A massive crystal chandelier descended from the ceiling of the Orpheum Theatre’s house as its lights flickered and the classic “The Phantom of the Opera” theme boomed throughout the theater. Curtains fell and scenery rose into the ceiling as thunder boomed and flashes of lightning lit up the stage. Performers emerged in grand, colorful gowns and hairstyles.

“The Phantom of the Opera” opened at the Orpheum Theatre on Nov. 21, and the production was an eye-catching spectacle. Devoted fans of the show wore masquerade masks and capes to the performance. The house was packed, with few of the 2,579 seats empty. 

The musical itself, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, captivated the audience with its love triangle and mysterious characters. 

Isaiah Bailey starred as the Phantom, a complex and villainous masked man who resides underneath the Paris Opera House and falls in love with Christine Daaé, played by Jordan Lee Gilbert, a young soprano in the opera who falls victim to the Phantom’s manipulations.

The show follows Christine, who meets the Phantom and believes he is the “Angel of Music” sent by her late father. But the Phantom grows increasingly obsessed with her and sends threatening notes to the opera’s owners, demanding that they give her lead roles. As Christine falls in love with her childhood friend, Raoul, played by Daniel Lopez, the Phantom starts to sabotage him in an attempt to gain back Christine’s attention. 

The musical combines a classic love triangle trope with a somber depiction of what it looks like when the line between love and obsession becomes blurred. It also highlights the Phantom’s humanity and creates sympathy for him, despite his disfigured face and bitterness. 

But the most impressive aspect of this production was the technical combination of sound, special effects and set design that immersed the audience in its world. 

The production featured numerous sets, each one with breathtaking attention to detail and a reflection of the show’s gothic style and late 19th-century France setting. In several scenes, set pieces would have hidden doorways that opened, including a gravesite and Christine’s dressing room closet, from which the Phantom would lure her to enter the hidden world. 

The ornate, not to mention enormous, chandelier was the star of the show, lowering over the house for parts of the production and ascending back into the ceiling when not needed.  

The chandelier was not the only set design that stood out. A catwalk extended across the width of the stage, hung from the ceiling during a few scenes and it slowly lowered at an angle as the performers ran across it. 

In another scene, Christine and the Phantom rode a small boat across the stage under a blanket of fog, making it appear as if the two were genuinely gliding through water. 

The orchestra was conducted by Isaac Hayward, and when paired with the chorus, created a powerful and bone-chilling symphony that made the production a delight to the audience’s ears. 

One unique aspect of the sound design was that when the Phantom’s booming voice spoke to the characters from an unknown location, it would echo from different locations throughout the house. This sound choice made it feel like the Phantom was moving throughout the house and left the audience darting their heads around, wondering where his voice was coming from. 

Special effects brought the show to life and made the Phantom all the more mysterious and frightening. The Phantom performed magic tricks throughout the show, such as shooting sparks across the stage and setting off a quick explosion, then appearing in a different location on the stage when the smoke cleared. 

At the end of the show, he sat on a throne and draped himself with a black cloak. When somebody came searching for him and removed the cloak, he was gone. All that was left on the throne was his stark white mask.