Melodie de Paris

Phantom in Concert

Gloriously incandescent singing voices and soaring orchestral accompaniment are the hallmarks of Artistic Director Jeffrey Cass’ incredible concert production of Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit’s PHANTOM. Sadly, playing for just two weeks at Naperville’s BrightSide Theatre, this musical is based on the Gothic horror novel by Gaston Leroux. It tells the same story as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s more visually spectacular PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, now playing in Broadway in Chicago’s touring production at the Cadillac Palace Theatre. But the greatest difference is that BrightSide’s harmonic, highly enjoyable version of this book musical focuses far more on the characters and their story. It’s a production filled with soaring strains of music that doesn’t simply impress with bravado, as in the other version. The songs further the plot and define each character in a way that often brings the audience to laughter or tears. This is truly a captivating production, filled with Yeston’s “Melodie de Paris,” that absolutely should not be missed.