Deserted Phans
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

+53
mona lisa
Masqueradelove
ianjonbourgandethanfreema
purplehaze93
Copycat
tiawhitecat
Becky
Paula74
HerMajesty
harryzing
ette
tromp-la-mort
Callie Daae
ravnquest1
Bric
EarlFan
Viscountess
meglett
justin1976
TheFinnishPhantom
charleygirl
ifonlyidont
StrangerThanUDreamt
AlwaysChristine
London-Phan
Madame Giry
Raphael
TheMaskedLion
Helen
MasqPhan
Phantom on a Budget
PhantomsGhost
Bunvendor
starryeyed
Aled_Boyo
PridePhan
ladygodiva
Miss von Krolock
BradPhan
MajesticPhantom
MaskedLion
IamErik771
Phantomlove
Devon
SenorSwanky
PMB1034
LadyCDaae
ML6
Scorp
operafantomet
Lycanthrope
justin-from-barbados
phantom10906
57 posters

Page 1 of 25 1, 2, 3 ... 13 ... 25  Next

Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  phantom10906 Thu Mar 31, 2011 7:05 pm

This hasn't been posted anywhere that I've seen so here you go: News regarding UK tour. Wonder what it means that Hal is not directing?


Last edited by Raphael on Mon Apr 19, 2021 4:11 am; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : renamed topic)
phantom10906
phantom10906

Posts : 267
Join date : 2009-09-21
Age : 36
Location : Santa Clara, CA

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=608426503#/profile.php?id

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  justin-from-barbados Thu Mar 31, 2011 7:08 pm

Seems to me to be what they did with Les Mis...
De-direct and de-design it so it is easier to cart around, will probably to the UK then head over to the states.
justin-from-barbados
justin-from-barbados

Posts : 566
Join date : 2010-01-27
Age : 47
Location : Barbados

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27199361@N08/

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  justin-from-barbados Thu Mar 31, 2011 7:09 pm

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118034746
justin-from-barbados
justin-from-barbados

Posts : 566
Join date : 2010-01-27
Age : 47
Location : Barbados

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27199361@N08/

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  Lycanthrope Thu Mar 31, 2011 7:29 pm

How frustrating. Unlike Les Mis, the original staging of Phantom makes the show a truly breathtaking experience. It's basically the same team who did the Les Mis tour too; I only hope they'll honour the Prince/Bjornson staging. Let's hope they don't touch the orchestrations. I wonder if this'll be Phantom of the Credit Crunch Age...

Lycanthrope

Posts : 44
Join date : 2009-10-04

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  phantom10906 Thu Mar 31, 2011 7:45 pm

This whole thing is starting to tick me off. Why mess with a classic? Surely they can downsize the original design so its easier to cart around.
phantom10906
phantom10906

Posts : 267
Join date : 2009-09-21
Age : 36
Location : Santa Clara, CA

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=608426503#/profile.php?id

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  operafantomet Thu Mar 31, 2011 7:53 pm

I guess we all knew this day would come. I've kinda seen the signs with the non-replica versions, the closing of the US tour because of rigging issues, and also the million school productions. But I never expected them to CELEBRATE the original like that... Neutral
operafantomet
operafantomet

Posts : 3600
Join date : 2009-09-21
Age : 44
Location : Norway

http://www.anea.no

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  Scorp Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:03 pm

Can't say I'm surprised. I am sad, though. I thought the decline of Phantom into a cheap shadow of what it was wouldn't happen for another few years.

I hope Laurence Connor is happy with the ££££ he will be getting for copying Trevor Nunn's direction in Les Mis and branding it as his own and no doubt laying claim to Prince's direction with Phantom. I suspect Prince will be too diplomatic to do what Trevor did and tell Cameron he feels betrayed. What was the "agreement with Hal Prince" exactly? Did he get paid off to stay away? Or paid so that Connor could copy everything he did? I suspect I would felt more generous is this were going to be a genuinely new production, unlike what the 25th anniversary tour of Mis was. I could be wrong, but I doubt it is going to be. If this were going to be a legitimate new production with a fresh take on things, Cameron should have hired a more expensive but first-rate director that Phantom deserves. At least Really Useful got Michael Grandage in for the Evita revival and not someone who just copied and downsized Prince's original like Bill Kenwright does in his tours of that show.

