The Phantom of the Opera in Masquerade NYC: Paper Faces on Parade as You Have Never Seen Before

I want to begin this article by providing you with a bit of context. I know every word of the traditional show of The Phantom of the Opera and have seen it much more than a handful of times. The book by Gaston Leroux is one of my favorite stories, and the musical has entranced me since I was a teenager. I know the story very well, perhaps too well to fully evaluate parts of the new experience appropriately (we will get to that within the article). I will give the disclaimer that the show is ever evolving. It is in previews, so you are told by Madame Giry in the beginning as she reads a note from the Opera Ghost, that parts of the show may change. I like the fluidity and feel that Webber does change his shows piece by piece over time, so having this noted was important. I would also like to add that I will try not to give any major spoilers in the body of the article but will provide a few detailed breakdowns that have some spoilers within it underneath the article, so don’t read into that part, which will be clearly labeled, if you want to come into the experience with as little spoilers as possible. I will also add that even the brief breakdown is difficult to do without providing a few spoilers for the show. Without further ado, let’s move into the events of the Opera Ghost. Here is my full review of The Phantom of the Opera in Masquerade NYC as it has been presented in its previews.

The Immersive Experience of The Phantom of the Opera

As you move into the space, it was clear that this show was a bear to manage, map, and orchestrate, and the whole team from check-in until the end of the experience did a masterful job immersing guests in it. As you check in, move inside, get your masks, provide the password, and check your items, the whole experience was flawlessly quick and painless. You can’t miss the coat check, the restrooms, or the important check-in elements, and if you need a mask, ask and they will direct you to their “mask maker”.

As the experience begins, you are moved brilliantly into the party environment and provided with champagne as you get a beautiful violin rendition of the music from the show. Hearing the violin play, which has so much context in the story of the book, adds such a magical touch that immediately immerses you into the world of the Paris opera. The beginning of the show does such a great job immersing you into the party and then seamlessly into the events of the Phantom of the Opera at the Paris Opera house in the late 1800s. You are a part of the story, so the more you want to interact and be involved, the more you are included within the tale. It truly feels as if you are in The Phantom of the Opera, so that was masterfully done. I couldn’t help but tear up and feel as if I was living a dream.

I will say that as the story becomes more intimate between Christine, the Phantom, and Raoul, it becomes much harder to tell. There is an intimacy in the story that gets a little lost with a crowd of people moving through it with you. However, I don’t know any other way they could have told it, so they did a great job staying true to the intimacy as best they could with a crowd moving through the story. The dress code allows for a bit of saving the intimacy, as everyone around looks as if they should be there.

The organization between the guides and the stage managers was perfectly done. You never feel as if you are stuck somewhere and can’t see. The movement has you in the back, the front, and in many different settings and situations. Even in the back, you can always see, and there are spaces where the back is the right place to be, as events are happening around you at all times. Where you are adds different elements to your story, so everyone’s experience will be a bit different. They catered to everyone in the crowd depending on where you were. At times you sit, at times you stand, and there was one scene I was in the back where an actor told me to stand on a block so I could see better. The parting was done well naturally by most of the visitors as the characters moved around them, but the guides were there to help when needed, and the Phantom was not shy to move you out of his way when needed, which was done perfectly in character. You may be touched. You may be moved, and that is all part of the magic of this immersive experience. As mentioned, the immediate immersion into the story of Phantom is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. You are immediately intimately ingrained into it and it works SO well with the group scenes.

The Technical

Whoever laid out the technical orchestration of the audience flow deserves to be awarded in this telling of the Phantom of the Opera. I look at everything from a technical eye, and the flow went through the space, having two major scenes at the beginning and end take place in the same space. I have no idea how they changed out the rooms so quickly in between pulses of guests to have them ready at just the right time for the beginning and end of the story, but it was noted and I was in complete awe. At times you are in carefully placed rooms being told this beast of a story in such an emotional way, and at other times you are moving “backstage” through the Paris opera hearing the cues of Il Muto and Don Juan on stage, and every detail that went into that was meticulously chosen and executed to perfection. I was asking myself, “How are they doing this?” time and time again. The flow is seamless and it makes you feel as if you are watching a show while also moving through a Halloween maze with carefully crafted details, and it was masterfully done in a way that tells the story of the Phantom. I truly have nothing but wonderful things to say about the flow, timing, orchestration, and placement of everything. They even have replacement rooms for the rooftop and crypt that are utilized during inclement weather, and the seamlessness in which the cast transitions between them is astounding.

