SYNOPSIS OF THE SHOW

Never been to the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical before? Here’s a review of what to expect.

ACT 1

Overture and Scene 1: The show starts out with the auctioneer running through the lots of old opera props. When he come to the chandelier and asks the workers to light it the overture begins. The chandelier itself lights with a bang and rises from the stage as the Overture plays. Act one begins with a rehearsal scene from Hannibal starring Carlotta. The Phantom interrupts Carlotta’s practice with a falling backdrop and Christine Daae replaces the hysterical woman.

Scenes 2-4: The audience is led to understand that Christine, under the tutelage of the Phantom has become a talented singer, easily claiming the role for her own. Raoul cheers her performance from his box, and the Phantom waits in her dressing room. Raoul escorts her there and stays outside her door where he overhears Christine and the Phantom sing Angel of Music then enters to find Christine gone. This leads into The Phantom of the Opera, one of the most technical pieces of the show. The Phantom leads Christine down a series of ramps amid generated fog. Candelabras arise from the stage, and the pair travels to the Phantom’s lair via his gondola.

Scenes 5-6: The Phantom sings The Music of the Night as he keeps Christine in his embrace. This gondola is transformed into Christine’s bed as the Phantom lovingly puts her there after the song’s end. Time passes. As the Phantom writes and plays at his organ, Christine awakens and wonders about the man behind the mask. She unmasks him, and a cursing Phantom is first enraged then sad. He decides to take Christine back to the world above after she returns his mask.

Scenes 7-9: Far above, Joseph Buquet terrorizes the chorus girls with his description of the Phantom, not heeding Madame Giry’s warning to be silent. Meanwhile, the opera directors are having a fit over Notes signed O. G. and Carlotta and Raoul arrive in time to hear the latest one. Carlotta accuses Raoul of being the Phantom and the managers remind her she is the Opera’s Prima Donna. Carlotta agrees to sing, and an angered Phantom later clears out box five and ruins her performance with some well-timed ventriloquism. The ballet is played early by the mangers and the Phantom appears behind the white scrim, scaring the ballet girls. The scrim is raised to reveal the body of too vocal Joseph Buquet.

Scene 10: Panic ensues, and Christine and Raoul escape to the roof and All I ask of You is sung by the couple. The Phantom having overheard Christine’s plans to escape him and in his rage drops the chandelier on the audience of Christine’s performance. End Act 1.

Act 2

Entr’acte-scene 2: Act two follows the Entr’acte after intermission, and begins with the masked ball. Masquerade is sung, with the Phantom dressed as the Red Death showing up to through the finished score of Don Juan Triumphant at the managers’ feet. He rips Christine’s hidden engagement ring from her, reminding her that her chains are still his. Afterwards, Raoul learns the Phantom’s history backstage from Madame Giry.

Scenes 3-6: The scene melts into the manager office where Christine is bullied into taking a role in the Phantom’s Opera. Raoul tells the managers they will catch the Phantom if they perform his opera Practice is interrupted by a self-playing piano that frightens the singers, and Christine meets the Phantom at her father’s grave. Here she sings Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again, and flushed with emotion, walks towards her Angel of Music in ecstasy. Raoul shows up and ruins things, causing the Phantom to shoot fireballs out of his staff at him.

Scenes 7-8: Disappointingly, Raoul doesn’t catch fire, and the young lovers run away together. The Phantom declares war on them both. At the performance of his play he strangles Don Juan and borrows his cloak. At the end of his duet with Christine, Past the Point of No Return, he begs her to marry him. She unmasks him before the audience, and he kidnaps her.

Scenes 8-9: The body of the lead singer is found, and a mob chase ensues. When Raoul reaches the Phantom’s lair, the Phantom spares his life when Christine agrees to marry him. After she kisses him, a crying and happy Phantom lets the pair go. Christine returns to give the Phantom back his wedding ring, and he tells her he loves her. Christine doesn’t say a word and leaves him once more. The distraught Phantom plays the Masquerade money music box, and then takes to his throne throwing his cape up over him and the chair. Meg enters, rips away the cape and finds his mask. She holds this up to the audience and the musical ends on a rising scale of notes.

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