25th Anniversary Restaged Tour

John Owen-Jones went on tonight in Liverpool. He found out very last minute, and got into town in the afternoon and learned the new staging that was instated with Carpenter back in September. I'm sure it was a wild experience!

MajesticPhantom wrote:John Owen-Jones went on tonight in Liverpool. He found out very last minute, and got into town in the afternoon and learned the new staging that was instated with Carpenter back in September. I'm sure it was a wild experience!

i went the press night in Liverpool,was a massive surprise that JOJ was on and when his name was announced there was a massive cheer,ive loved the new tour ever since i saw it,7 times for me and 1 backstage tour with one on tuesday coming up,i was one of these who thought it wouldn't work but i was so wrong,as for Chandler thats cause of theaters and funds im told,it might be done differently in USA as there loaded but the rest i love,cant complain about anything really,just keep an open mind and dont think of the original,think of it as how phantom would be done if opened today.

If Phantom had opened today and been done this way, it never would have lasted as long as the original has.

i went the press night in Liverpool,was a massive surprise that JOJ was on and when his name was announced there was a massive cheer,ive loved the new tour ever since i saw it,7 times for me and 1 backstage tour with one on tuesday coming up,i was one of these who thought it wouldn't work but i was so wrong,as for Chandler thats cause of theaters and funds im told,it might be done differently in USA as there loaded but the rest i love,cant complain about anything really,

just keep an open mind and dont think of the original,think of it as how phantom would be done if opened today.

"Just keep an open mind and don't think of the original".....I've heard that before, again and again, from fans of the maybe-it-was-a-sequel-and-maybe-it-wasn't.

Keeping an open mind is over-rated, and not thinking about the original is a kind of schizophrenia I can't completely manage.

Reminds me: on a dating site the other day, a caption on a girl's photo said something like "At dinner before seeing Phantom of the Opera at the Apollo Victoria." *facepalm*

SenorSwanky wrote:If Phantom had opened today and been done this way, it never would have lasted as long as the original has.

Took the words out of my typing hands. Amen.

Website for the new US tour: CLICK

It was announced earlier this week that the tour will be playing at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady, NY.

http://www.proctors.org/events/phantom

To me, it feels just a tiny bit ironic (though I sort of half-expected it) because Proctors spent millions on a high-profile renovation - enlarging the stage house, gutting the sub-stage, etc. - specifically to accommodate the "original" Phantom tour. The size of the auditorium made for a pretty good chandelier descent, too.

I've got plenty of time to decide whether I'm going to bother seeing it. I've watched a few clips from the UK and, despite keeping an open mind, I really don't find anything to like (beyond individual performances). Tickets don't go on sale for months so we'll see who they cast...which will be one big factor for me.

^ I second this irony, as the theatre in my state it is coming to (Arnoff center for the arts, Cincinnati) is actually the theatre where I first saw the original production on tour with Gary Mauer and Beth Southard, so I would adivse there marketing/media team to stop with the "We down-sized so we could make it accessible to smaller venues!" mantra they have been citing for the UK tour. Because as it looks, this tour is hitting the same exact places that housed the original version perfectly fine.

I don't know where it would be if/when it comes to Denver, but the Buell was another theater designed to house the large touring shows--in fact, Phantom was the first show to play there when it opened. A smaller production might be able to fit into the Ellie Caulkins, though...

~LCD

Bric wrote:

i went the press night in Liverpool,was a massive surprise that JOJ was on and when his name was announced there was a massive cheer,ive loved the new tour ever since i saw it,7 times for me and 1 backstage tour with one on tuesday coming up,i was one of these who thought it wouldn't work but i was so wrong,as for Chandler thats cause of theaters and funds im told,it might be done differently in USA as there loaded but the rest i love,cant complain about anything really,

just keep an open mind and dont think of the original,think of it as how phantom would be done if opened today.

"Just keep an open mind and don't think of the original".....I've heard that before, again and again, from fans of the maybe-it-was-a-sequel-and-maybe-it-wasn't.

Keeping an open mind is over-rated, and not thinking about the original is a kind of schizophrenia I can't completely manage.

keep an open midn and no think about hte original which is better by the way thats a load of crap

better shot of the new tour chandelier

I still have big issues with the tour chandelier.

My biggest beef is that it does in no way resemble the Palais Garnier one. Which is a pity, as they've been so careful in copying other Garnier traits - the red curtain, Apollo's lyre, the mirrored hallway and so forth. So it's clearly meant to be set in Palais Garnier. But whereas the latter has a heavy, ornamental Neo-Baroque style, with an emphasis on the horizontal lines, the tour chandelier has a lighter Regency look with a more vertical, drop shaped focus:

Regency styled chandelier with the typical drop shape and covered in crystals:


A Baroque and/or Neo-Baroque chandelier would on the other hand have one or several tiers where candles (and later electrical light) could be put, and as a bonus maybe crystals, mirrors and golden decorations reflecting the candle light:


This is as basic design knowledge as can be, and it seems so sloppy they didn't even attempt a more Baroque style chandelier, let alone one looking more like the Garnier one. Even the movie one, with the same Regency shape, seemed closer because they had bothered to slap on the iconic lyres. Had they at least dropped the rounded bottom or the pointed top the tiers could somewhat resemble it. But as it is now it's a weird, out of place hybrid.

I could however have lived wit that if the tour chandelier had outstanding details. But hoisted up in the ceiling it looks like something belonging at The Milfold Hotel in New York, or a random Vegas casino.

Some months ago I made a comparison of the various chandeliers in ALW's musical, as seen in the original, in Vegas, in Poland, in Hungary, in the 2004 movie, in the RAH concert and in the UK tour. Link here, if interested:
http://operafantomet.tumblr.com/post/39947973431/phantom-chandeliers-alw-version-and-of-course

I agree with you, operafantomet...I too don't really like the shape/design of the UK tour chandelier. I much prefer the "original" Maria-designed chandeliers from the London, Broadway, and other past POTO productions.
And thanks for posting the link to your Tumblr blog entry with the chandelier comparisons -- that's great! Looking at all the photos side-by-side like that, you can really see the similarities and differences btw the various chandeliers. Even the 2004 movie chandelier looks better, IMO, than the UK tour one.

Thanks, Anea. The shape of the tour chandelier has long bothered me, but I couldn't quite put my finger on why (beyond a vague "it doesn't look right" feeling). The historical comparisons highlight the issue very well.

~LCD

StrangerThanUDreamt wrote:better shot of the new tour chandelier

Still think it looks like something in a Chinese buffet. I mean really, is this the BEST they could come up with?

While on the topic of the UK tours chandelier ( which I still say looks like its unfinished) I found this article
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/theatre/hippodromes-phantom-of-the-opera--2062006

There are times when the best seat in the house probably isn’t the best seat in the house.

When you’re sitting directly underneath a chandelier that’s seen better days, for instance.

Especially one bearing the ominous tag ‘Lot 666’ ...

Because this is a new production of Phantom which, quite literally, raises the roof and brings the house down.[i]

Really? Because I've "seen" this new tour, and it barely even moves at all

[i]Cameron Mackintosh has given Andrew Lloyd Webber’s masterpiece a multi-million pound makeover for a year-long UK tour marking the show’s 25th anniversary – and it’s a huge undertaking.

Count the trucks outside. It took no fewer than 21 juggernauts to deliver Paris Opera House and the Phantom’s underground lair to Birmingham.

Structural engineers had to test the stage to ensure it could take the weight.

21 trucks? Isn't that roughly the same or more than what it took to tour the original production?

But pinch yourself. And when that chandelier explodes high above you, its 632 strings of beads rattling, its wiring short circuiting in cascades of sparks, showering you in shards of glass, fear not.

Pick up a piece and wonder just how realistic, yet how bendy, it is.

So it does everything BUT crash...I like the idea of the fake glass being showered on the audience, but drop the damn thing already.

StrangerThanUDreamt wrote:While on the topic of the UK tours chandelier ( which I still say looks like its unfinished) I found this article
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/theatre/hippodromes-phantom-of-the-opera--2062006

There are times when the best seat in the house probably isn’t the best seat in the house.

When you’re sitting directly underneath a chandelier that’s seen better days, for instance.

Especially one bearing the ominous tag ‘Lot 666’ ...

Because this is a new production of Phantom which, quite literally, raises the roof and brings the house down.[i]

Really? Because I've "seen" this new tour, and it barely even moves at all

[i]Cameron Mackintosh has given Andrew Lloyd Webber’s masterpiece a multi-million pound makeover for a year-long UK tour marking the show’s 25th anniversary – and it’s a huge undertaking.

Count the trucks outside. It took no fewer than 21 juggernauts to deliver Paris Opera House and the Phantom’s underground lair to Birmingham.

Structural engineers had to test the stage to ensure it could take the weight.

21 trucks? Isn't that roughly the same or more than what it took to tour the original production?

But pinch yourself. And when that chandelier explodes high above you, its 632 strings of beads rattling, its wiring short circuiting in cascades of sparks, showering you in shards of glass, fear not.

Pick up a piece and wonder just how realistic, yet how bendy, it is.

So it does everything BUT crash...I like the idea of the fake glass being showered on the audience, but drop the damn thing already.

I've still not got over that crummy chandelier and it's 6 months since I saw it

Cameron Mackintosh has given Andrew Lloyd Webber’s masterpiece a multi-million pound makeover for a year-long UK tour marking the show’s 25th anniversary – and it’s a huge undertaking.

The thing I don't like about this quote is that it makes it seem as though the redesign was undertaken to make the production bigger and better, which is the opposite. I think that article sets up some misleading expectations. And that's probably what saddens me the most about the new tour. Not the picky complaints we often have as fans, but the idea of the general non-fan audience seeing the new production and thinking, "Gee, I remembered this as much better" or "This is not as good people say it is."

That said, I'll be going to see it anyway. I'm too interested to see what they do to stay away.

i have no reason to see it, i live on long island so if i want to see phantom i can just go to the city to see it its only an hour away

I'll most likely go see it as well, just out of curiosity.

In regards to the Joback rumor, I believe we can put it to rest. He is doing another leg of his "I Love Musicals" tour this fall, after his run with Phantom in NYC.

StrangerThanUDreamt wrote:I'll most likely go see it as well, just out of curiosity.

In regards to the Joback rumor, I believe we can put it to rest. He is doing another leg of his "I Love Musicals" tour this fall, after his run with Phantom in NYC.

He's also starring as Sweeney in Sweeney Tood in Stockholm. A slightly movie based production, judging from the promo photo, which you can see here:
http://www.peterjoback.com/nyheter_english.php?newsdetail=1006&page=1

*groan* He's even less able to sing that score than Phantom's.

I realize he isn't everybody cup o', but I don't think he would be snagging roles such as the Phantom and Todd if was completely inept at singing them.

It's more his range. Sweeney is a role for a bass or at least a baritone. At least Phantom is written for a tenor.

New topic for those interested in discussing the 25th Anniversary Tour directed by Laurence Connor.

R.

Thanks for starting this. In the last couple of years, mainly on Facebook, I've seen the word "tour" causing confusion. There have been more than one touring versions!

This one, known as the 25th Anniversary tour or sometimes the "restaged tour" is very definitely a non-replica production. I've taken to referring to it as the Laurence Connor version, in the hope of avoiding confusion.

It played in the UK 2012-2013, then moved to North America, where it travelled around, ending I think in Toronto in 2019. At that point I presumed it was over and done with, but now I know that this is the version which is opening in the Sydney Opera House in September.

On this forum, it was previously included in the topic "The Broadway Production + US Tour." But the Connor version is so different from Broadway, I think it should have its own slot. Anyone wanting to read previous descriptions should go to that "Bway + US tour" thread, from page 19 onwards.

I'm in the UK, but at the time the Connor version played here, (a) it was always easier for me to get to London than to any of the tour venues, and (b) nothing I heard about the tour made me want to see it. The various detailed write-ups on this forum have convinced me that I made the right decision. There's a general feeling that Cameron Mackintosh likes this one because it saves him having to pay royalties to the estates of Phantom's original trio of creative geniuses, Prince, Bjornson and Lynne.

Actually, I just found a 25-page thread on this very production. Merged for convenience and so readers can get the full history, but please make note of MarySkater's recommendation of the Broadway/US Tour thread for additional content related to the Connor Restaged Tour.

R.