Long Review of Cosmos Troupe's Phantom
Written: December 2004
I actually already knew "Phantom" fairly well - after Stephanie's recommendation a long time ago, I bought the CD of the American version. So I was braced for the many plot changes from the novel. At least the spirit of the tale is pretty much the same. Since I got in trouble last time for not giving a brief plot description... ;)
Christine Daee (Hanafusa Mari) is an aspiring opera singer. Count Philippe (Aran Kei), a notorious womanizer, sees her on the street one day and arranges for her to get singing lessons at the Paris opera. But the opera has just been taken over by diva Carlotta (Izumo Aya) and her husband Alain (Suzuka Teru) who aren't impressed by stories of the "phantom" haunting the place. The Phantom (Wao Youka) is real, hidden and befriended by (now fired) theater manager Carriere (Sakiho Juri) - who has a secret of his own. When Christine gets to the theater, instead of lessons, she is put to work in the costume department. The Phantom hears her singing and becomes enthralled. Hiding his face behind mask, he offers to give her singing lessons. With the Phantom's help, Christine becomes a marvelous singer, prompting a declaration of love from Philippe and ire from Carlotta.
As you see, this isn't too far from a traditional "Phantom of the Opera" plot - the bigger changes come towards the end, but I don't want to give anything away.
This was a beautiful production; everything worked together to give that slightly gothic mood - stage set, costumes, and of course music. I loved the translucent curtain with the candles in it, and all of Christine's costumes were gorgeous. The Phantom's masks were beautiful too, although very unrealistic. Though I suppose the guy had plenty of time to assemble mosaic glass down there in the catacombs...
Most of the singing was also well done - I often liked it better than in the American CD I have, though now that I'm so used to Takarazuka-style, that says less than it would otherwise. Hanafusa at times used a beautiful opera voice, although at other times it was more standard musumeyaku. Wao's singing style is particularly suited for playing the Phantom, because it often has that kind of echoed feel even without the echo set on her mike... I don't know if I'm making any sense here...
About the DVD itself: No extras at all, but it is an All Region disk. I was so annoyed at the end with the cuts to the finale! Argh! I had heard that they'd trimmed some, but come on people! It was more than half of the numbers - including the line dance, Hanafusa's solo, and a song by my Touko (that's Aran Kei.) Stupid-heads! Grrr!
Okay, enough on the play as a whole! It's time for my favorite part - babbling about the actresses!
First of all, I have to say I don't know Cosmos troupe that well. They were only at the Tokyo theater one day while I was there for school, and since neither of my favorites are in Cosmos nowadays, I haven't been buying the new videos. The few general troupe members I DO know are from when I saw the Bowhall "Age of Innocence" - I was looking forward to seeing Miwa Asahi, Ryouga Haruhi, and Hayami Riki again. But not one of these has more than a line or two! I was a bit disappointed. Anyway:
Izumo Aya/Carlotta: Is the coolest person in the entire world. Her Carlotta was like the evil step-mother you never had, but secretly kinda wished for. I wanted Carlotta to win. I wanted her to give that stupid Phantom the boot and chuck Christine out on her ear. Go, Carlotta, go! I loved, loved, loved "This Place is Mine" (Kono Basho wa Watashi no Mono). Izumo's voice and style were just so perfect. I watched it again every single time I re-started watching (Which was like 6 times...)
Wao Youka/Phantom: I know she's supposed to be a scary phantom and all, but Wao is just so likeable. She has the nicest smile. You just can't believe that the Phantom is so bad... All that killing people and stuff must just be some awful misunderstanding... And of course, her Phantom is so beautiful - and his "horrible scars" so minor - that there's no way anyone would be screaming in horror. I like the longer hair she had for this role. As for acting, she uses the sweetest looks when the Phantom looks at Christine. She can communicate so much emotion, without ever seeming to be overdoing it.
Hanafusa Mari/Christine: I think Hana-chan is awesome, but I hate "doormat" characters, and for most of this play, Christine is a doormat. She just smiles and goes along with anything anyone tells her. So sweet. So innocent. So insanely boring. But Hanafusa does what she can, and her work at the end of the play is marvelous: acting like a woman who's finally discovered her own strength. I can almost forgive the first 2/3 of the play's wussiness.
Sakiho Juri/ Carriere: This seemed a little weird to me, since Carriere is supposed to be an older character, but Sakiho's younger than Wao and they didn't do anything to her makeup or hair. Her acting was perfect, so that she could almost pull-off being at the older end of middle-aged, but... come on! Some wrinkles in her makeup! A gray hair or two! Sakiho is a strong singer, and her one song with Wao was sung better and more genuinely than in the American version - almost making me like the song.
Aran Kei/Philippe: Okay, everyone knows I'm a raging Aran Kei maniac. But Philippe was just... boring. And an inconsistently treated character. At first he's presented as a philanderer, but Touko still plays him with that "brash young man" freshness. Then in the second half he's supposed to basically become the "Raul" character - the light romantic rival opposing the Phantom's dark appeal. Neither the play itself or Touko seem to know quite what to do with the guy. I was annoyed, and felt it was far from Touko's best work drama-wise. Only at the end did she seem to pull some maturity into the character, as if he finally gets that he's a raging idiot. ;) Of course, Touko's singing was spot on as usual, and her English accent pretty darn good: "Who Could Ever Have Dreamed Up You" is fast and involves lots of L's, R's, and V's, but she pulled through it.
Other people... Suzuka Teru was cute as Alain, but upstaged by Izumo. Ayano Kanami's considerable talent was completely wasted as Philippe's gratuitous girlfriend. Otono Izumi was quite good in a flashback as the Phantom's mother. No one else is leaping to mind as particularly memorable at the moment.
To sum up: I enjoyed this far more than I expected (I expected to be grinding my teeth the whole time because it's so different from the original book). Takarazuka management can pull together a first-rate show when they try, and there's something about putting on an outside musical that makes them want to try. (I'm thinking of Elisabeth, Guys and Dolls, Me and My Girl, etc. here.) The play wasn't perfect, but it came pretty close several times. Of course, Wao and Hanafusa can make a complete trash of a play into a moving experience, so it's not surprising that when they have something decent to work with - and the talented members of Cosmos Troupe to help them - that it becomes close to incredible.