The Phantom of the Opera Story Told in a New Way

Going in knowing that this is a new experience, a new way to tell a very old story, you have to expect that elements of the story will be changed. Songs will be cut, parts will be added, and the order in which the story is told will be changed. You still get almost all of your favorite songs, but they are generally shorter to make room for new elements of the experience. I have a hard time with change, but it was done in a way that had me easily accepting why the changes were done. I will say that the majority of the comedic elements were taken out of the show to allow for a more intense, dramatic, and darker experience.

This is where my initial note from my opening statement comes into play: I can’t honestly evaluate how clear the story of the Phantom of the Opera is with the pieces cut, as I know it too well. I heard the cues happening around us and saw the nods to the pieces that were cut, whereas my partner would not have caught them because he simply didn’t know what they were to look for them. I asked him at the end, “Did you get the full story? Did it make sense to you as someone without the context of the full play?” I was worried that the story may not be crystal clear to someone who has never seen the original, as this is being put on by those who know and love it with every element of the context included. And he said he did. He didn’t know what he was missing, and the story was still made clear to him. With the exception of a change at the end that I will not spoil. There was a moment at the end where they could have gone with the original script, and I questioned why they didn’t, as I think the story would have been stronger with it. You can ask me what that is via a message or email, and I will expand further on it if you’d like. Other than that, I believe it still tells the story clearly without all the context of the play, but I was unable to turn my brain off to watch it that way, as I know too much.

Take Pieces Home with You

Simply put, you can and will be included in the story in many elements of it. You may be asked to hold a costume, you may be asked if you are a soprano that can replace La Carlotta, you may be guided and moved personally by cast members. This element allows the cast to hand out notes from the Opera Ghost to those visiting the show. I was lucky enough to be given a note from the Opera Ghost by Monsieur Firmin. This gives lucky people the opportunity to leave with notes and keepsakes that will last a lifetime. Everyone is given tickets to Don Juan, so everyone leaves with their tickets and Playbills. This gives you the opportunity to create a shadowbox or something lovely from your time at the show, so I encourage you to take the pieces you are allowed to take, which will be made clear to you what that is, and bring them home to make a special frame or box containing your memories.

The experience does let out at a beautifully lit red bar where guests are encouraged to drink, buy merchandise, take photos, and enjoy the ambiance. All the red photos in this article are from the bar.

All in all, for those who love the story of the Phantom of the Opera, your wildest dreams will come true. You get to live in the world of the Paris Opera House for a single day or night, and you get to experience this strange new world like never before. If you are emotional, I expect you will cry. It is a magical moment like no other. For those who are unfamiliar with the tale, you get the chance to learn it anew in a way that no one has experienced before. It’s technically masterful. It is a show through and through. And it is a maze-like event that will leave your head spinning in many ways. I can’t recommend this enough. As the show opens, please enjoy this experience, one I think will be a staple in New York City for years to come.

For those who want to know more specifics… keep reading… for those who want to remain freshly unspoiled for the experience, please stop here.

My Detailed Experience – Complete with Spoilers

As the show begins, you are invited into a cozy bar where you are given champagne as a violinist plays through the songs. Hearing the show played out on a violin, a piece that is imperative to the story of the original book, was a perfect touch. You are given a refill as you are invited into the old room of the closed opera, reminiscent of the opening of the show. Madame Giry begins the tale as she teaches you a dance for the masquerade and reads a letter from the Opera Ghost. As the iconic music begins to play, the walls open up, and you move through the foggy artistic confusion into a portal of the past as you begin the show. Moving through the fog into the Masquerade scene was out of this world. You are invited to dance in the masquerade, and I was pulled into the staging area by one of the dancers to dance and twirl with her. And you are, of course, encouraged to sing, bringing you into the show as a part of it effortlessly.

This seamlessly moves you into the next room for Hannibal where the confusion of celebrating opening night translates so well as the audience gets accustomed to the environment. The stagehands, including Buquet, talk with you, laugh about Carlotta being difficult, and make the transition so seamless. As Carlotta came out, she grabbed my hand and said, “Countess, your dress is so beautiful. I’m so glad you could be here,” before stepping above me onto her pedestal and throwing her cape over my head. I laughed as I tried to get out of her costume, which was more difficult with everyone staring at you. Pieces of Hannibal, Carlotta quitting, and Christine’s dressing room all happen within this room before you move down an escalator to the Phantom’s lair.

