Ah well, there are so many things wrong with this production. I saw it in early 2016, so a lot of things might have changed since then.Firstly, tickets were EXPENSIVE. I paid more than for either my Les Mis or Hamilton tickets in London. Alternatively: more than my tickets to Hairspray and Titanic combined. And I didn't take the worst seats. The venue wasn't a theatre, but a smaller, plain room next to the theatre (which wasn't the production's fault ofc!) with bad acoustics.The stage was very very small. There was a ten-piece orchestra. Three ballet dancers, and they were completely out of sync and certainly not en pointe. The costumes looked cheap, and the wigs as well, the songs weren't catchy at all and the music was very strange, I have to say. I'm not a music expert, so I sadly can't really put into words what exactly was wrong with it. It just didn't suit the story AT ALL.But I would have been able to look past all of that if the performers had been good. I couldn't even find out who was playing the Phantom and Christine that day because the paper they handed out gave two names each. I could identify Raoul though, he had very distinct features and a clearly audible accent. The Phantom couldn't hold longer notes and was shaking from side to side while singing. He had his mouth open the whole time.Christine was alright, but she didn't really act... idk, her reactions were pretty lame and she didn't get very emotional. Her voice sounded screechy at times, but it wasn't too bad.Raoul was good-looking, but hyper-active and constantly passive-aggressive. I couldn't stand him. Some people criticise Hadley Fraser's Raoul for being too harsh, but this was on a whole other level. One of his costumes looked like pajamas XD he made a fool of himself at times.I can't really remember anything else, it was two years ago, and I didn't take any notes or recorded an audio. And to be honest, I didn't even WANT to remember it.Another thing I didn't like was that they advertise it by saying it's "the brilliant original" or something like that. Yes, it's THEIR original production, but when people read it they will assume it's the ALW version. They have every right to call it brilliant and original, though. But people won't realise the difference until they're seeing the show.I went with my grandma, a friend and her family. Three of us knew the Leroux novel and the ALW Phantom, and none of us six people liked what we saw. Back then, I hadn't seen any other musical live and wasn't sure if I was expecting too much, but now that I've seen quite a few and loved all of them, I know that you can expect a lot more than what I got.If anyone reading this is part of the Central Music Company production - this is my honest opinion. I am sorry for my harsh words, but I will not take them back: I can't recommend seeing this show.Yes, it does visit lots of cities, and it's an adaption of the Leroux novel, but you can spend your money on better things.And thank YOU for your question and showing interest in my blog! That makes me happy :))
