peter joback phantom review

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Peter Jöback as the Phantom ? - New York City Forum

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Peter Jöback as the Phantom ?

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I just found out that they have replaced Hugh Panero with Peter Jöback as the Phantom in Pantom of the Opera. Was looking forward to seeing Hugh. Has anyone seen or heard about his performance?

Would love to hear any reviews.

I saw the premier with Peter Jöback this Monday. Loved it! I would say that you have nothing to be nervous about! I think he was great! Though I haven't seen Hugh Panero, so I can't really compare. But I did see the musical in December 2006 and February 2007, and compare to then I have nothing to complain about :)

Oh yay! Thank you!

From what I've seen on YouTube his voice is a lot higher and doesn't make for a very good phantom but maybe in person it will be better.

Thank you for your post - it is reassuring.

Well I just saw Peters performance two days ago and I was more than disappointed. I too, love Hugh panero. The performance I saw doesn't even come close to the depth and madness of the phantom that Hugh portrays. When i felt i was comparing the two men i decided to just stop it and find pleasure in someone elses interpretation. I am also a fan of the London 25th anniversary and the phantom in that took awhile for me to warm up to, but he had me in his grip by the end. Sadly, this one did not. None of the portayals really reached me the way they should have In fact, the whole production was a little lacking in my opinion. I am a big phantom fan, but I cannot recommend this production, sorry. I would have been better off staying home and watching the Hollywood DVD.

I took a few people the other day (the 19th) from Europe (Georgia) who had never seen the Phantom. (I think that's the best yardstick). They, along with what seemed like the entire audience, were thrilled by Peter Joback. He received thunderous applause at the curtain call.

I've seen seven different Phantoms now (because of visitors) including Michael Crawford and have learned each one has thier strong points. Joback uses his body at times in a way that is astonishing. He also plays the Phantom as someone who is a hair's breadth from snapping rather than a seductive, irresistible, disfigured Lothario.

The bottom line: you only have two or three opinions here: Wednesday more than a thousand people in the audience voted with their applause and judging by that, Joback easily met the standard established by his predecessors.

I've seen seven different Phantoms now (because of visitors) including Michael Crawford and have learned each one has thier strong points. Joback uses his body at times that is astonishing. He also plays the Phantom as someone who is a hair's breadth from snapping rather than a seductive, irresistible, disfigured Lothario.

The bottom line: you only have two or three opinions here: Wednesday more than a thousand peopl in the audience voted with their applause and judging by that, Joback easily met expectations.

I saw him tonight and had very mixed feelings. His voice is very, very high, especially compared to his predecessors (Hugh Panaro, etc.). Likewise, his acting lacks depth, especially during the first act. By the time the Final Lair came around though, he had come into the character. He had some very strong moments then that actually made me care for his character, although his voice was still subpar. There, he was unpredictable and wild, and actually made me flinch with surprise at one point when he flung the Christine dummy across the stage in a rage. In short, his singing is weak and doesn't fit the character, in my opinion, but he has the potential to have some great acting moments. Also, the rest of the cast was great, and they made it well worth my while, even though I didn't really like Jöback.

This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity.

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James Barbour to end run as Phantom in December

Another Phantom is leaving the building. The musical, which is the longest running show in Broadway history, announced Monday that the Phantom, James Barbour, will leave the production on Dec. 23, 2017, after a close to three-year run.

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Another Phantom is leaving the building.

The musical, which is the longest running show in Broadway history, announced Monday that the Phantom, James Barbour, will leave the production on Dec. 23, 2017, after a close to three-year run. Ali Ewoldt will remain as Christine and Rodney Ingram will remain as Raoul through the Phantom’s 30th anniversary on Jan. 26, 2018.

Barbour’s successor is set to be announced soon, according to the press office.

There have been 15 Phantoms in the several decades the show has been on Broadway.

