I went back to ``The Phantom of the Opera'' on Sunday afternoon for one reason only: to check out the new Phantom, Ted Keegan, who took over on March 2.
 

One disclaimer: This is not the Battle of the Phantoms. Theater is not a boxing match.
But naturally, people are curious to see how ``their'' Phantom stacks up against the guy they didn't see. So in the bout between Keegan and the first week's Phantom, Brad Little, I call it: a draw.

Keegan is a superior singer; Little has a more commanding stage presence.

But it's not that simple, either, because Keegan also has great stage presence and Little sang the heck out of ``Music of the Night.''

Little himself said in an interview that, as far as pure singing, ``I do not hold a candle to Ted.'' It is true that Keegan's voice is purer and more technically accomplished.

When Keegan hits the high notes in ``Music of the Night,'' the tone was ethereal and almost other-worldly. His voice is pure aesthetic pleasure.

Yet you could argue that Little, with his more emotionally-charged voice, interpreted the songs more effectively. I prefer not to argue it at all - I simply enjoyed both of them.

In terms of stage presence, Little was more dramatic in his gestures and his body language. Keegan, while not as physically commanding, still managed to convey an effective aura of menace and danger in the final scene in his lair.

So it comes down to this: No matter what audience you were in, you didn't get cheated. Everybody saw a first-rate Phantom.

This second viewing also allowed me to pay more attention to two aspects of the show which some readers have expressed concerns about.

The first is the sound.

While I still think the sound design is quite good for a 2,600-seat auditorium, I can see why some people are complaining. Large portions of the lyrics and dialogue are lost.

I have long since stopped expecting live theater sound to be perfect; these are not movies with the advantage of carefully dubbed soundtracks. Yet I think that the sound people might want to crank the voice volume just a little higher in relation to the orchestra. It's fine when the characters are at full throat, but the quieter passages are often sacrificed.

Which brings up the second point, the orchestra. Some people are still under the false impression that the music is recorded - even, bafflingly, a few people who already have been to the show.

Apparently they did not see the conductor, Glenn Langdon, almost get his head taken off by the falling chandelier. Nor did they note the 17 other musicians down in the pit, playing their hearts out. Not only is this a live orchestra, but a large one by modern musical theater standards.

Maybe that cheesy '80s-style drum-machine percussion in a couple of numbers is the culprit. Or maybe it's the extensive use of synthesizers. You can blame Andrew Lloyd Webber for those sins.

But the fact remains, the pit holds French horns, flutes, clarinets, a percussionist, three keyboardists and eight string players. They couldn't fit too many more musicians down there if they tried.

Brad Little, who has been this tour's Phantom for most of the past four years, has decided to leave the tour after the March 1 performance here. That means he will be the Phantom for the first 10 performances, beginning Feb. 23.
The next 22 performances will be taken over by Ted Keegan, who is coming over from the Broadway company. He played the Phantom on Broadway numerous times, first as an understudy and then for a two-week stretch this summer as a fill-in. When not playing the Phantom, he played the role of Monsieur Reyer.

Keegan also holds the distinction of being the Phantom who has performed before the biggest audience: He sang ``Music of the Night'' while flying in from the ceiling of Madison Square Garden at the halftime show of the NBA All-Star Game in 1998. He also performed as the Phantom live on the ``Today'' show last August, on their outdoor Rockefeller Center set.

Keegan is a veteran of the national tour, having replaced Little for three months last summer.

Both Little and Keegan have received good reviews from other cities. Various reviewers cited each as their ``favorite'' Phantom. However, Melinda Miller of the Salt Lake Tribune averred that Keegan's trim build and sweet tenor makes him a ``a fairly lightweight Opera Ghost.''

Well, we'll just have to come to our own conclusions about that.

As for Little, he has apparently decided that nearly four years is enough of playing the Masked Man. He will be pursuing other opportunities.
 

The superlatives were all doled out before "The Phantom of the Opera" even opened: the most popular musical of the 20th century, the biggest show ever to hit Spokane, the largest theatrical audience in our city's history.

Yes, but is it any good?

The answer, based on Friday night's performance, is: maybe not the best musical of the 20th century, but perfectly satisfying in its spectacle, romance and sheer stagecraft.

I have not been the biggest fan of "The Phantom of the Opera" in the past, but on Friday night I found myself enjoying it far more than before. This is partly because, like many modern, complex musicals such as "Les Miz" and "Miss Saigon," it rewards repeated viewings. The more times you see it, the more you can understand the plot, the interplay of the characters (and on a more basic level, the lyrics). The music, too, becomes more familiar and welcome.

