Review: PHANTOM OF THE OPERA at Broadway San Jose

The new North American touring production of The Phantom of the Opera, now playing at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts as part of Broadway San Jose's season, is a triumphant reminder of why this show became a global juggernaut when it had its world premiere at Her Majesty's Theatre in London on October 9, 1986. Returning "More Spectacular Than Ever," it smartly honors its roots while delivering an evening of theater that feels sublimely fresh and thrilling. Running now through October 18, it is far and away one of the most dazzling and emotionally satisfying theatrical experiences you will see all season.

Opening night was an event even before conductor Isaac Hayward raised his baton. I've never seen the house so packed, nor an audience so visibly excited to be there. These days, virtually no one dresses up for theater anymore; more often than not, crowds show up in casual Friday work attire or even denim and sneakers. For Phantom, the lobby was a runway: sequined evening gowns, black capes, stilettos and chunky, shiny high heels, gorgeous minis and stylish suits. The air carried a distinct festive hum. Once seated, we caught the rich aroma of red wine and (perhaps it was my imagination) the faint scent of aged Gothic books on dusty old shelves. As the house lights dimmed, the entire audience sat riveted, primed to be swept up in the music of the night.

Most of us know the story. Far beneath the Paris Opera House, a disfigured musical genius known only as the Phantom (brilliantly played by Isaiah Bailey) lives in the shadows, haunting the managers and commanding that Box Five always be reserved for him. 

He becomes obsessed with a gifted young soprano, Christine Daaé (played at our performance by Alyssa Giannetti), coaching her in secret as her mysterious "Angel of Music." When prima donna Carlotta Giudicelli (Midori Marsh) walks out, Christine steps into the spotlight and becomes an overnight sensation. But when Christine's childhood sweetheart, Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny (Daniel Lopez), re-enters her life, the Phantom's possessive adoration curdles into jealousy, madness and dark retribution.

Director Seth Sklar-Heyn, building on Harold Prince's celebrated original direction, and choreographer Chrissie Cartwright, adapting Gillian Lynne's musical staging, honor the show's grand, romantic legacy while infusing it with a sharp new vitality. Gone are the divisive, stripped-back industrial updates of some previous tours. Instead, we get the late Maria Björnson's resplendent original designs, adapted for touring by Matt Kinley and enhanced by seamless stagecraft. When the subterranean lake emerges and the Phantom glides through the misty candlelight in his boat, the stage design is so transportive it feels as though we are genuinely underneath the Paris Opera House. Under conductor Isaac Hayward, the orchestra gives Lloyd Webber's iconic score the soaring operatic grandeur it demands.

At the center of it all is Isaiah Bailey, who commands the stage with electric presence and astonishing dynamic control. Where many actors play the Phantom with broad, operatic melodrama, Bailey roots him in raw, combustible grief. His vocal quality is dark, warm, and expansive, capable of shaking the hall with menacing fury before thinning into a hushed, aching thread of sound. His performance of "The Music of the Night" avoids coercive posturing; instead, it plays as an unguarded, desperate plea for intimacy from an outcast starved of human contact. Bailey never lets us forget the terrifying danger of his character, yet he lays bare the profound developmental trauma underneath, leaving you shaken by his violence and devastated by his brokenness. In a time when we know so much more about psychological trauma, your heart just breaks for him. 

Stepping into the role of Christine Daaé at our performance, Alyssa Giannetti was nothing short of a revelation. Her singing carries an effortless, pearlescent shimmer, soaring through high notes with warmth, bell-like clarity and poise. Even more striking is the quiet fortitude she brings to the stage. Rather than rendering Christine as an easily entranced, passive young woman, Giannetti portrays a young and gifted artist actively processing bereavement and exercising real strategic caution. In her climactic confrontation with the Phantom in his lair, her kiss is neither frightened capitulation nor a trauma bond; it is a deliberate act of moral courage and radical mercy. She steps into the Phantom's space, confronts his weaponized victimhood, and shatters his defense mechanisms by meeting cruelty with startling, unearned compassion.

Daniel Lopez brings dashing charm and genuine conviction to Raoul, offering an ardent, golden-toned tenor that harmonizes seamlessly with Giannetti. The supporting ensemble is equally well-tuned: Midori Marsh delivers delicious, puffed-up pomposity alongside real vocal brilliance as Carlotta, backed by Christopher Bozeka's amusingly high-strung Piangi. William Thomas Evans and Carrington Vilmont are delightful as the flustered, ledger-watching new managers. And for Bay Area theatergoers, seeing Lisa Vroman, who spent years portraying Christine in San Francisco, command the boards with stern authority as Madame Giry is an irresistible full-circle moment. Backing them, the entire ensemble executes Lynne's iconic choreography with crisp, joyful unison, turning Act II's "Masquerade" into a breathless, swirling masterpiece.

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