Generous, Passionate Show From Crawford

Michael Crawford arrived on stage--appeared, actually, not unlike Venus emerging from a wave--in the midst of a startling barrage of strobe-light flashes exploded directly into the faces of the audience at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre on Thursday. It was a brilliant and appropriately dramatic entry for a performer so strongly identified with one of the most theatrical of all musical theater characters--the Phantom of the Opera.

And Crawford, understanding and appreciating the value of that identification, was generous with his choice of songs from the celebrated musical, singing his signature “Music of the Night” and adding “Think of Me” and “The Phantom of the Opera” with Dale Kristien (his Christine from the Los Angeles cast).

But he also seemed intent upon letting his listeners know that his tenure as the Phantom represents only four years in his highly successful life as an all-purpose performer in theater, television and films. And he did so by blending the music into a series of jokes and patter funny enough to make the best stand-up comic jealous.

The heart of any Crawford performance, however, is his singing and the remarkably supple quality of his voice. Equally important is the manner in which he employs his extraordinary vocal skills at the service of the songs--the epitome of singer as storyteller.

On this program, he did so via a strikingly diverse selection of material. His opening number, “Gethsemane” (from “Jesus Christ Superstar”), emerged as a passionate statement, a superb expression of the song’s shifting emotional transitions between doubt and belief. Other songs followed: a bit of “Tonight” from “West Side Story,” a stirring march through “Before the Parade Passes By” and a nod to Stephen Sondheim with “Being Alive” from “Company.”

Crawford worked hard and laid his talent on the line with every number. But, more important, he did so with a humility and sincerity that made it possible for his listeners to respond to him, not only as a performer but also as a genuinely likable person.

* Crawford plays Sunday at Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., 7:30 p.m. $23-$128. (213) 480-3232.