A fresh look at familiar ‘Phantom’

There is more than one way of telling a familiar story. In the case of Gaston Leroux’s classic novel, “The Phantom of the Opera,” there are two decidedly different modern versions, both set to some stirring music.

The more popular, of course, is Andrew Lloyd Webber’s epic account of a hideously disfigured denizen of the Paris Opera House seducing a young soprano (and the audience) with his “Music of the Night.”

That version won’t be presented on local stages for some time, due to the unavailability of performance rights. In the meantime, there is the off-Broadway version, simply entitled “Phantom,” now being offered by the Academy for the Performing Arts at Huntington Beach High School.

This “Phantom” -- with book by Arthur Kopit and music and lyrics by Maury Yeston -- takes the same basic story and fleshes it out, giving the title character a complex back story (something missing in Webber’s version) and amplifying the relationship between the Phantom and his protege, Christine Daae.

In the academy’s production, splendidly directed by Tim Nelson, the Phantom even has a name, Erik, and is on collegial terms with the outgoing manager of the opera (for reasons clarified in the second act).

Kopit’s script is as melodramatic as Webber’s, but the characters inhabit their skins a bit more naturally.

The Yeston score may not be as memorable as Webber’s, but it’s much less repetitive and demands operatic-quality voices in at least three of its roles.

This the academy offers in abundance, abetted by a tremendously strong ensemble that causes the rafters of the ancient Huntington Beach High School auditorium to reverberate.

This, however, is the show’s only real deficiency. Amplification of the primary voices, particularly that of Kate Dixon’s Christine, often approaches overload, neutralizing the effect of Dixon’s impressive vocalizing. My companion and I traded our third-row seats for a pair in the back of the theater for the second act.

As the Phantom, Josh Allton brings his character beyond its melodramatic roots and elicits the audience’s favor, despite his penchant for murderous outbursts. Allton revels in his showcase role but is careful to unveil his more human qualities in the intimate sequences.

Dixon is a delight as Christine, the neophyte singer recruited for the opera by a patron, then held in thrall by the Phantom. Her vocalizing, were it amped down a notch, would be quite wonderful.

Jared Swartz delivers a strong performance as Carriere, the ousted opera manager with strong ties to the deformed Erik. These are depicted in a second-act flashback involving the latter’s birth and early development.

Among the most impressive figures in the cast is Erin Bull as Carlotta, who in this version is the (rather awful) opera singer whose husband (Stephen Amundson) has just purchased the theater.

Bull presents her prima donna character with a magnificent comic flourish and commands the stage in her scenes.

In the flashback sequence, Katie Ulrich beautifully enacts the singer-dancer Beladova, who becomes Erik’s mother. Brian Wessels is a somewhat callow police inspector.

As the play reaches its climax, there is much Hollywood-style confrontation that Webber wisely avoided in his version, but the closing moment is particularly poignant.

The Academy for the Performing Arts orchestra -- normally conducted by Gregg Gilboe, but under the baton of Nelson for Sunday’s performance -- beautifully underscores the story, and Diane Makas-Weber’s choreography is strikingly effective. The multiple settings by Kate Thomas and Alex Gluskina are particularly impressive for a production at the undergraduate level.

There may not be any “Music of the Night” in this”Phantom,” but there is enough to render the show a mesmerizing experience.20051020h3hei2kf(LA)