Yet the main reason I enjoyed it more this time was a superb cast, well-seasoned through hundreds of performances. The Phantom, Brad Little, was a dynamo of energy and stage savvy. He swept across the stage, cape billowing, brow furrowed, eyes smoldering, exuding a sense of strength and menace. In the scene in his underground lair, he had all of the eerie mystique of Lon Chaney as he singlemindedly composed his infernal opera, "Don Juan Triumphant." Yet in his tender scenes with Christine, he evoked a sympathy and a tenderness which makes the show's final, fateful decision even more painful and heartbreaking.

His version of "Music of the Night," the most overexposed song in the score, made it seem fresh and new. The song was transformed from lounge-act cliche to a heartfelt and dramatically effective statement of longing and purpose.

Rebecca Pitcher was a thoroughly engaging Christine, who conveys an acceptance and understanding of the Phantom from the beginning. In her dressing room scene, when we first see the Phantom through a mirror, she is not merely frightened and alarmed. He has earned her respect, not just her fear.

Julie Schmidt has an exceptional voice as the prima donna Carlotta, and she also conveys petulance with a great deal of comic skill. Jim Weitzer is a stalwart and believable Raoul, capable of dramatic depth in the final scene.

The supporting cast is uniformly first-rate, which is only what we should expect from a show that has the luxury of choosing only the best.

The spectacle is, of course, a bigger box office draw than the performers, and "Phantom" delivers in its usual professional fashion. The huge, gilded proscenium transforms our 1970s Opera House into the 1870s Paris Opera House. The huge velvet curtains, the gilded boxes, the massive painted backdrops -- all of these allow us to believe, for the moment, that we are there.

The swinging chandelier, which we witness both ascending and descending from the auditorium ceiling, is suitably thrilling. However, this time around I was even more impressed with some of the smaller bits of stagecraft -- the dozens of candles which emerge through the dark lake, the illusion of rippling water created by fog, the massive Paris Opera House staircase, jammed with characters in sumptuous costumes in the "Masquerade" scene.

I have heard a few complaints about the sound system, but frankly, I thought it was good. The sound was neither too faint or (even more annoying) too loud. Those audience members who have trouble catching all of the words can more plausibly blame the singers for not enunciating well enough (although some, especially Melissa Swinder as Meg Giry, were exceptionally clear) or the lyricist, Charles Hart, and his bland poetry.

This production does not change my opinion of "Phantom" completely. I still do not think that Andrew Lloyd Webber is the world's best storyteller. Some parts of this show come to nearly a dead stop, such as the scene on the roof, in which it takes a ridiculously long time to establish one simple point: Raoul loves Christine.

And I still think Sir Andrew's music is bland and mostly undistinguished, but this is merely a matter of opinion about which millions disagree. Finally, I think it falls short of "Les Miz" and "Miss Saigon" because it does not even attempt to tackle any social or historical issues. It's a mere romance.

Mere? Well, "Romeo and Juliet" is a "mere" romance, too, and it has lasted for centuries. Based on the popular reaction so far, "Phantom" might last almost as long.

Meanwhile, I'll be heading back again to see how the new Phantom, Ted Keegan, handles the title role when he takes over on March 2. Maybe I'll be a true "Phantom" fanatic by then.

When "The Phantom of the Opera" opens at the Spokane Opera House on Wednesday, Brad Little will perform his 1,216th show as the Phantom.

One week later, performance No. 1,226 may prove to be the most memorable of all.
 

"I'm a very emotional person, and I'm actually telling some folks, `If you're planning on being there March 1, it's going to be one of the most emotional Phantoms,' " Little said by phone from a tour stop in Tempe, Ariz. "Which will be OK, I hope, because that will work for this character. There will be so much true emotion tied in, it will probably be the best time I ever do this role."
That's because Performance No. 1,226 will be his last. When his contract expires on March 1, Little is quitting the job that he has had for almost 3-1/2 years.

And what a job it has been. For an actor-singer, the Masked Man is the pinnacle of the profession.

"This role, these people, this management -- it just doesn't get any better than this," said Little. "It's absolutely horrible leaving a job like this. But I'm not willing to lose my marriage over it."

So the 35-year-old Little is going back to New York to be with his wife, Barbara McCulloh, another musical comedy performer, and then they plan on starting a more settled kind of life together.

"We've just bought a house in Bristol, Pa., and we'll be closing on that house," said Little. "I can't believe we'll be closing on that house, both unemployed."

He also plans on devoting more time to his hobbies, golf and African cheetahs (more on that later).

Meanwhile, with his resume he shouldn't have too much trouble finding another gig to help make those mortgage payments.

Before he became the Phantom on the national tour, he was in the Broadway cast of the show, playing the key role of Raoul. His previous Broadway and touring credits include "Cyrano The Musical" and "Fiddler on the Roof" with Topol.