My only hope is that ALW seems to have always been very fussy about orchestrations so, while the pit might be downsized, I can't see it the orchestrations being as badly messed with as Miz's were. And Paule Constable does good lighting...

Oh well. I at least feel lucky that I was there to see the phenomenon in its early glory days. Who knows, I liked the Les Mis tour even if I thought the best bits were all nicked from the original. Maybe I'll like this. Maybe not... it may depend on whether Connor likes Joel Schumacher. If he does, and he likes LND...oh dear.
Scorp
Scorp

Posts : 1308
Join date : 2009-09-21

http://phantomslair.com

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  ML6 Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:45 pm

Oh lord, my heart.
ML6
ML6

Posts : 873
Join date : 2009-10-28
Age : 36
Location : USA

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  LadyCDaae Thu Mar 31, 2011 10:15 pm

Well, I'm cautiously optimistic. Don't get me wrong, the Prince/Bjornson original is iconic and a triumph of theatrical skill. But I don't want PotO to become a relic, a forgotten 1980s period piece that plays out its run and then vanishes until nothing remains but a few paragraphs in a music theater history book. I want it to be one of those shows that gets revisited and rediscovered for decades to come. For that to happen, non-replica productions are not only inevitable, but necessary.

That said, here's what I pray Connor keeps in mind as he approaches this:

1.) It needs to be a TRUE revision. A cheap imitation of Prince/Bjornson is a disservice to both the original and to the audiences who pay for your production. Imitating the film (or worse, trying to retcon LND into things) is just going to alienate half your potential audience right off the bat. So don't worry about what came before--find your own voice. (And speaking of voices, let's find some fresh ones outside the couple dozen actors who've been rotating through the main parts for years, please?)

2.) Remember the atmosphere. If there is a single thing that separates the genius of Prince's work from the gaudy, oversexed music video that is the Schumacher film, it's that Prince understands the kind of atmosphere this material needs--dark, dangerous, tense, mysterious, and subtly erotic. If Connor bears that in mind, he could make this work.

~LCD

LadyCDaae

Posts : 724
Join date : 2009-10-04
Age : 47
Location : Denver

http://musicalhell.blogspot.com/

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  PMB1034 Thu Mar 31, 2011 10:38 pm

I like Mis but I'd never seen the London production when I saw the tour last Feb. I genuinely enjoyed it, found it breathtaking, incredibly moving. I appreciate also that a lot of people found it to be a pale immitation of the London production. But I'd not seen it, so why be loyal to something I'd not seen. So if a re-versioned Phantom brings the piece to regional audiences, who may never see it or would go and see the hot new thing in London, then it's at least worthy of a chance.
PMB1034
PMB1034

Posts : 80
Join date : 2010-03-02

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  SenorSwanky Fri Apr 01, 2011 4:08 am

Oy. I don't know who Paul Brown is or what he's done, but I can't imagine his costumes or sets even approaching Bjornson's brilliance. We'll see.
SenorSwanky
SenorSwanky

Posts : 1632
Join date : 2009-09-25
Age : 39
Location : Raleigh, NC

https://www.facebook.com/dustiningalls

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  operafantomet Fri Apr 01, 2011 5:38 am

I still secretly hope this is an April Fool's Day joke... Neutral

As I've written elsewhere, I have come to realize I'm not so much in love with the music as I am with the production design and the take of the story (I.E. Prince's take). I think this is why both the 2004 movie, the non-replica productions and the school productions has done nothing for me, while I like the Vegas production. Based on this, a totally re-designed version has to do a lot right for me to like it.

As others have said, the Les Mis tour isn't totally re-invented, much of the original design lives in it. But a new person is credited. if this is their goal with Phantom, seriously... drop it. Update the technology, and maybe some aspects like in Vegas, but don't take the original design, twist it and call it brand new.

I am seriously going to hate them if they re-stage it to tie it closer to "Love Never Dies" or the 2004 movie.