Laird Mackintosh, currently playing Monsieur André, will assume the role for the three weeks between Barbour and his to-be successor. Kayley Ann Voorhees , recently seen in the “Prince of Broadway,” will play Christine at certain performances starting November 6.

On October 30, opera singers Raquel Suarez Groen and Carlton Moe will make their Broadway debuts in the roles of Carlotta and Piangi, respectively, and will continue through the show’s anniversary.

Leading into the 30th anniversary, the musical has already hit some milestones, having played 12,500 performances and grossed more than $1 billion.

The musical, which currently has six productions running worldwide, boasts seven Tony Awards, which it won in 1988, as well as three Olivier Awards.

In addition to the proceeds from those productions, the original cast recording has given the producers a nice chunk of change, as it is the best-selling cast recording of all time, according to the press office.

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The Phantom of the Opera Welcomes 30th Anniversary Leading Man Peter Joback

International stage star and recording artist Peter Jöback rejoins Broadway's longest-running show, The Phantom of the Opera , on January 16 as the musical reaches its 30th anniversary on the Great White Way. Laird Mackintosh (who normally plays Monsieur André) concluded his engagement in the title role on January 13 following the December 23 conclusion of longtime star James Barbour's run. Jöback will play a limited run through March 31.  "I am, of course, absolutely thrilled about having the honor of taking The Phantom through his 30th anniversary on Broadway," Jöback told Broadway.com exclusively. "Humbled for the task, but excited about once again being asked to do this classic role on the classic grounds of Broadway." Jöback is one of Sweden’s most prolific artists. He has played the Phantom in London (2012), New York (2013, becoming the first European actor to play the role on Broadway since the original cast) and in two sold-out engagements in his native Stockholm (2016). Jöback has also appeared in London's West End playing Chris in the original production of Miss Saigon and creating the role of Michael in The Witches of Eastwick . Jöback has been awarded two Swedish Tony Awards, for creating the role of Robert in Bjorn Ulvaeus' and Benny Andersson's musical Kristina and for playing the Emcee in Cabaret . As a recording artist, his albums have sold over 1 million copies. Jöback joins the Broadway production's two current stars, Broadway.com vlogger   Ali Ewoldt as Christine and Rodney Ingram as Raoul, along with Mackintosh as Monsieur André, Raquel Suarez Groen as Carlotta, Carlton Moe as Piangi, Craig Bennett as Monsieur Firmin, Maree Johnson as Madame Giry and Kara Klein as Meg Giry. Recent  Prince of Broadway star and  Phantom alum Kaley Ann Voorhees plays the role of Christine at certain performances. While January 26 is the anniversary date for The Phantom of the Opera , the show's 30th anniversary will be celebrated two days earlier, on January 24. The musical will enter its fourth decade having played 12,500 performances to 18 million people at the Majestic Theatre, and having grossed more than $1.1 billion.

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Screen Rant

"something never experienced before": marvel's spider-man 2 review.

Spider-Man 2 brings Peter Parker and Miles Morales together for what is one of the best PS5 exclusives yet – a triumph of gameplay and storytelling.

• Marvel's Spider-Man 2 takes the franchise to new heights with its breakneck storytelling and crisp gameplay, surpassing its predecessors.
• The game successfully balances the personal lives of Peter Parker and Miles Morales with their responsibilities as superheroes, creating compelling character-driven moments.
• The gameplay is relentless and electric, showcasing the power of the symbiote and introducing new abilities and gadgets, making it a must-play title for PS5 owners.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is electric, telling a breakneck story of two protagonists and everyone in their immediate circle with continually escalating, incredibly crisp gameplay. Right from the outset, Spider-Man 2 feels as though it’s taken a significant step above its 2018 and 2020 predecessors. A large and varied cast of characters is impressively juggled while players are set loose as both Peter Parker and Miles Morales in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. City-wide spectacle is constantly juxtaposed with intimate, character-driven moments, all underpinned by the truly unsettling emergence of the alien symbiote hoping to reach the height of its potential as Venom.

