Set Phantom for stun
Actress says the “Star Trek of musical theatre” will be an incredible experience
Grant Burr

Stop brushing your toy Tribbles and put down the inflatable Sulu.

“It’s the Star Trek of musical theatre,” actress Kim Stengel says of The Phantom of the Opera. That’s an odd statement, perhaps, but still a comparison she turns to when defining Phantom’s longevity.

Like the long-running science fiction franchise, various incarnations of Phantom continue to attract fans around the world.

“It hits some kind of chord, has some kind of ambience that is universal,” says Stengel, who plays the role of Carlotta Giudicelli.

The story of the tortured, mask-wearing opera-house terrorist first premiered in 1986 and has gone on to claim seven Tony Awards on Broadway, including one for best musical.

Stengel says the show has “an everyman accessibility” about it because audiences easily grasp the tragedy of the Phantom and the plight of Christine, the show’s main characters. As a performer, Stengel has over time discovered new ways to identify with the play, in particular with her own character.

“As I’ve changed I’ve found different things to bring to the role,” says the actor, who estimates she has performed as Carlotta over 4,000 times since first being cast as the prima donna a decade ago.

The show has taken her all over the world, away from her Texas roots and far from the tiny apartment by a Menudo Mania store in New York City, where she first pursued an acting career. She has performed from North America to Asia, and she says getting feedback from audience members is often the most overwhelming and inspiring part of being in Phantom.

“You remember those people who shared their experience with you and just give it that little extra because you never know whose magical moment is going to be tonight,” she says.

Castmate D.C. Anderson echoes Stengel’s comment.

“Everywhere we go there is an enjoyment of the show,” says the graduate of North Dakota State’s fine arts program. Anderson, who plays Monsieur André, has been involved in Phantom productions since 1988 and has his own thoughts on the show’s success.

“It’s a mystery and a love story rolled into one. Usually people like one or the other,” he jokes.

More seriously, Anderson credits the style of this current touring production, with its lavish sets and extravagant costumes, as the reason Winnipeggers will be won over by Phantom.

“This production is designed in a way that draws you in,” he says.

Anderson says he never tires of the show and occasionally watches the action when an understudy handles the duties of Monsieur André.

“After all these years I can sit there in the audience and in that final scene not know how it’s going to end,” he says.

That’s a highly illogical statement — but just deal with it, Spock.