What I WOULD like to see, is some totally new and imaginary design not relying on Bjørnson at all, and not on LND or the movie. I would love to see a brilliant new take on the musical. But... I just don't see it happening... I think whoever attempts is too tied to the musical's past and present. Which is why I'm not thrilled about these news. Especially if it's slowly going to replace the original, like it seems the Les Mis tour one is intended to do. silent
operafantomet
operafantomet

Posts : 3600
Join date : 2009-09-21
Age : 44
Location : Norway

http://www.anea.no

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  Devon Fri Apr 01, 2011 8:15 am

*Sigh* Well I'm not totally shocked with what they are doing with Phantom. Changing the set design and costumes....it seems like the world is always in evolution sooner or later (doesn't mean I have to like or agree with it though!). ALW has been selling out too with making the film, doing the show in Vegas, and the Love Never Dies sequel. Doesn't shock me at all.

That being said, STUPID STUPID STUPID! Maria's set design is lavish and beautiful and the costumes? Come ON, they are wonderful! They are both what phans take in and enjoy every single time, they are what we drool over!!!! I sure hope whatever sets and costumes they do, they try to keep with the same Gothic Victorian flare.

Some stories just shouldn't be messed with. I mean, why try to change perfection? Doesn't make sense to me!!
Devon
Devon

Posts : 339
Join date : 2010-11-30
Age : 44
Location : Wisconsin

http://devonsdomain.yolasite.com/

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  Phantomlove Fri Apr 01, 2011 1:46 pm

I, like LadyCDaae, is actually cautiosly optimistic and kind of excited. I don't know why I am really, I surprise myself at this. It's just that I have come to be curious about new interpretations on Phantom and I think that it is inevitable that it has to reinvent itself if it is going to survive. As I said, this is a surprise even to myself. I seriously hope though that they won't replace the original with this new one, because that would be awful, but I don't think I have any problems with them co-existing.
That being said though, please, no movie ripoff, no cheap looking sets and costumes, no long hair on the Phantom or Raoul, no weird young and sexy take on the thing and absolutely no adaption to LND. Other than that, surprise me and impress me. I might be very disappointed in the end result, but for now I'm keeping my mind open that this could actually be a good alternative to the original (as opposed to the other non-replica versions).

ETA: I think also that it's Cameron Mackintosh, who has been with the production since the beginning, and not someone new (or even worse, Really Useful) who is producing is making me think that it might be an alright version. Now I don't know much about the new Les Mis tour. If I did, maybe I would be more apprehensive about this.

Phantomlove

Posts : 221
Join date : 2009-09-22
Location : Sweden

http://siggesot.livejournal.com

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  IamErik771 Fri Apr 01, 2011 4:25 pm

I'm also cautiously optimistic -- in fact, very optimistic in some ways -- about this new production. As Phantomlove said, some change is inevitable and necessary for the show's survival, and especially given recent events in the land of POTO, it's nice to see that at least some of the higher-ups care about that. While it's understandable to be a bit concerned that they might screw it up, I'm going to reserve judgment until I actually see what they're going to do... after all, there might be some really good, creative things done here. Besides, the original production design, as wonderful and iconic as it is, is really just the icing on the cake for me... Far higher up on my list of priorities is the depiction of the characters and story, and how the music and acting come through.

But yes, I agree with others -- no movie-based stuff, LND references, reduced deformity, or any of that crap. I wouldn't mind so much if they take some inspiration from the Hungarian or even Polish productions (blasphemy!), as long as there are some (or perhaps a lot of) improvements made.
IamErik771
IamErik771

Posts : 328
Join date : 2009-09-22
Age : 35
Location : Hawaii

http://iamerik771.blogspot.com/

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  Scorp Fri Apr 01, 2011 5:51 pm

PMB1034 wrote:I like Mis but I'd never seen the London production when I saw the tour last Feb. I genuinely enjoyed it, found it breathtaking, incredibly moving. I appreciate also that a lot of people found it to be a pale immitation of the London production. But I'd not seen it, so why be loyal to something I'd not seen. So if a re-versioned Phantom brings the piece to regional audiences, who may never see it or would go and see the hot new thing in London, then it's at least worthy of a chance.

I think what's sad is that said audiences will think whatever the new version IS Phantom, and if it's subpar, that will be a tragedy.