With its third game in the action-adventure series, Insomniac Games once again asserts itself as one of the leading developers of current-gen experiences. Leveraging the hardware of the PlayStation 5 and its DualSense controller, Spider-Man 2 picks up the lingering threads of Marvel’s Spider-Man and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales in a game that delights in even its smallest details. Both Spider-Men must navigate recent, heartbreaking losses alongside a number of other personal tribulations, all while shouldering the burden of being New York City’s web-slinging protectors. Such responsibility is made nigh unmanageable by Kraven bringing his Great Hunt to the city, which unleashes new and old threats alike.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 & The Art Of Balance

Superhero media, and Spider-Man stories especially, often revolve around the need to balance one’s personal life with the unending demands of vigilantism; Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is no different. Peter is sorting through Aunt May’s estate, aiding Mary Jane in her journalistic career while also trying to convince her to move in with him, reconnecting with a seemingly cured Harry, and attempting to hold onto a teaching job at Brooklyn Visions Academy, all while committed to the responsibilities of being Spider-Man, which includes being a mentor to Miles.

Miles is similarly straddled with issues vying for his time. Due dates for college admission essays are coming up, he’s having trouble navigating his affection for Hailey, his mother is attempting to re-enter the dating pool while Miles is still coming to terms with the death of his father, and his uncle needs some help closing the door on his alter ego, Prowler. Even in its more mundane moments, the swirling conflicts propel Spider-Man 2 ’s story at an incredible pace. Miles and Peter are squarely at the narrative’s center, but the game impressively carries the entire cast from beginning to end, each with satisfying arcs.

Even amid the chaos of Kraven’s Great Hunt and the emergence of the symbiote, somehow no character is forgotten. Even brief appearances, like that of Black Cat, or the most sporadic contributions to the story – from J. Jonah Jameson, for instance – feel impactful. So many intertwined characters only serves to heighten Spider-Man 2 ’s central drama, in which characters’ deepest insecurities are preyed upon by the symbiote in exchange for the power it grants, seemingly the key to defeating Kraven the Hunter, who himself is a fascinating, multi-faceted villain.

Watching Peter succumb to the symbiote in his black suit is like witnessing a carefully orchestrated train wreck; it’s thrilling, heartbreaking, and incredibly visceral. Kraven and his hunters are despicably bloodthirsty, but the symbiote is a narrative master key used to unlock the most cutting vitriol of every character it touches. Even boss fights, when Spider-Man 2 is at its most technically demanding, are dripping in character development as combatants argue and plead with each other. Friends and loved ones are turned into enemies against their will, and the symbiote ensures you’ll bear witness to the most agonizing details.

Perhaps the one disappointment in Spider-Man 2 ’s story is a feeling that Miles takes a back seat to Peter. It’s still very much a tale of two Spider-Men – Miles isn’t short-changed by any means – but the circumstances of the narrative result in Peter being the greater focus. The symbiote enters the picture by way of Harry , Peter’s longtime best friend, so it’s unsurprising that the older Spider-Man is consequently at the forefront for long stretches of what is ultimately a brilliantly told, dual-protagonist story.

The Symbiote-Filled, Electrically Charged Gameplay Of Spider-Man 2

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 ’s gameplay is relentless in both its presence and escalation. Its crowning achievement is the way in which it revels in the symbiote. While the narrative consequences of its presence are difficult to watch, the gameplay advancements it brings are continually delightful. To match Peter’s new suit, Miles’ bioelectric powers are equally adapted, continually evolving during the game so you’re given new abilities regularly throughout. Certain gameplay sequences, which will remain purposefully vague here, shockingly demonstrate the power latent in the symbiote, providing an intimate understanding of both its allure and danger.

