Phantom Post


From the Point of No Return's Review of
Paul Stanely as the Phantom of the Opera stint
in 1999



It had been a while since I'd seen the show at the Pantages...more than a year, actually! Even so, most of the cast was pretty familiar. David Rogers had come back as Raoul for the last week of performances. The major new people were Melissa Dye as Christine, and, of course, Paul Stanley as the Phantom. I thought Melissa was a fine Christine. Better than some, worse than some, but overall, not bad. And, this being the final night of the show in Toronto, she was quite emotional...though maybe she's always emotional, I don't know.

I was prepared to be disappointed with Paul Stanley's Phantom, but he actually impressed me quite a bit in some parts. Vocally, he was quite good. His acting wasn't bad either, though it seemed to me that he was just trying too hard. Erik is supposed to look effortless, and that's one word I would not use to describe Paul's Phantom. His final lair scene was probably the weakest point, but I still cried...because it was the final show? I don't know.




Paul said a few words at the very end. He thanked Toronto and thanked Pantages for making many peoples dreams come true, including his. He also stated he was the last person hired to do the Phantom and is the last person to leave the stage which was quite an honor. They closed with the entire cast and employees of the Pantages Theatre on stage singing "Music of the Night". And then was closed off with a firecracker display and a spray of confetti with balloons