Hal Prince once said that revivals should not be done unless they are as good as or superior to the original. I know that's an unrealistic wish and at least revivals, even not-so-great ones, bring the show to more people, but frankly I'd rather less people saw it and the original remained in people's memories given the choice. I suppose that's selfish of me, but it's why I was so appalled by the 2004 film. It bears the name 'Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera', but to me it wasn't at all what I fell in love with and it was (and still is) irritating to have people assume that that's what I like because they don't know any better. As time goes by, I begin to agree with Prince. I know it is too premature to say that this won't be as good as the original, but given who the director is and the precedent set by the Les Mis tour, it is hard not to have misgivings.
Scorp
Scorp

Posts : 1308
Join date : 2009-09-21

http://phantomslair.com

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  MaskedLion Fri Apr 01, 2011 8:59 pm

Honestly? IMHO, I never liked the sets for the original productions, especially in the lair scene. (Crazy I know.) but I don't believe that I should have to fill in the shadows with my imagination when I just paid over 100 dollars to see a production. I don't think we need to see every single bead on Carlotta's dress, I honestly preferred the Hungarian and Polish designs in terms of sets. Leroux gave Erik a wonderful house, and I feel he deserves better than what Maria Björnson gave him. At least give him a better pipe organ for hells sake, I do hope when they restage this, they focus more on the character development, Maybe it's just me and the US tours, but I have never truly felt that Phantom loved Christine, during the times I have seen the show in the US. *shrugs*
MaskedLion
MaskedLion

Posts : 10
Join date : 2011-01-09
Age : 135
Location : USA

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  MajesticPhantom Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:32 pm

MaskedLion-

I don't mean to be rude or agitating, but your statement left me cold, and here is why:

As a theatrical artist myself, I find it disturbing that many share your opinion that their money should equal in bland, overly decorated realism right off the bat. The money spent on Bjornson's set is clearly seen, as the way in which the images move onto the stage is clearly of the top-most quality. And her costumes are detailed in that way because they actually look good from the back of the house. The more detailed the costumes, the better they look from anywhere in the theatre. Costumes can't necessarily be suggested the way scenery can be, moreso with period pieces, such as this.

If people payed to see theatre for its up-most creativity and execution rather than wanting by-the-numbers tick-listed theatrical devices of pandering and mediocrity, the theatre could actually continue delving more into risk and topicality. Please rethink what theatre is beyond a pandering entertainment tool, and think about the spiritual, fourth-dimensional world that Bjornson, and many other TRUE artists, are/have been trying to bring into the consciousness of this far too black-and-white, third dimensional world.
MajesticPhantom
MajesticPhantom

Posts : 270
Join date : 2010-07-26

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  Lycanthrope Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:35 pm

Having looked up Paul Brown, it seems he's primarily a designer of opera, which is intriguing given Bjornson's background in opera as well. It kind of helps he's won fairly prestigious awards as well. So his credentials, and those of the lighting designer, are very good indeed.
What I hope is that they don't remove the inherent sense of theatre in Phantom - I've come to believe it's just as much about theatre and how theatre can be used as an imaginative space as it is the gothic love story. At least, that's my interpretation of the Prince/Bjornson staging, hence why I would disagree with Masked Lion. By contrast I found the movie, with its hyper-detailed lair, far too cluttered and would honestly hate it if they gave the Phantom a pipe organ: that's just cheesy gothic/Halloween stuff really.

Lycanthrope

Posts : 44
Join date : 2009-10-04

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  MaskedLion Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:49 pm

@MajesticPhantom



You are entitled to your opinion, and I am entitled to mine. Honestly, I wish they had kept to the book's idea of his house.
MaskedLion
MaskedLion

Posts : 10
Join date : 2011-01-09
Age : 135
Location : USA

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  MajesticPhantom Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:54 pm

Yes, you are entitled to an opinion of interpretation (ie the execution of the Phantom's home). But it is not your opinion of interpretation that I have a problem with, but it is your, to be blunt, shallow view of money/quality and the creative "product" (for lack of a better term) being presented you.
MajesticPhantom
MajesticPhantom

Posts : 270
Join date : 2010-07-26

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  LadyCDaae Sat Apr 02, 2011 12:15 am

I have to agree with MajesticPhantom on this--I think one of the best things about Bjornson's set design is that it's beautiful without being overstated. I've heard the word "impressionistic" used to describe it, and I think it fits--of course Erik's home would be something more than a bunch of candles and a few pieces of furniture in an open space, but on stage these things are all that's really needed to create the feel of this mysterious, hidden world beneath the Opera. In the early years of the production, the lake scene would get applause--even though all it amounts to is some candles, a remote control boat, and a metric ton of dry ice. But it's visually gorgeous, and dramatically perfect.