New utilities similarly advance the series’ already satisfying traversal mechanics. The Web Wings and a maneuver known as the Slingshot Launch are particularly fun, and both help achieve and maintain unprecedented web-swinging speeds. Much like the first two Marvel’s Spider-Man games, there’s practically no incentive to ever fast travel; simply going from point A to point B can be exhilarating. Adept use of the Web Wings is also practically necessary for navigating parts of the new additions to Spider-Man 2 ’s map. Further reaches of Brooklyn and Queens are residential neighborhoods of primarily single-family homes, unfit for the high-flying acrobatics of Manhattan.

Even the returning gameplay segments starring Mary Jane feature significant iteration. She’s no longer defenseless, which turns the maligned stealth sequences of the first Marvel’s Spider-Man into more involved detours that provide the player with capabilities familiar to stealth-action games. There are many different types of gameplay sequences: those brief jaunts with MJ; wall-crawling and tightrope-walking stealth encounters as one of the Spider-Men; set pieces of often incredible scale; and the series’ signature, free-flowing, acrobatic brawls. All of these make up a bulk of the game, but even the quieter moments of Spider-Man 2 find a way to be packed with gameplay.

Side activities and certain story moments alike bring a deluge of mini-games, some of which are an extension of other areas of gameplay, while others are glorified quick time events made interesting by their implementation. Staying within the slipstream of one of Kraven’s mechanical birds while using the Web Wings, balancing different tensions on the DualSense’s two adaptive triggers to find the frequency of hidden Prowler tech, flying a drone and blasting hologram insects to acquire data in an effort to save the bees, a number of brain-teasers, and more all add engaging variety scattered throughout New York City.

Overall, Spider-Man 2 ’s gameplay is unilaterally an improvement on its predecessors, re-wiring the way special abilities and gadgets are doled out in combat and introducing new moves, enemies, and stealth capabilities. Although the free-flow combat masterminded by Batman: Arkham Asylum has fallen slightly out of vogue since its many imitators died down, Insomniac has created what is now perhaps the gold standard of the system. The punchy and stylish combat is made even richer by the presence of two Spider-Men, the uncontrolled one beating up baddies in the background and occasionally swinging in to assist on a slow-motion finisher.

Spider-Man 2 Is A PlayStation 5 Tour De Force

From Spider-Man 2 ’s earliest moments, it occasionally awes as something never experienced before. Its opening set piece sees Miles flung across a significant portion of the map and improvising midair to build himself a slingshot out of webs to fly back the way he came. In a matter of seconds, dozens of city blocks go flying by at speeds almost unbelievable. Other sequences clearly utilize the dimension-hopping technology Insomniac designed for Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart . Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is one of the few games that truly feel designed for current-gen hardware, and considerations of the PS5’s capabilities seep into every facet.

Spider-Man 2 ’s use of the DualSense’s haptic feedback is precise and varied, delivering unique vibration patterns for a very large number of interactions. The adaptive triggers are used liberally throughout, providing resistance to everything from routine web-swinging to many of the aforementioned mini-games. Speed of traversal is wonderfully faster than the first two games – likely thanks to the console’s SSD – and fast travel is instantaneous (I actually didn’t see the very intuitive and seamless fast travel system, which teleports you mid-swing or mid-flight to effectively anywhere on the map, until about 15 hours into the game; I was having too much fun swinging everywhere).

On top of it all, Spider-Man 2 looks gorgeous and runs almost flawlessly – a couple instances of ragdolls convulsing oddly were the only noticeable hiccups that could be categorized as bugs. Even the most high-octane moments felt as though they were hitting the targeted 60 frames per second in the game’s Performance mode, which also features limited ray tracing. Dozens of visible cars in New York’s packed streets have fully rendered interiors, often with seated NPCs. Peering in the windows of the city’s skyscrapers will reveal – albeit purposefully obfuscated – interiors of apartments, sometimes with NPCs sitting on their couch or doing something in the kitchen. It’s easy to miss the details while careening toward the next objective, but Spider-Man 2 ’s vast city is impressively alive.

