Fireside Playhouse shows off renovations
By Don Turnbull
Gazette correspondent
September, 1992
FORT ATKINSON -- Tari Lynn Attoe plays Christine in “Phantom,”
and a new star now shines brightly at the Fireside Playhouse.
This is the Kopit/Yeston adaptation of the musical based on Gaston
Leroux’s novel “Phantom of the Opera,” and producer Ed Flesch
says it has better music and character development than the Andrew
Lloyd Webber version.
“Kopit and Yeston worked on this for nearly five years, but just
when it was ready for Broadway, along came the Webber version,”
said Flesch. “So they put their version on the back burner, yet
it’s a superior piece of theater.”
It was written before the Webber version, so it is a work unto
itself, not a rip-off, Flesch said.
“I’m confident that ‘Phantom’ will entertain Fireside audiences,”
he said.
He’s right. “Phantom” is a powerful, compelling show. It’s a moving
and tragic love story set to haunting quasi-symphonic music with
just the right mix of drama, comedy, frenzied action and genuine
tenderness.
Flesch and director Philip McKinley have mobilized a strong and
talented cast.
It’s Attoe’s first principal role -- a fairy tale come true for
the attractive and talented young woman from Madison who only
a year ago was playing in the chorus of “Mame.”
She had a minor role in “Meet Me in St. Louis” and then played
an excellent Ado Annie in “Oklahoma!” But only in “Phantom” has
she been able to display all of her talents.
She is a superb singer with a remarkable soprano voice, excellent
intonation, clear diction and a well-developed grasp of the use
of vocal light and shade.
Her stage presence is graceful, warm and appealing; she’s fun
in the fun parts, warm in the love scenes, intense when the mood
is dramatically charged. And in the final reprise of “You are
music,” she brought a big lump to the throat of even this cynical
reviewer; there shouldn’t have been a dry eye in the house.
“I’ve never loved anything this much” she said after the show,
her eyes sparkling. “I can’t even express the feeling; I could
do this show for the rest of my life and be happy.”
To give Attoe deserved praise is not to diminish the performance
of Greg Holt, who plays Erik the Phantom, the young man with a
face so repulsive that he hides it behind a mask and rarely emerges
from the catacombs below the Paris Opera House.
Holt gives a splendid performance in a complex role. Erik is driven
by his love of beautiful music, aghast at his disfigurement, passionately
and sometimes violently protective of “his” opera house, and deeply
sincere in his love for Christine, a love he knows can never be
fulfilled.
Whereas Attoe is an excellent singer who acts well, Holt is an
excellent actor who sings well.
In his hands, Erik is not the monster portrayed by Lon Chaney
in the original movie; he is a real person who has suffered, and
is suffering, more than anyone should reasonably have to endure.
He projects Erik’s tensions and deep frustrations eloquently.
But when the mood is light, Holt can match it. And he got the
biggest laughs of the evening with his wry comments on the beautifully
dreadful off-stage singing of Carlotta (expertly played by Julie
Soddy).
The music threatened to overpower Holt’s light, pleasant singing
voice at times in the first act. But the sound equipment was managed
from the steps of the sound booth, and now that the equipment
is fully installed in its proper place that minor problem should
disappear.
Holt (a good-looking guy with the mask off) is excited about his
Fireside debut and “Phantom.”
“Yeah, I love it!” he said. “It’s really a dream part ... great
songs, great scenes, a well-rounded character.”
Robert Clift returns to the Fireside to give an excellent performance
as Carriere, Erik’s father.
An experienced actor with a powerful voice and a warm yet yet
commanding stage presence, Clift is effective in several emotional
scenes in the second act.
Other parts are played by David C. Maxwell, Roger Befeler and
Jeffrey Wolf. Brandon Joseph Thomson and Ben Knox alternate as
the young Erik.
Ensemble member Danita Wallace, who is also dance captain for
the production, deserves special mention for her beautiful performance
as Erik’s mother.
“Phantom” is full of “moments,” and it seems almost unfair to
select any one. But the “Phantom Fugue” in the first act is truly
theater at its best and its most magical.
The superb costumes were designed by David Covach and provided
by Susan McKee, Craig Barna is musical director, and Mary Quirk
is in charge of stage management. |