Las Vegas Weekly

February 23, 2010 · 5:02 PM

Former Las Vegas star debuts in Phantom sequel in London

By Robin Leach

Anthony Crivello as The Phantom and Sierra Boggess as Christine Daae in Phantom -- the Las Vegas Spectacular at The Venetian in 2006.

Photo: Really Useful Group

In theater circles, they speak in hushed tones about “The Curse of The Phantom.” Despite The Phantom of the Opera being the world’s most successful musical seen by more than 100 million worldwide, it has been wrought with problems ever since its debut in September 1986. Now the highly anticipated $15 million-plus London sequel Love Never Dies is battling a plague of Phantom problems, as well.

Former Las Vegas Phantom star soprano Sierra Boggess was supposed to open the new spectacular on Friday at its first West End preview but fell sick at the last moment with a fever, and creator Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber scrapped the performance. Andrew, 61, himself was diagnosed with prostate cancer during rehearsals last fall.

Finally, after months of delays, bizarre interrupted rehearsal schedules and pushed-back previews, the show last night began two unheard-of short weeks of previews before the March 9 gala opening at the Adelphia Theater in London. Normally, at least one month of previews precedes the gala premiere. As The Stage reviewer Mark Shenton said: “An astonishingly bold decision of Lloyd Webber’s to open a production of this scale and importance so soon defies belief. Yet Lloyd Webber is so confident of his work here that he is opening it in double quick time.”

In fact, he even released the first photos from rehearsals yesterday. London critics adhere to the tradition of not writing any reviews until opening night, but this morning Stage did make some observations all in praise for Denver singer-actress Sierra, who played the role of Christine Daae since its opening night here at The Venetian. Andrew plucked her from our Las Vegas cast for the prized London role of Christine in the sequel.

However, Phantom’s menacing shadow fell over the production yet again last night, as 10 minutes into the show, it ground to a halt. Technical problems, similar to the magic scenes involving a life-sized-automaton version of Sierra that had plagued rehearsals back in the fall, resurfaced but were quickly fixed. After the show, the buzz was, “The best score Lloyd Webber has produced. It will be the best musical London has seen in years. … Sierra’s soaring range as a soprano goes right up the scale.”

Phantom is still running in London with more than 9,500 mind-boggling consecutive performances to its credit. The New York run began in January 1988 and won 7 Tony Awards and 7 Drama Desk Awards and claims title to Broadway’s longest-running show. Since 1986, Phantom has been produced in 149 cities in more than 25 countries. The theater here at The Venetian was specially built for the production.

Sierra stars opposite Ramin Karimloo as The Phantom, and for the first time, the cast recorded the album in advance of the first night. The CD becomes available here on March 9. The show, according to Andrew in his YouTube videos, moves the Phantom story to 10 years later. He takes over New York’s Coney Island in 1907 and lures Christine there under false pretenses to continue his quest for her love. My old pal Baz Bamigboye from the Daily Mail, where I used to work, wrote: “Essentially, it’s a musical about obsession, love and a composer’s life work, and I suspect be the final original masterpiece of Webber’s career. By the show’s dramatically heartbreaking end, there won’t be a dry eye in the house.”

Originally, Andrew had hoped to open the musical simultaneously in London, New York and Shanghai but yanked that plan because he couldn’t guarantee the quality of the Phantom and Christine performances would be on par with Sierra and Ramin. Now they will stay in London for six months and then move to New York for the Broadway opening on Nov. 11. There are no plans yet for the show to open in Las Vegas or replace Phantom -- the Las Vegas Spectacular at The Venetian. After the New York opening, the third will be in Sydney, Australia, next year. The London media launch introduced Sierra to the British public.

Sharp-eyed critics and loyal Phantom fanatics have commented that Andrew’s math is fuzzy, pointing out that Sierra wasn’t 21, as he said, when she began the Las Vegas Spectacular in 2006. Sierra is 27 now, which means she was 23 or 24 when she first played Christine. They also point out that when Andrew describes his new show taking place 10 years later in 1907, his original story was set in 1881. Blame it all on The Phantom curse!

After last night’s curtain, Ramin was ecstatic about performing in front of an audience at last. He told The Stage, “We were so ready for that. You can work through the scenes systematically, but there is nothing like getting the sense of pace you gain from audience reactions.” He added, “It was great to get a few laughs, too.” With typical gallantry, he referred to his leading lady’s performance (ignoring the fact that his rendition of “Til I Hear You Sing” in the first act also had provoked a rapturous reception), “Did you hear the reaction Sierra got for her aria (“Love Never Dies”)? God, it was amazing. they couldn’t get enough … insatiable!”

Sierra was unable to stop grinning widely. “Wow, I am in the West End!” Asked how she was feeling, having missed the first dress rehearsal. “I feel great, it was so weird, it literally came from nowhere and just knocked me out. I suddenly developed a temperature of 103.” She concluded that her recovery was stunning: “The fever disappeared as quickly as it arrived!”

First-night theatergoers were ecstatic in their praise for the video crew who uploaded their comments to YouTube:

Vegas DeLuxe will follow the two weeks of previews, the opening night on March 9 and the reaction from hard-boiled London theater writers about Sierra’s hoped-for West End triumph.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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