Final Thoughts & Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Review Score

It’s tough to say any game is a must-play when considering the wide range of players’ tastes, but Spider-Man 2 is a towering achievement in every metric; at the very least, it’s one of the PS5’s preeminent offerings. The story is so enthralling, and its stakes so high that it’s easy to find oneself rushing to the next main mission, leaving swathes of side content untouched for large stretches of play time. Its gameplay is singularly engaging, varied, and inventive, constantly rewarding the player through unlocked suits, upgradeable skills and gadgets, and new abilities.

Spider-Man 2 only reinforces the notion that Insomniac Games is one of PlayStation Studios’ more prolific development houses. The balance of gameplay and narrative is intoxicating, and this third entry squashes any issues that plagued the first two games. These iterations of Peter Parker and Miles Morales are triumphantly human, as are the other characters surrounding them, and the genius of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 lies in introducing a villain that hopes to strip them of that humanity.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 releases for PlayStation 5 on October 20, 2023. Screen Rant was provided with a digital download code for the purpose of this review.

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Review: ‘Phantom Detective,’ a Dawdling South Korean Noir

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By Jeannette Catsoulis

• May 19, 2016

Midway through “Phantom Detective” — a South Korean noir equally torn between slayings and sentiment — a pretty-boy detective named Hong (Lee Je-hoon) recoils from a small child’s innocent embrace.

“There’s a dark void inside of him,” a villain explains. But the problem for the director, Jo Sung-hee, is that Hong’s lack of empathy becomes a black hole that threatens to suck the life out of the movie. Invariably attired in trench coat and fedora, boy-band hair licking over the rim, Hong searches for the man who killed his mother 20 years earlier. And when his quarry, now a milky-eyed grandpa, is mysteriously spirited away moments before Hong can exact revenge, the detective is all the grumpier for being saddled with the killer’s two young granddaughters.

You’ll appreciate those kids, though, and their softening effect on a script that favors cool implacability over human warmth and staged tableaus over natural movement. Adapting a 16th-century folk tale, Mr. Jo uses clipped dialogue and comic-book stylings to unfurl a paranoid story of a shady conglomerate with far-reaching political power and tentacles snaking back to Hong’s childhood.

Our hero’s quest, however — updated to the 1980s, when the country’s corporations enjoyed unprecedented government benefits — never ignites, mostly because of Mr. Lee’s acting deficits. Like Caine in the 1970s television series “Kung Fu,” Hong walks the earth with a strange passivity, the surrealism of his surroundings sometimes arresting yet too often static. A cataclysmic event is scheduled mere days away; watching Hong dawdle to forestall it isn’t exactly a nail-biting experience.

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The Phantom of the Opera

Closed: April 16, 2023

Unmasking Peter Jöback, the Newest Phantom of Broadway’s Phantom of the Opera

The Swedish pop singer (and musical theater star) discusses his unique take on the classic role, in which he makes his Broadway debut.

No stranger to this stage, Jöback is a musical theater nerd, selling out arenas in 2012 with a tour called I Love Musicals . Phantom producer Cameron Mackintosh brought him to London’s West End to star as Chris in Miss Saigon and Michael in The Witches of Eastwick . In 2011 he appeared alongside legends like Colm Wilkinson as part of the Phantom 25th Anniversary production at the Royal Albert Hall, and took on the title role in the West End production last year. Now, he’s playing the role on Broadway.

We sat down with Jöback just days after taking his first curtain call as Broadway’s latest masked man to discuss his inspiration for the role. Excerpts from the conversation follow.

How’s Broadway treating you so far? It’s an exciting thing for me to be here. Like I said to a friend of mine, it’s a boyhood dream, and it’s funny that dreams can come true after forty.

Replacements notoriously get very little rehearsal time. What was your rehearsal process like? I got here three weeks ago, and have been working with [production supervisor] Seth Sklar-Heyn and [musical director] David Caddick. There are small differences from the London production [in which he starred in 2012], so in the beginning, the first few days were like someone pulling out the mat. But everything went really smoothly, and I got a chance to talk with Hal Prince. He directed me for a whole day and corrected things and gave me notes, which was amazing. I’ve been very cool about the whole thing, very focused. [On my first night] When I went down in the boat, it kind of hit me. I saw the big audience and I was like, “I’m here! I made it!”

