by Christi V. (aka LadyCDaae)

Much of the success (or failure) of any version of Phantom falls on the shoulders of the actor in the title role. In this case, those shoulders belong to the more than capable Brad Little. With his strong, resonant voice, elegant poise and mesmerizing hands, Little dominates every scene he is in with the proper mixture of sensuality, pathos, and menace. His "Music of the Night" is simply gorgeous, and sung with an originality that gives new dimention to the song. Only a tendency to become shrill when upset bars the performance from perfection. Equally astonishing is Rebecca Pitcher as Christine. Her clear, youthful voice is just right for the role, and her high notes could not have been better. Even better, though, is her characterization--she conveys Christine's struggle between the memory of her father, her attraction to the Phantom, and her old childhood affection to Raoul in a convincing manner. Her scenes with Little are charged with energy and sexual tension, especially during "Music of the Night," and "Point of No Return." As Raoul, Richard Todd Adams does not add much depth to the role (then again, this is RAOUL we're talking about) but still sounds and looks good as the young Vicomte.

The supporting cast also holds up their end of the show as well, with the strongest performances coming from Carlotta (Julie Schmidt) and the Managers (David Cryer and Bill Carmichael). Schmidt dives into the role of the attention-demanding prima donna with great enthusiasm and an "I don't just think I own the place, I KNOW it" attitude that's simply hillarious. Of the managers, Cryer gives the most memorable performance as the greedy, self-absorbed Firmin, but Carmichael's fretful Andre is nothing to sneeze at.

The three of them--Schmidt, Cryer, and Carmichael--manage to steal the song "Prima Donna" out from under the noses of the other four actors on stage and nearly walk away with everything else that isn't nailed down by the trio of Little, Pitcher and Adams. Frederic Heringes has some nice moments as an arrogant Piangi, but Sally Williams (as Mme Giry) never quite seems ominous enough, and Melissa Swender (as Meg) seemed to be affecting an English accent for reasons I have yet to fathom.

The performance of December 8th was marred by some slight technical problems and a drop in energy during the first portion of the second act. Still, the overall performance was nothing short of breathtaking, and the company should be commended for fighting illness, cold weather, and the thin air of Denver's notorious high atmosphere and giving the most memorable performance this phan has seen in...well, eight years.