The Broadway production + Original US Replica tour

StrangerThanUDreamt wrote:I understand the point that the many people involved in the shows history being present and I think that is fantastic, but I don't see how not letting phans have access to some tickets isn't a slap in the face to the core fan-base; While many made the show happen, it's the paying audience and repeat viewers that keep any form of entertainment running, so I cant say I'm chill with the idea of no tickets being available to the public, at least when London celebrated it's 25th they showcased it at a venue that many could come see and enjoy.

Yep, my sentiments exactly!

Phantom on a Budget wrote:If anything I would suspect that there would be even more private invites to the 25th than the record-breaking performance. The sheer number of people involved over the years between cast, crew, production staff, etc could easily fill that house I'm sure. The ticket folks guessed that they might release a small number of tickets for that performance, but I think it's probably a little unrealistic at this point to expect a bunch of them to be available to the public. I don't necessarily see that as a slap in fans' faces either. Some nice discounts have been made available for fans for performances around that time frame. I'm happy with the two seats I scored leading up to the 25th and the money I saved. If nothing is available for Saturday, I'm fine with it. I don't think anyone here should take that personally.

I admit you're handling this with more grace than I am.

That said, as much as I would have liked at least some concession at the gala for we ordinary riff-raff, I have to admit the main attraction to going to New York is being able to share my love of this story with a bunch of wonderful people--most of whom I've never had the chance to meet IRL before. And I'm going to get that, so that's what matters most. (Besides, I think we crazy phans can come up with our own way of celebrating...)

~LCD

^ I like that idea; I will be there for a few performances leading up to the 25th anniversary as I'm sure several others will be too, and if we cant access tickets, throwing our own celebration sounds good. I do believe there will be a costume night as well, just haven't heard which night that week it'll be.

StrangerThanUDreamt wrote:^ I like that idea; I will be there for a few performances leading up to the 25th anniversary as I'm sure several others will be too, and if we cant access tickets, throwing our own celebration sounds good. I do believe there will be a costume night as well, just haven't heard which night that week it'll be.

Yes, I like the idea of having our own Phan gathering/event/party, whatever, in NYC around the time of the Phantom 25th. Count me in!

I'm sort of in that boat of not really expecting to get in for the gala, so i booked by backup the Thursday before since they do have on a pretty good sale (second row for $80) so atleast I'll see it that week, and hopefully SIerra will be on that night (she is supposed to, but I have TERRIBLE luck with Christines in NYC) and will go the Monday after to see the alternate.

But I am still leaving the night of the 26th open 'just in case'

NightRachel wrote:

StrangerThanUDreamt wrote:^ I like that idea; I will be there for a few performances leading up to the 25th anniversary as I'm sure several others will be too, and if we cant access tickets, throwing our own celebration sounds good. I do believe there will be a costume night as well, just haven't heard which night that week it'll be.

Yes, I like the idea of having our own Phan gathering/event/party, whatever, in NYC around the time of the Phantom 25th. Count me in!

I like the idea of a large group of phans standing outside the Majestic with sad puppy faces, with the hope that someone will let them in for the 25th anniversary performance.

^THIS, Here is my main issue with the 25th anniversary (thus far)...A lot of these 'invites' that have gone out are NOT to people from past casts or involved with Phantom directly, but rather big names in the industry that they want to have in the seats; I don't see how that is not a slap in the face to the phans, If they were to pack the house with a who's who of past cast/crew members than by all means, that would be wonderful. But that is not what is happening here, and THAT is why I (and many others) are a bit frustrated with this whole ordeal.

How do you know who's gotten invites?

Some who aren't able to contain their excitement (and who am I kidding, Id be one of them!) have been posting about it on various blogs/websites

LadyCDaae wrote:

Phantom on a Budget wrote:If anything I would suspect that there would be even more private invites to the 25th than the record-breaking performance. The sheer number of people involved over the years between cast, crew, production staff, etc could easily fill that house I'm sure. The ticket folks guessed that they might release a small number of tickets for that performance, but I think it's probably a little unrealistic at this point to expect a bunch of them to be available to the public. I don't necessarily see that as a slap in fans' faces either. Some nice discounts have been made available for fans for performances around that time frame. I'm happy with the two seats I scored leading up to the 25th and the money I saved. If nothing is available for Saturday, I'm fine with it. I don't think anyone here should take that personally.

I admit you're handling this with more grace than I am.

I'll be blunt; I just don't care to get myself all worked up over it. I've had to adopt the "worry about things you can control," mantra lately, and to get all upset about the 25th and tickets is just not worth my time. Who gets invited (I don't care), how many invites go out, how many people accept, and whether or not tickets get released to the public and how much (and how much they cost) is NOT within my control, so I honestly don't see the point in getting offended by it all. I've seen an awful lot of entitled attitudes around the fan community online, and I just think that sets people up to be disappointed and upset about our favorite show reaching its 25th birthday, which is ridiculous. Bottom line, the Majestic is not Royal Albert Hall, and it has very limited seating for an event like this. So the powers-that-be decided it was going to be an invitation event. I suspect that the number of people who accept those invites will probably determine how many (if any) tickets are release for public purchase. All that doesn't offend me, but if offends others, then so be it. I just don't have the time to dedicate to feeling angry about this.

My sincere advice would be to take a breath, sit back and let the invitation thing work, because I suspect that some tickets will be released once they know who is/is not coming.

If people have the opportunity to get tickets and go, awesome, more power to you. I'm certainly not going to be shelling out hundreds of dollars for a ticket or standing in line all night if it comes to that. My vacation already involves two shows of POTO, I'll be seeing some great Phantom friends while I'm in town, and I'm happy to take myself to another show on 26 Jan and experience the rest of Broadway. I'll wish POTO a happy b-day on my way past the theatre.

Yeah, and to be honest I'm not entirely sure I could aspire to a gala ticket even if they do become available, depending on price. With all the expenses we've had lately due to moving, just being able to get to New York is a luxury I had despaired of for a while.

~LCD

I'm with Phantom on a Budget on this one. Disappointed that the public has to be on the wait list for the anniversary performance? Sure, but that's as far as it goes. I have neither the time, patience, or willpower to get worked up over it since I have no control over the matter. If tickets are released to the public, that's awesome; but I'm not going to drop any significant amount of money or jump through hoops to get one. Of course, I assumed I felt this way because I'm an old fogey.

*If* I wind up going to NY in January (a decision that I haven't made yet), I'll probably catch Phantom a couple times around the Anniversary weekend. And if that's it, that'll be fine with me. I'm sure all the phans in town that night will probably be celebrating together at a different location or waving to the alumni from across the street as they arrive at the Majestic.

R.

Raphael wrote:I'm with Phantom on a Budget on this one. Disappointed that the public has to be on the wait list for the anniversary performance? Sure, but that's as far as it goes. I have neither the time, patience, or willpower to get worked up over it since I have no control over the matter. If tickets are released to the public, that's awesome; but I'm not going to drop any significant amount of money or jump through hoops to get one. Of course, I assumed I felt this way because I'm an old fogey.

Same, here, although I credit it partial to being an old fogey, and also to the fact that there is no way I would have the time to make it to NYC these days.
But I still like the idea of a picture of a large group of phans standing outside the Majestic making sad puppy faces.

StrangerThanUDreamt wrote:I understand the point that the many people involved in the shows history being present and I think that is fantastic, but I don't see how not letting phans have access to some tickets isn't a slap in the face to the core fan-base; While many made the show happen, it's the paying audience and repeat viewers that keep any form of entertainment running.

Yah...but those repeat viewers are "a sad culture of people", remember?

Ha, you guys make me want to wear a t-shirt that says "The Sad Culture" next time I go see the show.

Except I doubt anyone outside of this group would have the faintest idea what that means.

Raphael wrote:I'm with Phantom on a Budget on this one. Disappointed that the public has to be on the wait list for the anniversary performance? Sure, but that's as far as it goes. I have neither the time, patience, or willpower to get worked up over it since I have no control over the matter. If tickets are released to the public, that's awesome; but I'm not going to drop any significant amount of money or jump through hoops to get one. Of course, I assumed I felt this way because I'm an old fogey.

That's ok, we can hang out and be old fogeys together. But you have to come to NYC first.

New NY principal cast pics: CLICK

phantom10906 wrote:New NY principal cast pics: CLICK

Sam looks gorgeous! The MOTN shots are awesome, and the Final Lair one looks totally badass.

As long as I get to see Sam at some point while I'm in NYC this Jan. I can totally forgive not getting tickets to the 25th anniversary show.

phantom10906 wrote:New NY principal cast pics: CLICK

Awesome stuff! I'm really looking forward to seeing this again.

~LCD

I love the lair shot, but it continues to bother me that the makeup artist in London (is it still Tiffany Hicks?) continues to do such a better job than Thelma does here, especially for close-up shots.

I'm thinking Thelma just does the usual theatrical version, which really does not photo well, and in London they do it a bit more naturalistic in the photo shoots. Actually I think they may have slightly photoshopped the recent one with Marcus on the throne because it is odd that you don't see any edges of the prosthetic whatsoever

phantom10906 wrote:New NY principal cast pics: CLICK

Thanks for posting the link to these new photos! They look great!

You know, I think Kara Klein is a very pretty Meg -- one of the prettiest ones I've seen. Just looking at her, she would make a beautiful Christine.

Tony Crivello pretty much summing up what I've been trying to say (I realize the video is not in relation to the 25th anniversary or the Broadway production specifically; but I defiantly think it applies in regards to current events)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFur9EyZCGQ

justin-from-barbados wrote:I'm sort of in that boat of not really expecting to get in for the gala, so i booked by backup the Thursday before since they do have on a pretty good sale (second row for $80) so atleast I'll see it that week, and hopefully SIerra will be on that night (she is supposed to, but I have TERRIBLE luck with Christines in NYC) and will go the Monday after to see the alternate.

But I am still leaving the night of the 26th open 'just in case'

As I understand it, the alternate's current schedule is Monday/Thursday. Of course that could always change once Boggess joins the cast in Jan, but if you're hoping on seeing both Christines, you may have only locked Hill in so far.

R.

they posted Siera's scedule earlier, had her alternate listed as monday and i think wed mats, so i hope they were right, if not i will just go again the Friday before instead of the monday

Also, remember that due to the gala on Saturday the schedule's a bit changed up that week, with a matinee on Thursday and none on Saturday. I don't know if that will affect alternate scheduling or not.

~LCD

Didnt realise they were adding a matanee, thought it odd when i was booking that i had to select the 8pm slot for s day that doesnt have a matanee.

oh well, keeping my fingers crossed, if not, will go the friday too, (might do monday too if i really like Samantha)

StrangerThanUDreamt wrote:More news on Sierras limited engagement as Christine in the Broadway production
Sierra's engagement with the Broadway cast, already announced to start the week of January 21, is now confirmed through March 2. That's six weeks to see her in the show!
The Christine playing schedule will have Sierra's 6 regular performances each week as Tue eves, Weds eves, Thurs eves, Fri eves, Sat mats and Sat eves. During this time, the Christine Alternate (Samantha Hill) will play Mon eves and Weds mats

And there was a photo-shoot done at the Majestic in October, this is the only picture released so far

so hopefully if there is a Thurs. matanee that week, that Samantha will be doing that one along with the MOnday after, but you never know, particularly with my luck. Ive seen the show in NYC 9 times and got to see the principal Christine once.

Warm-ups and rituals of Phantom cast members

I may never look at Carlotta's "Notes" entrance the same way again.

~LCD