Sure, he's a maniac, a murderer and a boorish interrupter of performances. But, according to the men who don his mask, "The Phantom of the Opera" is also a human being.
"He has issues dealing with reality and with other people, because of the way he looks. In my mind that's a big chunk of what makes Phantom 'Phantom.' He is incredibly talented, but not great at dealing with people," Quentin Oliver Lee said during a recent break from rehearsals. Next Tuesday, he'll take over the role in the touring production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical that opened this week at the Orpheum in Minneapolis.
"That is the beautiful thing about the character: Most people can see how they, themselves, have been a Phantom. They've had the ability to do something great but it has gone wrong."
To be sure, Phantom's boundary issues exceed most people's. In addition to the whole murderer thing, he obsesses over and kidnaps opera singer Christine. But Derrick Davis, who is playing the role for the first week of the Minneapolis run, agrees that "human" is the operative word for a character who comes off as less magical and mysterious in the touring "Phantom" than he does on Broadway and in other productions.
"Laurence Connor directs us to perform the show in a very real way," says Davis, who has been with the show for 18 months and is moving on to other projects. "In order to get the audience to be on the side of this troubled individual, you have to exemplify all of his human traits as clearly as possible. People need to believe he really falls in love and is heartbroken to the point where he is driven to murder. Who hasn't gone through unrequited love? Who hasn't dealt with a part of themselves they wish society wouldn't see?"
But, particularly since audiences have fresh in their minds a slew of news stories about men who abused power in shocking ways, isn't Phantom apt to come across as stalker-y?
"Oh, he's a bad guy, says Lee. "It's great for a person to love another person and Phantom clearly loves Christine. It's great to use your power to help other people, too, and he does help her to be a better singer. But he crosses a line. He is at fault. But he's also, in a way, a victim — although I hate to use that word, because he wouldn't. We're not demonizing him. People do bad things but they're not terrible people, forever and always."
Davis says the Gaston Leroux novel on which "Phantom" is based is enormously helpful, as is his preshow ritual: "I ask that nobody come into my dressing room for 15 minutes before the show. I do a series of stretches. I listen to music [Laura Mvula's 'Bread'] and I say a prayer of protection over myself and the company and the audience."
