For the legion who enjoy Broadway shows, it comes as no surprise that recorded music just doesn’t provide much justice for its stars.
For seven years one particular figure has been a Phantom from the Chicago area. So “An Evening With Michael Crawford” Saturday night at the United Center was a revelatory experience in a sense, proving his reputation as a master showman to be well-deserved.
Under a burst of flashing lights Crawford leaped onstage to dazzle the crowd with “Gethsemane,” from the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice warhorse “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
He gazed up and reached into the floodlights at stage right as he breathlessly pleaded “Why should I die?”
Finishing the song, Crawford as much as said, “Pretty good acting, eh?”
In due time the 56-year-old British superstar of the musical stage–the template for the “Phantom of the Opera”–would unmask his professional history with a little jocularity–and a lot of theatricity.
He has a vast vocal range and a deep bag of tricks. With all the tumultuous brassiness of a trombone’s wild sliding, Crawford belted “Before the Parade Passes By” from “Hello, Dolly!”, his film acting debut.
There’s more to Crawford’s repertoire than just his exquisite vocal prowess; his measured control in duets with Kristin Carbone and special guest Dale Kristien underscored a visceral talent honed by years on the stage.
Kristien, Crawford’s co-star in the Los Angeles production of “Phantom,” ably filled the role of Christine on “Think of Me” and the musical’s gothic title song. The pair’s mesmerizing acting did much to overcome the diminishing qualities of the song’s throbbing backbeat and souped-up organ.
It should come as no surprise that the barrel-chested, fluffy-haired cherub with choirboy looks would dabble in spiritual tunes such as the Catholic mass chestnut “On Eagle’s Wings.” That song, the centerpiece of his most recent record, was simply serendipitous, thanks in no small part to some 40 instrumentalists and 24 members of the Peoria Area Civic Chorale.
That guest choir delivered a yeomanly effort on “Love Changes Everything,” from “Aspects of Love.”
In a pairing that at first blush would seem as irregular as one of the shirts you might find at the sponsoring discount-clothing chain, “new age rock” Wunderkind David Arkenstone opened the show, conjuring a mystic minstrelsy of six tunes inspired by Irish music predating Crawford by a few centuries.
Looking like an escapee from a Medieval Times set in a velour vest, white shirt and Spandex pants, the bearded and ponytailed guitarist reeled off hearty Renaissance fair fare such as the sprightly reel “The Festival,” from his “The Celtic Book of Days.”
