The Phantom of the Opera - His Majesty's Theatre

Curtain up, an hour ago, on the 32nd year of Phantom in the West End. Miffed I didn't make a trip down.

There are so many shows that I'd love to see Goes Wronged. Recently @theatremonkey & I were discussing how great "Starlight Express Goes Wrong" could be!

Just got out of the matinee and wanted to say how phenomenal Kelly Mathieson was as Christine! The best of the three I've seen - she was shy at first (as Christine should be), but got wonderfully fiesty and has a voice to die for. Her 'Wishing' was the best I've heard. Her voice also blends with Ben Lewis' very well, so 'Past the Point of No Return' (in my opinion one of the best songs in the score) sounded absolutely gorgeous (unlike on the 25th anniversary CD, where Ramin and Sierra butcher it by shouting most of the lines after the climax).

Lewis is a good Phantom - lovely voice, although not as good as JOJ's in my opinion, and while his Act 2 was good for characterisation I felt he was slightly going through the motions in Act 1. Jeremy Taylor is fine as Raoul - not a patch on Nadim Naaman, but there's nothing to complain about with his performance other than a couple of phrases that I thought he sang a bit too loud.

Lara Martins as Carlotta, though, left quite a lot to be desired. Her voice was thin and tinny and she was sloppy on the intricate sections - Carlotta's supposed to be a substandard actress, not a sloppy singer. All the rest of the cast were good.

Two further remarks:

1) I will never forgive whoever made the decision to cut Carlotta's high note in the climactic chord just before 'Prima Donna'. The chord just sounds incomplete without it. Listen to the original cast recording and then the 25th anniversary and tell me it sounds anywhere near as good without that high note. I don't care if it's a bitch to sing, all ALW scores are.

2) Oh my, the orchestra sounds amazing. There's no denying that the decline in the size of bands for musicals is a terrible shame - Phantom and 42nd Street both sound magnificent with their (comparatively) large bands.

If it's the same person who also cut Carlotta's reaction to Piangi's death then I'm never forgiving them either.

^ Has POTO ever released cast holiday dates? Don't think they tend to.

Sorry if this has already been discussed, but does the theatre have discounted last minute tickets or something? A friend of mine would like to go see the matinee tomorrow and since it has no real day seats policy I was wondering if there is any way to get cheaper tickets.

I've had difficultly getting discounted last minute seats at the theatre directly on a Saturday for both matinees and evenings. 
As stated TKTS do do good discounts for this show and are probably your best option. The website lists prices for tomorrows 14:30 performance:

www.tkts.co.uk/whats-on-sale/

So my friend finally dragged me to see this and I was quite disappointed. Without mentioning the occasionally idiotic lyrics or the fact that the score is made of four melodies that repeat over and over, the cast is a bit of a let down and the show I saw today wasn't in fine shape.

Ben Lewis is not a mind-blowing singer, higher notes are not his friends, but he still manages to create a charming performance and an elegant character. I particularly liked his acting in the final scenes and in "Stranger Than You Dreamt It".

Kelly Mathieson was BAD™. Her voice was nice a part from the poor legato, but her acting was frankly terrible. She had absolutely no idea of what to do with her arms and gestures were either robotic or all over the place. She keeps doing this thing that looks like someone just punched her in the stomach or she bends the knees as if she was couching. I guess she's trying to convey confusion and sorrow, but if she keeps going on like this she'll have the best booty in the West End by the end of the run, with all the squats she's doing. Also she's a shouter and tends to screams lines for emphasis: not only it's unnecessarily over the top, but I'm sure it's not very healthy either.

There were also many mishaps, Raoul didn't jump into the trap door in the final scene because I assume it didn't open, and awkwardly ran after Madame Giry (how do they manage to find all these women that look exactly the same for this role?). Or the false back of the throne was half open when Meg reveals it. And a lot of other little things, like the organ moving when the Phantom has stopped playing, dropping props, etc.

There's a lot to like too, Harold Prince's direction is masterful, Maria Björnson's set and costumes are to die for and the orchestra is simply sensational. But after all these years I would have expected it to run smoothly, don't they have a resident director or something? Obviously it still makes money and it will run forever, the audience (mostly tourists) responded very warmly, although almost no one stood at the curtain call. Some moments are still thrilling, like the lake and the overture, but the show is really not in fine form.

Ops that's my bad then.

Oh yeah the price was fine. It was my second time watching the show, I saw it on Broadway in 2010 when I was 14, spoke no English and thought it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen in all my life. I mean, no one more than me can understand its appeal for tourists, it's spectacular, basic plot that does not require understanding of the language to be appreciated, catchy tunes. About the 4 weeks thing, yes, it's true, but she's playing an ingénue not Lady Macbeth, the acting should be better by now.

Apologies for being so pedantic, but Norm Lewis was the first African-American actor to play the role on Broadway (which is how I believe it was marketed?), whereas Robert Guillaume took over from Michael Crawford in Los Angeles. Anyway, that's all trivial as yes it's very sad news. Personally, I'll always remember him as Rafiki!

I am almost ashamed to admit it but I have never watched this.

I don't really know why.
It might forever be that show I will never get around to seeing.

Would I be able to get to see it without paying a fortune or it that a ridiculous question?