And I do want to see every bead on Carlotta's costumes, because that's who Carlotta is--ostentatious, dramatic, dressed to the height of fashion and wanting the world to know it. Costume should reflect character, and that comes through in Bjornson's work. Compare Carlotta's fabulous "Prima Donna" dress with Christine's simpler blue gown. Both dresses say a lot about their wearers--their personalities, their social and economic status, their differences as performers. I think one of the drawbacks of a lot of the high school productions is that the costumes don't have a whole lot of personality--you can tell a lot of them were pulled from the storage rack (of course we're talking about people on a tight budget here, but still). For that matter, neither did most of Rossum's costumes in the film.

~LCD

LadyCDaae

Posts : 724
Join date : 2009-10-04
Age : 47
Location : Denver

http://musicalhell.blogspot.com/

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  SenorSwanky Sat Apr 02, 2011 2:51 am

MaskedLion wrote:Honestly? IMHO, I never liked the sets for the original productions, especially in the lair scene. (Crazy I know.) but I don't believe that I should have to fill in the shadows with my imagination when I just paid over 100 dollars to see a production. I don't think we need to see every single bead on Carlotta's dress, I honestly preferred the Hungarian and Polish designs in terms of sets. Leroux gave Erik a wonderful house, and I feel he deserves better than what Maria Björnson gave him. At least give him a better pipe organ for hells sake, I do hope when they restage this, they focus more on the character development, Maybe it's just me and the US tours, but I have never truly felt that Phantom loved Christine, during the times I have seen the show in the US. *shrugs*
You're definitely in the minority because I and most of us couldn't disagree more. Maybe the last sentence holds some merit, depending on the actors.
SenorSwanky
SenorSwanky

Posts : 1632
Join date : 2009-09-25
Age : 39
Location : Raleigh, NC

https://www.facebook.com/dustiningalls

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  Scorp Sat Apr 02, 2011 3:34 pm

Lycanthrope wrote:Having looked up Paul Brown, it seems he's primarily a designer of opera, which is intriguing given Bjornson's background in opera as well. It kind of helps he's won fairly prestigious awards as well. So his credentials, and those of the lighting designer, are very good indeed.
What I hope is that they don't remove the inherent sense of theatre in Phantom - I've come to believe it's just as much about theatre and how theatre can be used as an imaginative space as it is the gothic love story. At least, that's my interpretation of the Prince/Bjornson staging, hence why I would disagree with Masked Lion. By contrast I found the movie, with its hyper-detailed lair, far too cluttered and would honestly hate it if they gave the Phantom a pipe organ: that's just cheesy gothic/Halloween stuff really.

Bingo on the theatricality of the original production. What a lot of people forget these days is that, in the early days of the show, a big part of the appeal (and what found favour with the London reviewers) was how this was a return to old-fashioned theatrical values. In the era when the show opened, London was awash with vapid shows which were highly reliant on big hi-tech gimmicks, the most notable of these (and the one which was the most heavily criticised) being a show called Time. Even ALW himself had contributed to the 'problem' with his own Starlight Express. But he himself had noted the issue and I think what appealed enormously to Hal was the idea of conceiving the show as a love letter to the theatre.

For all the (IMHO unfounded) criticism of Phantom being a show about spectacle and about a chandelier, it's a simple black-box show at its heart that relies on centuries-old theatrical illusion -- no hi-tech gimmicks. That is a massive part of its appeal and it's certainly what ignited my own awe when I saw the show at Her Majesty's as a young boy for the first time in 1992. Hal and Maria conceived the show as a total theatrical experience from the minute you entered the theatre, and I think it's ingenious of them to decide to incorporate the actual working Victorian machinery at Her Majesty's into the show. So PLEASE no projections and WIW-style videogamery...
Scorp
Scorp

Posts : 1308
Join date : 2009-09-21

http://phantomslair.com

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  Lycanthrope Sat Apr 02, 2011 10:54 pm

