Not a monster, a man with a heart and soul Phantom at Westchester Broadway Theater
By Kathy Grantham

Yes, there are two famous theatrical Phantoms! Lloyd Webber’s Phantom on Broadway and Kopit/Yeston’s Phantom at Westchester Broadway Theatre, influenced by Gaston Leroux’s novel, The Phantom of the Opera.

Some people think they’re buying tickets for Lloyd Webber’s Broadway Phantom when they buy their tickets for Phantom at Westchester Broadway Theatre. During intermission they ask, “Is the “Music of the Night” in the second act?”

The Kopit/Yeston version is bittersweet and emotionally charged, stunning the audience with a couple of not-to-be-missed surprises.
Webber’s Phantom, sung as opera, with no dialogue, features a frightening satanic ghoul in the horror genre, a vague plot and some memorable songs, especially “Music of the Night.”

The Kopit/Yeston Phantom at WBT is classic musical theatre, captivating the audience with a unique story, a star-crossed romance and a grand musical score.

The opening scene introduces Christine, a beautiful Parisian street singer, discovered by Count Philippe de Chandon who sends her to his friend Carriere, director of the Paris Opera, for singing lessons, unaware that Carriere has just been fired.
Carlotta, a jealous wanna-be diva, married to the new director, employs Christine for menial tasks.

It’s rumored that a phantom is haunting the opera house. Carriere has a close friendship with the phantom, who lives in the catacombs beneath the Paris Opera House and wears a mask to conceal a facial deformity.

The phantom gives her singing lessons with the understanding she must never look at him. The chemistry between them is electric and the sparks fly even when they’re just singing scales.

Christine is almost a captive in this underground hideaway, and Carriere warns, “Leave before it’s too late!”

The phantom is completely turned around by Christine: her voice, her music, her beauty. He falls in love, risking everything. Will he remove his mask because she promises to love him, no matter what?

This romantic thriller keeps the audience on tenterhooks until the very end.
Director/Choreographer Tom Polum was Dance Captain in the 1992 opening of Phantom at WBT, he directed it in 1996 and presents the 2007 production with an enthusiasm that belies 15 years with the show.

“We knew we had to find the magic of the right Christine and the right Phantom. That was our goal,” he said in an interview. “Christine has that ‘other worldly character.’ The two of them together make sparks fly.”

Christine is played by Kate Rockwell, who graduated from Baldwin Wallace College in 2006 with a major in musical theatre and landed the role of a lifetime. Rockwell is a coloratura soprano with an extraordinary three octave range.

Aaron Ramey, cast as the phantom, is a baritenor, reaching low g-flat when he sings, “My Mother Bore Me” in the second act.

Ramey enjoys the role because the phantom experiences love, hate, anger, revenge, even self-pity. He’s a misfit, condemned to live in solitude.

“I love this role because it runs the gamut of human emotions,” Ramey told NCN.
Phantom runs through November 25, 2007, with a break for the holiday show, A Christmas Carol, and resumes performances December 27, 2007-February 9, 2008.

Ticket prices for dinner & show range between $55 and $73 plus tax. Discounts are available. For information and reservations, call (914) 592-2222. Westchester Broadway Theatre is located at 1 Broadway Plaza, Elmsford, N.Y.

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