PHANTOM

Just for the record: The INB Performing Arts Center does not contain a watery subterranean lair. Yet beginning on Wednesday, the INB Performing Arts Center will be transformed into something more grand and mysterious: The Paris Opera House, circa 1905. For three weeks, it will have a candle-lit underground lake, a giant crystal chandelier, a grand marble staircase and – deep in its dark recesses – a shadowy masked denizen hunched over a pipe organ.

The national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera” returns to the INB Performing Arts Center after setting records in 2000 by selling all 82,500 tickets for its monthlong run. This run will be slightly shorter – three weeks – but it still easily qualifies as Spokane’s biggest theatrical event of the season.

What can we expect from the national tour this time around?

Pretty darn close to what we saw last time around, according to Richard Todd Adams. He should know: He played Raoul on the national tour from 1998 to 2000, and rejoined the tour three months ago as the Phantom.

“I came back and it is in exactly the same shape it was 8½ years ago,” said Adams. “Even some of the people are still the same. One of our ballerinas has been with us for 15 years. About five or six other cast mates are still here and a lot of the crew. It’s still the same giant show that’s been out on tour for 15 years.”

That’s good news for Phantom-o-philes, since it means that the spectacle will be just as glittering as ever. The fog will roll over the underground lake, the chandelier will shake and quake, and the costumes will be sumptuous and silken.

But that doesn’t mean the experience will be exactly the same. The main roles will be filled by different actors this time around – and yes, the actors have plenty of leeway for individual interpretation. Especially in the role of the Phantom.

“You could line up 100 different actors and they would all interpret this role differently,” said Adams. “No two would do it remotely the same … There are just so many aspects of the character – the mental illness and the loneliness.”

Back in the days when Adams was playing Raoul, he used to dream of playing the Phantom.

“I was like, 23, when I got the role of Raoul,” said Adams. “I always said, ‘Wow, it would be great to play that role.’ But by the time I was old enough and mature enough to play it, I thought the show wouldn’t be around any longer.”

Was he ever wrong about that. After packing ‘em in on Broadway since 1988, “Phantom” did indeed show signs of slowing down about five years ago. Then came the 2004 movie version, directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Gerard Butler as the Phantom, Emmy Rossum as Christine and with a supporting cast including Miranda Richardson and Minnie Driver.

The movie was pounded by the critics, but that didn’t stop the musical-loving crowds from flocking to it. The movie also revived interest in the stage version.

“When the movie came out, there was a giant upswing,” said Adams. “I never would have thought this, but since coming back out on the road, there have been a lot of people who come to the stage door, who only know the show through the movie.”

“Phantom’s” popularity and longevity cannot be explained by any single factor.

“You can talk to an audience of 2,500 people and talk to every single person and probably get 800 to 1,000 different responses,” said Adams. “A lot will say it’s the music. A lot will say the story.”

Yet others love it for more specialized reasons:

• The costumes – The 230 costumes, inspired by both grand opera and the Paris fashions of 1905, are artworks in themselves.

• The spectacle – Even though it has spawned even bigger theatrical spectacles – “Les Miserables” and “The Lion King” to name two – connoisseurs of stagecraft still get a thrill out of this show. And it’s not just the swinging chandelier – it’s also the sheer size of the endeavor. This is a show that uses 281 candles. Here’s another telling statistic: It takes 27 semi-trucks to move the show from city to city.

• The history and lore – The plot of the show, while fictional, is grounded in history. The Paris Opera House, built in 1875, is 17 stories high and seven of those stories extend downward, below stage level. The lowest level fills with water from an underground stream. For decades, theater personnel reported seeing an “apparition” flitting through the corridors and fleeing toward the watery catacombs below. Leroux was inspired by these reports; audiences still find them intriguing.

• The “Phantom” comparison game – True Phantom-o-philes go back to the show again and again. They relish the chance to compare and contrast the different Phantoms, Christines and Raouls they have seen. Impassioned online debates ensue.

Adams is aware of this, of course, and all he can do is bring his own personality and unique approach to the role.

“I wanted to make this person a human,” said Adams. “One trap you can get into – because there is also this sort of magic at his disposal – it almost makes him this otherworldly character. He’s not. He’s a human being.”

He called it “a basic, simple, humanistic approach.”

“I think that’s what elicits the most sympathy from the audience,” said Adams. “Because it’s something everybody in the audience can relate to. Everybody has been shunned, or has felt abandoned or lonely in their life.”

“Lonely” is probably not the prevalent emotion in Adams’ mind right now. He just returned to the show from several weeks of paternity leave. If all goes according to plan, his wife and new baby boy should join Adams in Spokane during this run.

Meanwhile, every night on stage, he has the privilege of playing the most storied character in one of the most massive theater productions ever mounted.

“I still feel the chills running up and down my spine,” said Adams. “Just putting on that costume and that mask – you feel incredibly blessed.”