25th anniversary celebrations

LadyCDaae wrote:

SenorSwanky wrote:

Phantom Shadowwalker wrote:I believe they both have done the original before? But not in the same cast as far as I know.

Yeah, Ramin in London and Sierra in Las Vegas. Sierra was a decent Christine in the original (well, Vegas version), and Ramin had his moments, but isn't my cup of tea.

Exactly. I don't find Ramin terrible so much as badly miscast as the Phantom. His voice has too much "belt" in it--it lacks the maturity and seductive smoothness I prefer for the character. There's a lot of roles I wouldn't mind hearing him do (Raoul, Enjolras, Joe Gillis, Anthony Hope perhaps), but not this one.

~LCD

I like his acting as Enjolras. Never have really liked his voice (as the Phantom or in any role), but he might be a good Gillis.

Colm Wilkinson will be involved in the concert:

In October, he'll appear at a London 25th anniversary concert for "The Phantom of the Opera" alongside several other performers who've taken on the Phantom over the years. Among them will be Canadian actor Ramin Karimloo, who is now starring in the "Phantom" sequel," "Love Never Dies."
Karimloo has said many times that his passion for the Phantom traces back to 1990, when he saw Wilkinson play the role in Toronto.
Now, it's Wilkinson who's looking fondly on Karimloo's performance as the masked outcast.
"I saw him do the sequel and he was just absolutely incredible in it," said Wilkinson. "He's just a really nice kid and he's a great singer — great range.
"He's going to be a force to be reckoned with, that guy."

So, has a Raoul been chosen yet? I've been so behind on this board.

I'm really behind on this board, any news on whether it's going to be taped, and any word if there's going to be an original cast reunion?

OK, only rumours so far, but sources are clear on it being both filmed, released on DVD and screened at cinemas, like Les Mis was.

No news on who's going to sing Raoul, Carlotta or Meg yet.

That's good, I'm really happy about Sierra and that it's being taped. I never saw her in person, but always thought she looked perfect for Christine. Not so thrilled about Ramin though, it always bugged me how young he is and that in the Final Lair he was a screamer. I'm also not thrilled about Colm, never cared for him, I always thought he was too choppy of a singer. I was hoping beyond hope that Michael & Sarah would be there & perform the title song together, or something like that.

Also.... costumes are flown in from the US and other places, so the mock operas and Masquerade can kick some serious ass. From what I've heard, we're talking 70-100 persons on stage for the large ensemble numbers.

Methink it'll be the first time different styles of Phantom costumes are mashed together and used during the same performance (if you don't count the few Canadian costumes which made it into the Spanish languaged productions, or the fact that Rebecca Pitcher brought her US dressing gown with her to the World Tour). I'll be a costume comparing feast for us costume nerds!

So according to Rebecca Caine on facebook MC will be making an appearance!

Callie Daae wrote:So according to Rebecca Caine on facebook MC will be making an appearance!

HE BETTER BE IN COSTUME, DAMN IT. I mean, with the makeup on, you can't tell he has aged.

I imagine no one but the principals who are performing the actual show will be in costume. I bet Colm, MC, PK, et al, will be doing a special number or two at the end, like in the two Les Mis concerts (10th and 25th). Great to hear all these guys are involved, as they deserve to be, though I wish one of them were actually playing the Phantom instead of Ramin.

SenorSwanky wrote:I imagine no one but the principals who are performing the actual show will be in costume. I bet Colm, MC, PK, et al, will be doing a special number or two at the end, like in the two Les Mis concerts (10th and 25th). Great to hear all these guys are involved, as they deserve to be, though I wish one of them were actually playing the Phantom instead of Ramin.

I wish they would do something besides all the Phantom's coming out and singing 'Music of the Night'. That's what irked me about the Les Miserables concerts. Truth be told, the only anniversary concert I actually enjoyed was the 2001 10th Jahre Elisabeth concert. They got not only everyone from different countries, it evenly supported all the different casts and actors/actresses who played the part and played them in their appropriate costumes.

I wish this concert was done like that, but instead, the actresses and actors splitting the songs up and performing in costume.

On the Early Show this morning, George Lee Andrews said that he and David Cryer were summoned to the company manager's office a few months ago. They had thought that maybe they would be told that they were invited to participate in the 25th anniversary celebrations in London (given their longtime tenures in the show). Instead, they were told that their contracts weren't renewed. I hope that Cameron Mackintosh at least pays them the courtesy of including them in the celebrations.

auctioneer wrote:On the Early Show this morning, George Lee Andrews said that he and David Cryer were summoned to the company manager's office a few months ago. They had thought that maybe they would be told that they were invited to participate in the 25th anniversary celebrations in London (given their longtime tenures in the show). Instead, they were told that their contracts weren't renewed. I hope that Cameron Mackintosh at least pays them the courtesy of including them in the celebrations.

I hope both will be there. It´s a must!

I am honestly excited what will happen at the Albert Hall.

So, who will be in London for the celebration? I'll be there, but a ticket would have been much too expensive for me. However, I thought maybe those of us who will be in London could meet up.

New documentary being done for the 25th Anniversary: click

phantom10906 wrote:New documentary being done for the 25th Anniversary: click

Finally one not called "Behind the Mask"!!

