High School and College Productions

StrangerThanUDreamt wrote: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

Either YouTube is having a hiccup or the video was taken down.

Edit: Never mind. Working now. Probably a browser issue. Eek, the out-of-tune violins and off-key singers. And the slow tempo. And nonexistent acting. And, yeah, if you're gonna copy a set design, why the RAH one? Lazy.

I think the music and acting suffered most too; and while Im use to the RAH design, some of the projections were beautiful, but they had massive screens to utilize, I cant see that format working in a small space...

I checked out their video for the title song and that is the strangest staging I've seen for that song.

MasqPhan wrote:I checked out their video for the title song and that is the strangest staging I've seen for that song.

Check out their Masquerade. It's unbelievable.

TheFinnishPhantom wrote:

MasqPhan wrote:I checked out their video for the title song and that is the strangest staging I've seen for that song.

Check out their Masquerade. It's unbelievable.

I tried really hard to figure out what was going on in the title song. Still no clue. There were moments where I struggled to even figure out what language they were singing in. That may be due to poor diction, poor audio quality, or both.
And Masquerade... I've never seen such unenthusiastic dancers (referring to the group of boys doing their solo thing.) Unenthusiastic and no sense of timing.

Here's a nice write-up from The Commercial Appeal from today's paper on the University of Memphis' POTO production with photos:

Broken up in three parts:

they seem to be more accurate than most with the costumes and masks

Accurate how? Crappy-looking mask and Phantom tux, I think. Nice chandelier though.

well, accurate in that they actually resemble the real costumes (atleast in that tiny shot of hannibal) and that's probably the standard rental chandelier.
I don;t think the mask is all that bad, atleast its not the $6.99 one you find at the party store that almost all the other school productions have been using.

justin-from-barbados wrote:well, accurate in that they actually resemble the real costumes (atleast in that tiny shot of hannibal) and that's probably the standard rental chandelier.

I've seen a few other productions, including one of those very first high schools, that even more slavishly aped the Bjornson costumes and sets. This is creative compared to some of the stuff I've seen.

I don;t think the mask is all that bad, atleast its not the $6.99 one you find at the party store that almost all the other school productions have been using.

True, but it doesn't fit his face well. Looks like it's gonna fall off.

THAT is not the official rental chandelier which is only available through zfx flying; http://www.zfxflying.com/gear-services/scenic-costumes/phantom-of-the-opera-chandelier/
youtube promo video from the company of the chandelier rising and crashing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlVXIuwuWmw&lr=1

THIS is

Article and photos for the Legacy High production. An unfortunate amount of film influence, alas.

~LCD

From the article

Dedication certainly goes beyond the cast. The 15-student production crew has been hard at work on a set that will feature a ship sailing across the stage and a chandelier that rises above the stage early in the show, then crashes back down later, both very difficult tasks Stacks said.

o.O ...Ship...? Or are they talking about the boat ride during the main title song.

My first impression was this very large ship that was going to somehow be in the Hannibal rehearsal...

The costumes in this one aren't too bad. The Phantom's outfit and mask look like it fits better than some other productions, but Masquerade definitely is movie influenced as is that one pic of Carlotta's hot-pink outfit.

Yeah, pretty sure they're talking about the boat. Article clearly written by someone who doesn't know anything about the show, and was probably embellishing the students' task. "Ship" seems more impressive than "boat."

More perusing articles. This one from the Kent Messenger Maidstone, today's paper. School is Valley Park Community School Broken up again.

Not a fan of the mask...at all...If you're doing Webber's Phantom I think its safe to say to stick with the Webber/Bjornson look...at least in small details

PhantomsGhost wrote:Here's a nice write-up from The Commercial Appeal from today's paper on the University of Memphis' POTO production with photos:

A faculty member played the Phantom? That must have been a bit awkward for the students playing Christine.

R.

I'm throwing a few of these in from Canada - The Telegram - St John's - Today's paper:

Masthead from the front page:



Top of article:


Bottom of article:


Review:


Not a big fan of that mask, but I wouldn't mind seeing what they did with the makeup.

The girl playing Christine resembles Melly's drawings a bit

Yeah, I kind of like that "melted" thing he's got going on his jaw--it hints at something gruesome and I hope the full makeup followed through on that.

~LCD

I don't remember if this has been posted before? Merchandise schools can order and sell:

http://phantomschoolmerchandise.com/phantom-merch

I just stumbled across that this afternoon. T'would be a nice memento for students to have their own "crew wear."

R.

Unionville Times has a review of their local production of the Phantom of the Opera. Has some images that can be blown up to a good size.

Looks like a lot of inspiration from the movie, especially Red Death

http://www.unionvilletimes.com/?p=7740

So, this weekend, Husband and I are going on an adventure to Cypess, TX to see their college's POTO's performance.

I'm a bit apprehensive about it, but also looking forward to what they will do with it.

-------------
On another note:
While perusing my usual newspapers this morning, I came across an article from The Tribune-Star - Terre Haute, IN, which ran Thursday, April 26th. The photo with the article looks pretty darned good (below). The school is Rose-Hulman, and I believe it's a college.



In the article, though, there is one headdesk moment:

Christine is a hard character to understand because on the surface she seems kind of shallow. It took me a little while to get into her. She's 16, and she lost her father, and in some ways she's really mature while in some other ways she's really quite naieve" (Kendra) Moore adds.

Methinks someone has seen the movie one-too many times.

THANKS JOEL SCHUMACHER!!! *headdesk*

Grand Ledge High school (near Lansing, MI, and, consequently, near where I live!) will be performing POTO. All I know is they have an $80,000 budget, and there's a character named Madame Anna...? Did I miss something or is GLHS the only one to add this character?
It's this weekend, if I'm feeling well enough I plan to go see it.

Also, a video: http://www.wlns.com/story/17859642/tmsg-phantom-of-the-opera-comes-to-grand-ledge-high-school
and a bit of a breakdown of costs: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20120415/GRANDLEDGE02/304150071/Phantom-preparations-continue-Grand-Ledge-High-School

Nice voices (rare for HS productions I've seen clips of) and pretty technically sound.

So apparently, there's an amateur production in Turkey:

http://webtv.hurriyet.com.tr/3/32157/0/1/operadaki-hayalet-canlandi.aspxhttp://webtv.hurriyet.com.tr/3/32157/0/1/operadaki-hayalet-canlandi.aspx

A local college is doing it near me, but am hesitant as I have heard numerous reports that it's going to be "low budget" and they dont want to do anything close to the Bjornson design of the show...

StrangerThanUDreamt wrote:A local college is doing it near me, but am hesitant as I have heard numerous reports that it's going to be "low budget" and they dont want to do anything close to the Bjornson design of the show...

Another movie copy, then...

I'm curious (only semi-morbidly) to see what they've done on a shoestring, actually. Some people can be quite innovative with a budget.

The venue it's at is very small. for Phantom, and Ive heard there are issues with the chandelier effect, and that it may have to be kept on the stage for it's rise/crash, I was going to go for the slave master/shepard boy track, as I currently train in ballet, but I was told I'd have to "sing"...so no.