Scorp wrote:
Lycanthrope wrote:Having looked up Paul Brown, it seems he's primarily a designer of opera, which is intriguing given Bjornson's background in opera as well. It kind of helps he's won fairly prestigious awards as well. So his credentials, and those of the lighting designer, are very good indeed.
What I hope is that they don't remove the inherent sense of theatre in Phantom - I've come to believe it's just as much about theatre and how theatre can be used as an imaginative space as it is the gothic love story. At least, that's my interpretation of the Prince/Bjornson staging, hence why I would disagree with Masked Lion. By contrast I found the movie, with its hyper-detailed lair, far too cluttered and would honestly hate it if they gave the Phantom a pipe organ: that's just cheesy gothic/Halloween stuff really.

Bingo on the theatricality of the original production. What a lot of people forget these days is that, in the early days of the show, a big part of the appeal (and what found favour with the London reviewers) was how this was a return to old-fashioned theatrical values. In the era when the show opened, London was awash with vapid shows which were highly reliant on big hi-tech gimmicks, the most notable of these (and the one which was the most heavily criticised) being a show called Time. Even ALW himself had contributed to the 'problem' with his own Starlight Express. But he himself had noted the issue and I think what appealed enormously to Hal was the idea of conceiving the show as a love letter to the theatre.

For all the (IMHO unfounded) criticism of Phantom being a show about spectacle and about a chandelier, it's a simple black-box show at its heart that relies on centuries-old theatrical illusion -- no hi-tech gimmicks. That is a massive part of its appeal and it's certainly what ignited my own awe when I saw the show at Her Majesty's as a young boy for the first time in 1992. Hal and Maria conceived the show as a total theatrical experience from the minute you entered the theatre, and I think it's ingenious of them to decide to incorporate the actual working Victorian machinery at Her Majesty's into the show. So PLEASE no projections and WIW-style videogamery...

I would actually level the accusation of spectacle and, indeed, vapidity, at Wicked, which I found could may as well be a film and, although Defying Gravity works as an effective moment of stage wizardry, lacks any sense of transcendent 'magic' and emotional pull, both of which Phantom possesses in spades. In Phantom the 'spectacle' is at the service of a very good story (I could easily wax lyrical about my love of the title song as the perfect symbiosis of music and staging; but I digress).

On a more topical note, given that Hal has given his permission for this staging, I presume (and trust) that he wants certain conditions to be met to maintain the integrity of Phantom. And bear in mind the effect the 25th anniversary celebrations had for Les Mis: ticket sales are very healthy indeed for the original production, so I can only hope a celebration of Phantom will keep the London original (and they may well retain the 'Brilliant Original' advertising to differentiate it from the tour) buoyant for years to come.

Lycanthrope

Posts : 44
Join date : 2009-10-04

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  IamErik771 Sun Apr 03, 2011 5:21 am

Lycanthrope wrote:I would actually level the accusation of spectacle and, indeed, vapidity, at Wicked, which I found could may as well be a film and, although Defying Gravity works as an effective moment of stage wizardry, lacks any sense of transcendent 'magic' and emotional pull, both of which Phantom possesses in spades. In Phantom the 'spectacle' is at the service of a very good story (I could easily wax lyrical about my love of the title song as the perfect symbiosis of music and staging; but I digress).

Mm, your mileage may vary on that. Personally, I felt Wicked had more of an emotional pull on me than POTO did when I saw them live (and at the same venue, to boot). I assure you, no one was more surprised by that than I. Though part of it may have been because I had devoured everything I could of POTO prior to seeing it live (and therefore knew everything that was "supposed" to happen), whereas all I knew of Wicked was what I'd heard on the cast recordings, so many of the plot twists and much of the character development still ended up being a surprise. I do believe, though, that both shows are superb both in terms of content and spectacle, but certainly, people will have varying opinions on that.

I think that Cameron Mackintosh's prior insistence on making sure all the Touring versions of POTO had pretty much the same sets and costumes as the Broadway and West End productions, while admirable, also had a downside, and that's the fact that any non-replica productions risk being looked down on as not being "legit," regardless of their own merits. I prefer to look at the whole package -- the actors' performances, the way the story is communicated, the orchestrations and how well the musicians deliver them, and the look of the production.