We were near the back, and we hit the transition into the lair at just the right time, as we were stopped for the Phantom and Christine to pass by directly in front of us on the boat. And then we were guided to walk behind the boat as it arrived in his lair. We were first, right there behind them, getting to experience the boat with them as it “sailed” in front of us. People are encouraged to sit in different parts at different times, so being in the back at any point is not necessarily ever a bad thing. We were lucky enough to be directly behind the boat because we were caught behind a bit there.

I think it would be a crime to mention every hall, every element, but here are my more unfiltered thoughts as the show continued. As mentioned above, as the story gets more intimate, it is harder to feel the intimacy where you need it as the love triangle develops between the Phantom, Christine, and Raoul. It’s absolutely breathtaking to see, but it is harder to feel the intimate moments in a room of many people. The required dress code helps to seamlessly incorporate the audience in, however, which I think helps with that. There is no real way to show an intimate scene with two people while a crowd watches in the moment. Smaller spaces are incorporated to help give more of this intimacy, as well.

What can you expect to be cut from The Phantom of the Opera?

I wanted to know before I went what I could expect to miss from The Phantom of the Opera, and this was not readily available, so I’m happy to provide that information for those who want to know. The comedic aspects of the show were mostly left behind. This means very minimal moments with Carlotta and Piangi. This also means that the managers are almost absent in the story. Based on that information, I’m sure you can conclude that Notes, Notes Reprise, and effectively most of Prima Donna are cut. Il Muto happens, but it happens as you are backstage, so you only hear a few moments of Poor Fool as you move through the backstage space. You never see it. The only element of Don Juan you get to see is a truncated version of Past the Point of No Return which resonated with me, but it left me wondering how clear that story was that the Phantom killed Piangi to take his place if you didn’t know that element of the story.

Little Lotte was moved into the crypt scene with Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again and only a short version of Wandering Child / Angel of Music Reprise was given here. And due to the nature of Masquerade being moved, Why So Silent is, of course, cut and a piece of the direction is truncated into this moment.

The replacement for Notes Reprise happens in three different dressing rooms, making it much more intimate as the pulse of people gets broken up and moved into three rooms. From there, three different scenes with the same actors happen in pieces in each dressing room at different times. Ours started with Carlotta and Piangi giving small pieces of the reprise before Piangi sang a very short version of Prima Donna to Carlotta before the Phantom snatches Piangi away. The managers followed next and gave more context to the notes before Raoul joins them and plots to trap the Phantom. Finally, Christine entered to sing with Raoul before giving a rendition of Twisted Every Way to herself. I liked the intimacy of that very important and compelling moment.

Don Juan happens in the same space as Hannibal in the beginning, so you get a nice up-close view of the crashing chandelier and are moved through the chaos into the final lair, which happens in the same room as Masquerade. I’m happy to say that the Final Lair was all there, with a change that I was left questioning. Again, it would be a crime to spoil this, but message me if you want to know more, as it was enough of a change that my partner, who was more unfamiliar with the story, questioned the ending of the play.

What can you expect to be added?

First, Madame Giry is used almost exclusively to tell the tale of the Phantom of the Opera which is extremely expanded upon and made to feel more like her backstory that was given in the movie. Because of this, they had Madame Giry sing Learn to Be Lonely to the Phantom, the song that was created for the 2004 movie. There are also extensive hallways containing the Phantom’s mechanical contraptions and designs, including a dance with a mechanical Phantom and Christine that were very interesting. It gave me flashbacks to the dolls in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, so I rather liked that rendition a lot. This is the part, along with the backstage areas of the Opera that make you feel as if you are moving in a Halloween maze (without the scares). It was darker and more intense without the comedic effects, but I didn’t dislike that. You move into a room of the circus where the Phantom was held captive. He is in a cage, and you are invited to feed him as fire breathers perform on stage. Shots are given if you are in the right spot; otherwise, you have more time to interact with the Phantom in the cage. This seemed completely new, but adds a level of humanity to the Phantom that can get lost, so it moved the story more to focus on him and his past rather than on the comedic moments the notes offered, so I appreciated and understood the changes.

All in all, things were lost, things were added, and we still got our favorite songs, so the experience was truly new, unique, and interesting, and I hope you love it as much as I did.