The role of the Phantom has been a particular challenge, he said, since it involves both repulsion and attraction. Every Phantom, from Michael Crawford to Robert Guillaume, has brought something different to the role, and Little feels that he brings a certain "edginess."

"Mine is probably a little more harsh," said Little. "I try to trust the fact that it's OK to be mean and angry."

The critics tend to agree. Kyle Lawson of the Arizona Republic said this about his Tempe performance: ``Brad Little brings a menace to the part unmatched by any of his predecessors, including the role's originator, Michael Crawford.''

Of course, ``mean and angry'' is just a small part of the character. Thom Wise of the Rocky Mountain News in Denver said Little has more ``pathos, passion and sexuality'' than even Crawford.

``When people come and tell me what they like about my show, they say it's sexy,'' said Little. ``It's funny, it's always these married ladies. They say, `What I love about your show is that you're sexy, and then I hated you, and then I was scared of you, and then I felt sorry for you and then I loved you, and I got so confused!' And I go, `Thank you. I feel like I did my job.'''

Following the March 1 performance, Little will be replaced by Ted Keegan, who played the role on Broadway as an understudy and then for more extended fill-in stretches. He has also filled in for Little on the national tour.

``As far as flat-out singing, I do not hold a candle to Ted,'' said Little. ``I would put him as one of the top five singers that I know in the business. His voice is an amazing instrument to listen to. And he's played the role on Broadway more often than I have. You are getting an extremely top-notch performer.''

The audiences will be in good hands, but Little still has plenty of regrets about leaving his ``Phantom'' family. The show's style of touring is actually quite civilized compared to the average touring musical, in which everybody is crammed into buses and hotels together.

``It's really called the Cadillac Tour,'' said Little. ``We travel with our cars, and we stay in cities five or six weeks, and we stay all over the city. We usually stay in apartments. In terms of camaraderie, it's much more like working in an office. At the end of the day, everybody just goes home.''

Other touring casts may be closer in some ways, but they also have a lot more ``in-family feuds.''

He'll also miss the degree of celebrity that playing the Phantom has afforded him. Little said this is the best kind of celebrity - the kind that is not 24-hours-a-day.

``I can be a celebrity or star when I want to, but I can also be extremely anonymous,'' said Little. ``I can walk into a place, and nobody knows who I am. But I can also walk into a clubhouse and say, `I'm Brad Little with the `Phantom of the Opera' company and I play the Phantom,' and all of the sudden, I have a tee time. There are definite perks that I'll miss.''

When he first started playing the Phantom, he was a bit nervous about his newfound celebrity status.

``I remember hearing stories from a lot of my buddies that have played this role,'' said Little. ``They said the fans would get a little too close, and start stalking you back to your hotel room and try to find your phone numbers. For me, it's been like, guys, it's not that bad. It's happened, but it's not a daily thing.''

Instead, he has found Phantom fans to be wonderfully supportive.

``I have been blessed with amazing fans, just absolutely blessed,'' said Little. ``The lady who runs my Web site (www.bradlittle.com) is such a dear, and there's an entire group of ladies who help. And they do it all on their own time. They just want to do this.''

Yet after nearly six years with the show, counting Broadway and the tour, it's time for a bit more freedom. One of the first things he and his wife plan to do is travel to Africa with an organization he supports called the Angel Fund, which is dedicated to saving the African cheetah.

He became involved in this cause through pure kismet, of the man-meets-cheetah variety.

He was in Cincinnati with the show when he and his wife visited the Cincinnati Zoo. There was a sick cheetah there who had not eaten or come out of her bed in over a week.

``I came to the area where she was, and she popped her head up, forced herself out of her bed, and came to the cage door,'' said Little. ``The keeper opened the cage door and the cheetah came right up to my face, looked into my eyes, fell into my lap and started purring, purring, purring. And she started eating again that same night.''

He offered to come back every day, which he did for the next five weeks. The cheetah got well and lived for another three years.

Little and his wife have stayed active in the cause and have staged several benefit concerts, which have raised well over $100,000.

Little is also a sports nut. His father, Paul J. Little, a minister, once recalled one of his son's proudest moments: ``One beautiful day in Central Park, he hit two home runs in a Broadway Show League game against the team from `Grease.''' Little will also take some time to do more work on his golf game, a sport he took up while on tour.

``I have finally gotten to the point where I find the game relaxing,'' said Little.

His feelings about quitting his Phantom run are complicated - so complicated, in fact, that he's not exactly guaranteeing finality.

``There's this saying in this particular show that you never leave `Phantom,''' said Little. ``You always tend to come back, because the show just never seems to want to end. People just keep wanting to see it. Odds are, I will be back some day.''
 
 
 

Brad Little as the Phantom: "If you're planning on being there March 1, it's going to be one of the most emotional Phantoms," Little says of his scheduled final performance.