s in a Paris opera house. Take away your biases and expectations, justified or not, and this is a delicious treat that comes only once in a rare while.

I read somewhere that “Phantom…” was deemed a horror story in its time, with women fainting at the sight of the Phantom unmasked. Somehow, the musical theatre version of this enduring love affair of a mysterious, ghostly composer and a rising, beautiful opera star does have its suspenseful moments, but scary, no. In fact, it imbues enough humanity in the Phantom we really don’t consider him a ghost here, despite the mask and the mysterious life. In fact, considering our Pinoy sensibilities, it wouldn’t really be a surprise if we fall in love with this ugly but passionate lover.

So, are we ready to be a New York and have our own Broadway? Why not, but I think we have our own materials and talents, a very deep resource in fact, to just end up becoming another Broadway. We are ready, yes, to top Broadway. We can enjoy rare treats like “Phantom…” every so often but we must always remember them for what they are: cross-cultural treats that should inspire and affirm but not to be copied. While the “Phantom” cast and crew were foreigners, this has just proven something like it does have an audience in Manila and perhaps, we can pick up from there.*

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