You made your Phantom debut as part of the post-show festivities during the London production’s 25th Anniversary show at the Royal Albert Hall before taking on the role full time. How did that come about for you? Cameron [Mackintosh] called me two years ago and said “We want to try you as the Phantom.” It was a big challenge for me, but I love challenges. [The Royal Albert Hall show] was the first time I ever sung the songs. The honor to come in with Colm Wilkinson and Anthony Warlow and John Owen Jones…Not many knew who I was, because I was the new guy, but it was an honor. It went really well in London and people were raving about it and [saying] that I brought something new into it, and that gives you confidence. When Cameron and I were talking about what to do next, we talked about Broadway, and I said “That would be a dream,” and he called me and said “Do you want to go next year?” Of course.

The first thing that went through your mind is…? I think the child in me wanted to do a cartwheel or something. [Laughs] I’m proud of what I achieved and that I made it here.

What was it like to work with Hal Prince? The fact that he’s still involved with the day-to-day running of the show is inspiring. I know! You get — not scared, I don’t know the word — but I got excited when he sat there. We were doing “Music of the Night” and he stopped me after two lines and I thought “Oh my God, he doesn’t like it,” but he gets so engaged. He wanted me to do more. Being his age and having done this for so many years and is still so passionate about it? It’s amazing. He stayed for the whole rehearsal and shook my hand and said “You’re gonna be a marvelous Phantom.”

How did you get into theater? I was ten years old when I started to work, so I’ve been in the business for thirty-one years. I was a child actor, so I did The Sound of Music , one of those annoying kids who sang and danced all the time. I came from quite a dysfunctional family. My dad didn’t have time for me — he had other issues he had to take care of — so the theater raised me. This is my family. It means a lot to me, even though I divorced myself from musicals to do pop. Music is a way for me to figure out who I am, so I needed to do different things. I couldn’t keep playing a role all the time. But my heart is in musical theater. And of course, you want to come to Broadway or the West End, because that’s where the best people are. It’s all about learning. I will learn till I die.

Can you talk about how you view the Phantom? It’s all about the abused child, and that we all carry masks. It’s about daring to take the mask off. It touched me in another way, and the love story is beautiful. The end scene is so amazing. For me, it’s like he’s realized, when she kisses him, he will never be able to give her what she wants because he doesn’t like himself. It’s so sad. It touched me, because I’ve had experiences like that. I want to play him as the vulnerable child. To be abused can make you a monster, because in some way it has to come out. It’s the [people] at the Paris Opera House [who make] him the monster.

I sense that you relate to the character. It took a very long time for me to accept myself and who I am and the things that happened to me as a child. This was a mask, before I grew into my body and [began to] celebrate who I am. I wanted to make him vulnerable so that could shine through. That’s the challenge. If you dare to take risks, it doesn’t have to be perfect. But as a performer, you have to be perfect, so you have to work against yourself. But you can be more alive if you dare to [take risks].

So you don’t view the Phantom as a monster, then. He’s not a monster, he’s trying to survive. He’s been in the dungeon for such a long time. Like he says, he wants heaven, and he finds this girl, he hears her pray, and there’s a connection. He can help her, he can teach her. Also, I think he’s in love with her beauty. There’s something sexual happening. Because, you know, he’s been down there for so many years, and suddenly there’s this contact. [laughs] But still, he wants to be the teacher, so don’t come too close. He doesn’t connect it that way until she says it in the end; the problem isn’t here, it’s in your soul, and that hits him. When she finally reaches out and kisses him, he can’t embrace her because he doesn’t like himself. For me, that’s the key thing. My goal is that people will go in there and say “Why didn’t she pick the Phantom?”

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