Think about it this way: If you were to see a non-replica production in which the performers were all superb and left you in tears by the end, and then you saw a replica version where, on the night you attended, the leads weren't very good and didn't affect you emotionally, which performance would you consider to be superior? True, the argument is flawed -- pretty much every production has had some leads one would consider to be great and others who, perhaps, one would not. But I think even the most die-hard fan of the Prince/Björnson staging would, in the end, pick good performances by the actors over a perfect replica of the original's look.
IamErik771
IamErik771

Posts : 328
Join date : 2009-09-22
Age : 35
Location : Hawaii

http://iamerik771.blogspot.com/

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  Lycanthrope Sun Apr 03, 2011 4:54 pm

I take your point, but will never agree as I still think Wicked is a superficially entertaining but hollow show. For example, 'For Good', which makes most of the girls my age (and I fitted precisely that teenage girl demographic when I saw the show) blub, left me cold with its overt sentimentality. I can't fault its physical production though.

And yes, well, for me the central performance is paramount in Phantom. The times I've been most disappointed with the show was when I felt no pity for the Phantom and didn't cry, as I usually do, as happened when I saw David Shannon, and, Scott Davies (the latter did surprise me, I assure you). It's a very tough choice to make as I see Phantom as a total, immersive theatrical experience so it's perhaps a little reductive to break it up into its constituent parts when it functions so well as a whole. Obviously the drama, and how well I am emotionally and intellectually engaged, matter most to me.

Lycanthrope

Posts : 44
Join date : 2009-10-04

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  Scorp Mon Apr 04, 2011 7:28 am

I'm with Lycanthrope on the superficiality of Wicked. That time dragon clock thingy (what's it called again?) is a good example. All it does is move around and have smoke issuing from it, yet there's no reference to it in the show, and even then it's not really until you've read Maguire's novel that you realise it might just be inspired from that thing Elphaba's born in.

I honestly think the whole "British megamusicals are vapid spectacles" was just nonsense propaganda perpetuated by a media with a very obvious nationalist agenda at the time -- upset that the British were usurping an American artform. You can certainly level the criticism at something like Starlight Express, but if people honestly believe people watching Les Mis are applauding because the barricade is revolving, or in Phantom because the chandelier came down -- and, at that, very slowly on Broadway -- they're just delusional.

'One Day More' is enormously powerful however it is staged and that's down to the writing. Would 'Defying Gravity' really elicit rapturous applause if Elphaba didn't fly?
Scorp
Scorp

Posts : 1308
Join date : 2009-09-21

http://phantomslair.com

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty RE: 2012 Rework

Post  BradPhan Sun Jun 26, 2011 9:05 pm

Hi Everyone! Just found this place after having been a long-lost lurker of POL and PhansOnline. Very Happy

To revive this topic, it just seems to me that any time the ALW Musical is "tweaked", it screws up the magic of the original. I don't know - hopefully, I'll eat my words and any updates will be phantastic.

IMHO, POTO is still selling; it is still magical and there is a reason.

BradPhan I love you
BradPhan
BradPhan

Posts : 3
Join date : 2011-06-26

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  Scorp Wed Jun 29, 2011 11:46 am

I heard Tosca at the Royal Opera House last night and discovered in the programme that the designer for this production of it is Paul Brown, who's going to do the new Phantom. So it seems Cameron has deliberately selected someone who, like Maria, designs primarily for opera (the majority of his credits are for opera, the rest being some Shakespeare and ballet and Man of La Mancha on Broadway).

Since Act III took place on a rooftop (of the Castel Sant'Angelo), it gave you some idea of what AIAOY might be like. It was quite a minimalist and dark set, which is in-keeping with the idea behind Björnson's set for Phantom...so that was encouraging. Can't seem to find a decent picture of that set online aside from this tiny one:

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Rohtosca0606D
Scorp
Scorp

Posts : 1308
Join date : 2009-09-21

http://phantomslair.com

Back to top Go down

25th Anniversary Restaged Tour Empty Re: 25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

Post  Sponsored content


Sponsored content


Back to top Go down

Page 1 of 25 1, 2, 3 ... 13 ... 25  Next

Back to top

- Similar topics

 
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum