Re: High School and College Productions

TheFinnishPhantom Tue Nov 22, 2011 6:57 pm

thephanfullerton wrote:
TheFinnishPhantom wrote:
I am speechless.
Good speechless or bad speechless?
For me, definitely bad speechless! Is that the movie soundtrack??
OG

In a bad sense.. and that is the movie soundtrack.

Phantom on a Budget Thu Nov 24, 2011 1:41 am

A rather interesting and pretty impressive high school version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPJqs1huWo4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys6hSbDoB_k (blonde Christine!)
https://www.youtube.com/user/minocqua4us#p/u/5/S2dG15W53dw (Final Lair...I liked it except for the Phantom's makeup not being finished)

Some of the singers are bad, but ....what can you do?

SenorSwanky Thu Nov 24, 2011 3:18 am

Technically impressive, but ugh, the singing and acting....

**Raphael** Thu Nov 24, 2011 3:24 am

Phantom on a Budget wrote:A rather interesting and pretty impressive high school version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPJqs1huWo4

Hey, a hot Carlotta! And finally an elephant! And... "Giles" André?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys6hSbDoB_k (blonde Christine!)

What's up with the drab costumes? Did they spend all their money on the elephant?

https://www.youtube.com/user/minocqua4us#p/u/5/S2dG15W53dw (Final Lair...I liked it except for the Phantom's makeup not being finished)

Pretty legit-looking Lair. Looks like most of the budget went to sets.

Some of the singers are bad, but ....what can you do?

Yeah, you can't win them all Smile

TAFKaR

Madame Giry Thu Nov 24, 2011 3:35 am

Okay, I was kinda on board with this production up until.... What the Heck the RED DEATH is now a Black and White Jester in a Skull Mask?!!?!?

*headdesk*

~Madame~

phantom10906 Thu Nov 24, 2011 9:47 am

Nice to see a HS production stick rather close to the regular PONR blocking. Good lair set. All in all it doesn't look too bad. Very Happy

operafantomet Thu Nov 24, 2011 10:31 am

Phantom on a Budget wrote:
https://www.youtube.com/user/minocqua4us#p/u/5/S2dG15W53dw (Final Lair...I liked it except for the Phantom's makeup not being finished)

....and it sounding like him singing "why YOUR ASS what I bound and chained...." Laughing

Despite too light voice and kinda odd acting, I rather liked that Carlotta in the Hannibal clip. She looks utterly charming. Seems like the camera man has a crush on her too... Madame Giry was also good. Piangi was horrid. And is it only me, or does it almost look like they replaced the slavegirl dance with the Il Muto ballet?

ETA: that Carlotta's "Think of Me" was NOT good....

Phantomlove Thu Nov 24, 2011 7:54 pm

I really like the masquerade clip and Carlotta. And they seem to have very nice sets. One thing that usually bothers me when it comes to these school productions is that the kids quite often don't seem to know why they do something. They stand around akwardly waving their hands like they don't know what to do with them. I think masquerade here seem to be very well rehearsed and the kids seem to know exactly why it is the way it is. Me like. Hannibal on the other hand was far too slow and insecure when it comes to acting. Still not too bad for being a school production but I think masquerade is in a different league.

**MasqPhan** Fri Nov 25, 2011 1:37 am

Other than the Phantom's Masquerade costume, I really liked what I saw set and choreography wise. I thought the acting was pretty good. Wish I could have seen this version in person.

After various US and Canadian school performances, here is an article on the first UK school to do Phantom. It's Stanwell School in Penarth, Wales. They'll be getting a bit of help from fellow Welshman, Peter Karrie.

Penarth Times Article

Phantom on a Budget Fri Nov 25, 2011 3:27 am

Phantomlove wrote:One thing that usually bothers me when it comes to these school productions is that the kids quite often don't seem to know why they do something. They stand around akwardly waving their hands like they don't know what to do with them.

High School and College Productions - Page 5 CopyofPDVD_002

SenorSwanky Fri Nov 25, 2011 3:56 am

Did you guys watch different clips than I did? To me, it was typical bad high school acting. I've definitely seen better performance-wise in a few other high school production clips, though that might be the best sets and lighting I've seen.

Phantom on a Budget Fri Nov 25, 2011 4:13 am

I've seen bad acting in EVERY single clip I've watched from high schools. Probably because they're high schools.

**Raphael** Fri Nov 25, 2011 10:25 am

Yeah. I don't go into watching a high school musical expecting Tony Award-winning performances Wink

Bad acting is pretty much gonna be a given.

operafantomet wrote:Despite too light voice and kinda odd acting, I rather liked that Carlotta in the Hannibal clip. She looks utterly charming. Seems like the camera man has a crush on her too...

I do not!

But yeah, she's a cutie. Hang on, I think that's Chris Hansen of Dateline NBC at the door...

TAFKaR

Guest Fri Nov 25, 2011 10:29 am

SenorSwanky Fri Nov 25, 2011 4:34 pm

I think the camera person who featured Carlotta a lot was probably either a friend or family member. Other clips from other YouTube members are filmed from the sound booth.

**Raphael** Fri Nov 25, 2011 5:53 pm

That was my assessment as well, Swanky. It's too bad about the sound booth vids. While they get a good master shot of the show, all those cues being heard over the mic are incredibly distracting.

On another note, I just finished reviewing Act 1 of the production phantomgirl110, phantom10906 and I saw last weekend (7 pages so far).

TAFKaR

**Raphael** Sat Dec 03, 2011 5:22 pm

A review of the Presentation High production of PotO (not mine for a change):

http://www.highschooltheatrespotlight.com/2011/11/ambitious-compelling-phantom-captivates.html

TAFKaR

operafantomet Sat Dec 03, 2011 5:35 pm

Raphael wrote:A review of the Presentation High production of PotO (not mine for a change):

http://www.highschooltheatrespotlight.com/2011/11/ambitious-compelling-phantom-captivates.html

TAFKaR

Though this set looks like a hand-me-down one from Beauty and the Beast or Hunchback of Notre Dame, and though it's definitely not something I would expect to see in the wet cellars of the Parisian Opera house, I must say it is gorgeous:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/374155_701554991273_26208231_34762059_21611245_n.jpg

Interesting review in general. She has some good points. I cannot for my bare life imagine young girls performing André and Firmin, though!!

Despite the great admiration I have for the effort and indeed the final result, I must question the wisdom of asking high schoolers – talented though they may be – to navigate the vocal demands of this pseudo-opera. As in Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, Phantom is almost entirely sung - straddling the line between opera and musical theater but clearly leaning toward the operatic side of the line. As a result, many of the well-meaning young singers encountered pitch and tension problems, belying their youth and vocal inexperience.

I think the reviewer points out one thing frequently ignored by schools putting on Phantom: that the show is sung-through, and that ALW's score, as all his scores, demands an incredibly stamina. Singing one of the songs in a concert is hard enough, keeping up the energy and pitch for a 2,5 hour performance is hard even for experiences professionals. Though schools always have one or two exceptional vocal talents in their stock, they never have ten of them. To be honest, I have yet to see a school production having FOUR strong singers in the leads (Phantom, Christine, Raoul, Carlotta).

So thought there's been many "wow, good to be a school production" productions since the rights were released, and though we've seen some exceptional young talents, I think there are better choices for schools out there. But now UK is also starting up youngster productions, so I don't think it'll stop anytime soon.

Raphael, I'm looking forward to your review, as always. Was the production above the one you saw?

**Raphael** Sat Dec 03, 2011 5:59 pm

operafantomet wrote:Though this set looks like a hand-me-down one from Beauty and the Beast or Hunchback of Notre Dame, and though it's definitely not something I would expect to see in the wet cellars of the Parisian Opera house, I must say it is gorgeous:

Yeah, we all agreed it looked like it was pilfered from a Disney musical.

Interesting review in general. She has some good points. I cannot for my bare life imagine young girls performing André and Firmin, though!!

The girl playing Firmin was actually VERY good. She had a strong voice and we could understand every word she sang. I was actually surprised she hadn't been cast as Carlotta.

Raphael, I'm looking forward to your review, as always. Was the production above the one you saw?

Yeah, it was. had a lot of fun, more than I had expected going in. Review's done, but I'm not sure if I should post it. Kids these days are really internet-savvy and I think it would be pretty easy for some of those kids to find the review on the 'net with little effort. And while my review is a lot less tongue-in-cheek than usual, I still reviewed with a critical eye and I'd feel bad if any of them took my criticisms personally.

TAFKaR

operafantomet Fri Dec 30, 2011 10:38 pm

So the first school production of POTO in the UK has taken place, at Stanwell in Penarth. In the article about it there is a note about ALW recently going through an operation. I didn't know:

A representative from the Really Useful Group, Anna Unwin, read a message of support from Andrew Lloyd-Webber, who was unable to attend as he is recovering from a recent hip operation
http://www.penarthtimes.co.uk/news/latestnews/9434774.Praise_for_Stanwell_s__breath_taking__Phantom_of_the_Opera/

ML6 Sat Dec 31, 2011 12:12 am

operafantomet wrote:So the first school production of POTO in the UK has taken place, at Stanwell in Penarth. In the article about it there is a note about ALW recently going through an operation. I didn't know:

A representative from the Really Useful Group, Anna Unwin, read a message of support from Andrew Lloyd-Webber, who was unable to attend as he is recovering from a recent hip operation
http://www.penarthtimes.co.uk/news/latestnews/9434774.Praise_for_Stanwell_s__breath_taking__Phantom_of_the_Opera/

I want to hear what they sound like! :O

SenorSwanky Sat Dec 31, 2011 5:17 am

Must be why ALW was using a cane at Royal Variety.

StrangerThanUDreamt Sun Jan 22, 2012 5:07 am

exopotamie Mon Jan 23, 2012 7:09 pm

Somehow, the Comic Sans seems appropriate for once. lol!

PhantomsGhost Fri Jan 27, 2012 4:57 pm

I found this while perusing the newspapers this morning:

From today's Niagara Gazette in Niagara Falls:

High School and College Productions - Page 5 Usa-ni11

High School and College Productions - Page 5 Usa-ni11

Article that goes with it:

High School and College Productions - Page 5 Usa-ni10

And then a story about the making of the Chandelier from The Lockport Union Sun and Journal, Lockport,NY Today's paper. I had to break it up to make it readable. Sorry 'bout that. But the story is pretty cool how one of the kids was able to come up with the design then fabricate it:

Top part:
High School and College Productions - Page 5 Usa-th10

High School and College Productions - Page 5 Usa-th10

High School and College Productions - Page 5 Usa-th11

I tested the thumbnail links, and they do get bigger when clicked on...

TheFinnishPhantom Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:14 pm

PhantomsGhost wrote:I found this while perusing the newspapers this morning:

Thanks for sharing!

Calling the musical an "opera" makes my head ache though.

PhantomsGhost Tue Jan 31, 2012 5:45 pm

Found this tiny review on the Wilson Phantom production. Lots of praise, and coming from a Wilson School Board member too. It's got to make all those involved feel good. Smile

(Yes, he calls it an 'opera' but I'll give him a pass for some good points me makes regarding school and arts budgets being cut across the country)

High School and College Productions - Page 5 Usa_th10

LadyCDaae Mon Feb 06, 2012 2:00 am

So, Legacy High in Broomfield is doing this in a couple weeks, but I can't find any articles or photos yet. I don't think I'll be able to go, but my mom is going with a church group (one of the members' daughters is in the cast, but Mom didn't know which role) so I'll ask her how it goes.

~LCD

Loettchen Wed Feb 08, 2012 5:41 am

operafantomet wrote:And is it only me, or does it almost look like they replaced the slavegirl dance with the Il Muto ballet?

My first thought when I saw those outfits was to wonder if they use the same basic costume for both ballets and just add/remove the top layer. Might be an economical way to do it.

StrangerThanUDreamt Sat Feb 11, 2012 5:19 am

So it looks like this school is copying the RAH set design by having projections on VERY similar designed frames....don't know how I feel about this; The projections for RAH were fine because well..it was RAH..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDx8vu0rTw4&feature=related

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