Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

malmborgimplano-92-599820 As much as I love this show (practically wore out my original London cast album and even enjoyed the much-maligned film version) I've never actually made it to a live performance, so this was a lot of fun to watch. I was delighted to see Sierra Boggess and Ramin Karimloo perform the original show, having admired their performances in the same roles in the otherwise wretched sequel Love Never Dies. In fact the only thing I didn't enjoy was Andrew Lloyd Webber coming out onstage after the curtain call. I realize the curtain speech is an old English theatrical tradition but way to ruin the magic.I've been a fan of the Phantom since childhood and saw as many versions as I could--Lon Chaney, Claude Rains, Herbert Lom, and my favorite, Maximilian Schell. As a little girl I liked the idea of being a heroine with two men fighting over me and thought being abducted to a secret island under an opera house was a cool adventure. Now I see the Phantom for what he is--a despicable murderer, racketeer, kidnapper and stalker--and I like the way his villainy is played up in this version rather than the pathos. It's not really healthy to encourage young women to find the Phantom romantic. We need more Raouls in our lives.

keithjeannesimmons I have always grown up with the Phantom close by thanks to the love of this title coming from both my mother and grandmother. From watching the Movie over and over again with my mother to seeing it live with my family i had always come to cherish this title, which drew my to this 25th Anniversary. As I watched in awe i began to remember all of the love that that i had felt threw the years and all of the strength this gave my threw my hard times. To see such a play brought glorious tears to my eyes, and here is why. (Spoilers)First and foremost the Phantom. Going in I wasn't sure what to expect, I had always held a special place in my heart for Butlers Phantom (2007) and I was amazed by the live one which i had seen. But I must say, Ramin Karimloo shines and took my breath away. I truly could see the pain at the end when Christine leaves him and he is left alone in the dungeon with nothing but his monkey, voice, and tears. I was amazed by the notes he hit and the tone this man set that differed from the mood Butlers Phantom had always set in my mind, Simply Amazing. Second the Rest of the cast was amazing as they blended together. From Christines fear and confusion that is so well shown to Raouls love for her that blew me away. And compared to other adaptions, I truly did love the comedic look the managers of the Opera gave off. From scene to scene I was constantly lifted off my seat by the beauty that every singer gives. Lastly the costumes and music brought the entire thing together in one perfect set piece. From the production of Hannibal to Masquerade i was constantly amazed by the bright costumes and light to dark mood that it gave off allowing the viewers to see just how amazing or terrible it was becoming. And i especially liked the Phantoms outfit and makeup threw out from the hat he wore to help hide his face better to his Masquerade costume with the moving skull jaw. And don't get me started on how wonderful the music was, setting the mood and bringing the tone from bright and happy to horribly sad in a mere few seconds.All in all this was an amazing show with little to no error. From start to finish i was constantly enjoying the fun the actors had playing there parts and the sheer emotion each actor put into their characters. I give this a 10/10 for an amazing experience.

Roy (lindhardt09) This isn't a bad adaptation, I agree with the other review that I read that the sets were spectacular! However, Christine and The Phantom were somewhat lacking for me. Both of them seemed to be trying too hard, and that just really chaps at me. I don't like to see people trying to prove themselves, it should just be something natural. Plus the makeup on The Phantom was too distracting, seeing his lips hangout from underneath the mask pulled my attention way from the story too much. I kept on rechecking to see if I really was seeing his lips or what right up until the final time his mask was pulled off. When they pulled out the other men who had played The Phantom, both my wife and I commented at how much better singers all of them were than the guy that played him in this rendition. We both also think that the Christine and Phantom from the 2004 movie were both more natural sounding and looking, I just cannot say enough how important it is to me that the actor/actress appear natural in their role. Perhaps the theater is the wrong place to expect that, but then again so many of the other actors in this rendition gave such natural performances, even the two opera house owners (which was not impressed upon me from the recording featuring the original cast). I know I've spent so much space talking about what I didn't like, but I think it deserves stronger detailing this time. The production truly was otherwise first rate! I even enjoyed the little speech from Andrew Lloyd Webber

3xHCCH We all know that the "Phantom of the Opera" is by far one of the best known and best loved musicals of the past years. It is quite amazing to learn that this year is already the 25th year of this acclaimed piece of musical theater based on the novel by Gaston Leroux. The beautiful music was by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with most of the lyrics by Charles Hart, and produced by Cameron Macintosh. It debuted in the West End in London in 1986. Phantom is recognized as the highest-grossing entertainment event of all time and the most financially successful theatrical show in history.Last week, it was suddenly announced that the special 25th Anniversary performance held at the Royal Albert Hall last October 2-3, 2011 was actually going to be shown in local theaters! I knew that my wife and I had to see it again. This morning, I was surprised to learn that this will be a 3 hour and 41 minute movie. This caused problems in our schedule but we still decided to push through and watch. An opportunity to watch a theater event such as this on the big screen was indeed rare.As we entered, we found out the reason for the very long running time. Before the show proper, there was first a short documentary about Phantom by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. Here we got to hear how the idea of doing Phantom came about, and meet the original London production crew. This lasted about 15 minutes. After which there were ads announcing the sale of DVDs of this event come March next year. I guess we still have to wait that long to get an original copy of this special. Then there was about another 5 minute pause (as if waiting for the audience to fill up) before the show itself actually began. I see that this film was going to approximate a real theater presentation. Unfortunately, this also included a real 20 minute Intermission after Act 1. The theater (we watched in SM Megamall) actually paused the movie for the whole 20 minutes! So be warned. The Phantom was played by Ramin Karimloo, while his ingénue Christine Daae was played by Sierra Boggess. I knew these were the same actors who played these same characters in the short-lived sequel of Phantom called "Love Never Dies." Ms. Boggess was beautiful as Christine channeling both innocence and sensuousness. Her soprano was flawless even in the most challenging and punishing notes in "Think of Me," "Phantom of the Opera," and "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again." As the Phantom, Mr. Karimloo has got that X-factor that makes the role dangerous yet riveting and sympathetic. His voice can navigate the highs and lows that makes Mr. Lloyd Webber a musical sadist. It can be strong, yet tender and also menacing. His "Music of the Night" and "Point of No Return" were fantastic!The supporting performances were also very strong. Hadley Fraser cuts a dashing figure as Raoul. His featured duet with Christine, "All I Ask of You," was very well sung. Kiera Duffy makes a hilarious Madame Carlotta even as she also hit those unbelievable high notes, in songs like "Primadonna." Liz Robertson makes a very imposing Madame Giry with her severe black gown always in sharp contrast with the very bright colors of the costumes around her. Everything was so expertly staged: the dancing, the costumes, the set pieces, the make-up, the video backgrounds, were all so rich, elaborate and detailed. The camera work and direction was also very effective in conveying the drama, danger and romance of the story.After the last scene where Meg Giry holds up the Phantom's mask after he vanishes, there was a very long curtain call. The whole stage was filled with actors and dancers. It was a very emotional moment. However, after the three main characters made their bows, it was not yet over. Sir Andrew himself took center stage and thanked the audience and his crew, present and past. Then he introduced the man who played the first Phantom, Michael Crawford! Finally he brought out his "Angel of Music", Ms. Sarah Brightman (who was looking very hefty indeed nowadays). The surprise did not end there, Ms. Brightman obliged to sing! Of course, she sang "Phantom of the Opera." I would not say it was her best because her breathing was audible, but she could still hit those killer notes at the end. Another surprise was when it was the Phantom's turn to sing, four actors who played the Phantom before came out on stage to sing with Ms. Brightman. Of the four, I recognized two: Colm Wilkinson (Jean Valjean from Les Miz) and the fantastic Anthony Warlow! The other guy was John Owen Jones (the current Phantom in London). The youngest guy of the four Phantoms, Peter Joback (upcoming Phantom in the 2012 run in London), had a rather thin and nasal pop voice, in sharp contrast with the booming tenors of the other three. Too bad, Michael Crawford did not sing a note. After this, the four ex-Phantoms all took turns to sing "Music of the Night." This was another beautiful rendition of the song. At the end, the present Phantom, Ramin Kaminloo also joined the group. Another curtain call followed, and the event comes to an end.This is definitely a must-watch for fans of Phantom, as well as fans of Musical Theater in general. When time comes for the DVD to come out, that should also be a must-own in his DVD collection.