Broadway's Newest Phantom: Ben Crawford's Rise to the Role as the Phantom of the Opera

This review was originally written for my school's newspaper, Marymount Manhattan's The Monitor. The original article can be found here on their website. 

This past April, almost halfway through Phantom of the Opera’s 30th year on Broadway, Ben Crawford joined the current cast as the Phantom. Unlike many former Phantoms, Ben Crawford was entirely new to the production - many Phantoms return to the show after previously playing a role such as Raoul, some of the biggest names including West End star Ramin Karimloo and Broadway star Hugh Panaro. Crawford’s track record prior to joining the Phantom cast included recent shows such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Shrek.

For Phantom fans, this was simultaneously exciting and unnerving. How would someone who has never been involved with Phantom play the role? How would his voice sound with the score, which is not quite as modern as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or Shrek? I had the opportunity to finally see Crawford in the role twice this past month and am finally able to give my two cents as a huge Phantom fanatic.

Withholding all my personal bias and positive regard for Crawford as a person - he is incredibly personable and funny - I entered the theatre with the intent to take in every detail of his acting choices and compare it to things I’ve seen from other actors in the role to see what makes Crawford different.

I was already familiar with his voice from previous videos and performances, such as his performance of Music of the Night at Stars in the Alley earlier this summer. Though my initial impression was already a positive one, it seems that he has changed and improved even since then. His vocal range is massive, to say the least, extending from the lowest, fullest notes during Music of the Night to the highest, softest notes. His capacity to belt and project during The Mirror and the title song is outstanding and not at all overdone, and his voice still retains a lulling, almost haunting tone during quieter, gentler lines in other songs.

Crawford seems to have a unique take on the character, blending multiple different concepts to create a layered, complex idea of who the man behind the mask is. During scenes in which the Phantom is putting on a front for Christine to gain her affection, Crawford plays him as less foreboding and more bewitching. In scenes where the Phantom is breaking down and discarding that front, or unmasking himself, so to speak, Crawford does not hold back the tears or the sorrow in his voice when conveying the Phantom’s inner turmoil.

Many actors will express great emotion during Music of the Night, moving powerfully through the song as the Phantom begs for Christine to disregard what she sees and listen to his compositions, but Crawford sings it like a lullaby, a gentle plea to Christine to open up her mind to him and his music to see who he truly is behind the mask. His Stranger Than You Dreamt It was wonderfully emotive, his tone not lacking in sorrow, remorse or suffering in any line or any syllable. His All I Ask of You Reprise was moving enough that even my anti-Phantom, Team-Raoul roommate was momentarily hurting for him, which is truly an accomplishment.

I could see in his acting where he may have drawn inspiration from certain past Phantoms, all of which were excellent ones and likely drew inspiration from the Phantoms that came before them as well. However, Crawford also made many acting choices that I had never seen or even heard of before, all of which caught me entirely off guard and caused scenes such as Final Lair to impact me emotionally in a way that they had not since my first time seeing them. During Final Lair, after the Phantom sings the line “Christine, I love you,” many actors will choose to repeat the phrase, calling out to Christine after she exits the stage. Others may simply cry. In such a hushed whisper, so quiet I almost thought I had imagined it until he uttered it once again a little bit louder, Crawford recited “no, no, Christine, don’t leave me,” as he moved to grab the discarded veil, a staged action that all Phantoms perform. After seeing Final Lair performed countless times with multiple other actors, I had not noticed how it had begun to lose its effect on me until Crawford shattered my heart the same way it did my first few times seeing the scene.

Overall, Crawford offers a fresh take on the role that will certainly keep the crowds coming to the Majestic Theatre as Phantom of the Opera kicks off its third decade on Broadway. Crawford made the show, and the role of the Phantom, new for me, someone who has extensively observed and studied this musical and its lead character as somewhat of a hobby. I have no doubt that as I continue to return to the show to see him again and pick up on small details I missed the last time around, others will as well. It’s Phantoms like Ben Crawford that are why people have kept coming to see Phantom of the Opera all these years, and I am beyond excited to see how he progresses in the role throughout his run.