It's called "Unmasked".

And it seems to be just as much about "Love Never Dies".

Josephine wrote:So, who will be in London for the celebration? I'll be there, but a ticket would have been much too expensive for me. However, I thought maybe those of us who will be in London could meet up.

I will be there on 1st october!

I'm going to the concert on the Saturday. It's looking pretty good for a cinema screening on Sunday, so hopefully those who can't get will be able to see it at a multiplex - maybe arranging a meetup. I saw Les Mis last year & while it may not have been the same as being there, it was certainly an enjoyable experience - which probably allowed for appreciating nuances of the performance more than being at the o2.

RUG is releasing a 25th Anniversary box set... complete with the original London cast recording of LND -- excuse me, "Phantom 2".

Seems like ALW will do absolutely ANYTHING to sell copies of that thing.

http://broadwayworld.com/article/Details-Revealed-for-THE-PHANTOM-OF-THE-OPERA-25th-Anniversary-Box-Set-20110905

(the only thing I'd really want is the DVD)

TAFKaR

This whole concert is a cheap device to cross promote "Love Never Dies", from the frankly bullsh*t casting on down, and here we have another example. As a fan of this show since the beginning, I'm angry. Les Miz gets 2 sensational concerts to celebrate two milestones, complete with incredible casts for most of the lead roles.

Phantom gets a half-baked marketing tool which is less about celebrating the show and all about making money and selling an ill-conceived inferior sequel which flopped. It's an insult to the many great performers and artists worldwide that have made this show so successful. Completely contrived and bogus. Pure greed and I want nothing to do with it, and no real phan should.

Raphael wrote:RUG is releasing a 25th Anniversary box set... complete with the original London cast recording of LND -- excuse me, "Phantom 2".

Seems like ALW will do absolutely ANYTHING to sell copies of that thing.

http://broadwayworld.com/article/Details-Revealed-for-THE-PHANTOM-OF-THE-OPERA-25th-Anniversary-Box-Set-20110905

(the only thing I'd really want is the DVD)

TAFKaR

At least they didn't include anything from the movie....

Yeah, I won't be buying this. I have the OLC, I refuse to purchase anything LND-related, and the things I'm interested in on the DVD I own and/or can find on YouTube. Why should I bother putting down money for something that would only annoy me? (My husband, a Star Wars fan, is having similar issues with the Blu-Ray release.)

~LCD

Phantom gets a half-baked marketing tool which is less about celebrating the show and all about making money and selling an ill-conceived inferior sequel which flopped. It's an insult to the many great performers and artists worldwide that have made this show so successful. Completely contrived and bogus.

Could not have said it better myself. What a slap in the face. And as for what I actually want in that package:

Original Cast Recording - already got two copies, not paying for a new one.
Love Never Dies cast recording - AKA concept CD. Don't want it!
DVD - I have/have seen most of this already. 90% is on YouTube.
Hardback Book - I want this.
Replica First Night Programme - This one I'm curious about. Reprinted original West End program, but 60 pages?
Exclusive medallion - Eeeeh, whatever.

No way I'm paying $152 for that. Celebrating 25 years of Phantom my arse. Baaah, every news from RUG these days makes me more and more grumpy. I don't feel being a phan is good for me any more.

Replace the POTO London Cast with a contemporary soundboard of the currrent cast & LND with the Australian cast and we'd be in business. Even the DVD content is mostly on disc 2 of the movie. Still I don't think this kind of release is particularly unique to RUG & they should be vilified, this kind of thing happens with musicians/movies/tv-shows I'm a fan of all the time it's called a 'double dip'. As for putting LND in there, that's less promoting the show & more utilising an existing resource - "it's got a chap with an half mask...whack it in there, that'll increase the disc count!". I'm glad there's nothing remarkable in there to sway me actually.

I agree completely, ravnquest1. While Cam Mac appears to put a lot of love into the promotion/celebration of Les Miz, RUG seems to pimp Phantom purely for the profit it can make off the brand.

I'd still really like digital copes of the PotO music videos - I only have them on VHS. I know they're on the movie dvd, but refuse to give RUG a penny for that piece of trash. The hardback book may be of interest unless it's a reprint of existing material. And I already have 2 copies of the OLC and an OLC programme as well.

operafantomet wrote:
No way I'm paying $152 for that. Celebrating 25 years of Phantom my arse. Baaah, every news from RUG these days makes me more and more grumpy. I don't feel being a phan is good for me any more.

$152? I didn't even catch that part. NO WAY am I giving RUG that much with so little return, Phantom or not.

TAFKaR

What do Andrew Lloyd Webber and George Lucas have in common?

They can't stop messing with and defacing their original works of art.

phantomfett wrote:What do Andrew Lloyd Webber and George Lucas have in common?

They can't stop messing with and defacing their original works of art.

Amen, brother.

TAFKaR

Did anyone get tne RUG email newsletter regarding the new set of tickets going on sale.
There is a very interesting photo I;ve never seen before of Ramin, plus, a tiny one of Sierra from Vegas photoshopped infront of the Hannibal scene with a bit of proscenium.

The thing is, I believe this is from what they have built for the concert because the proscenium, though heavily based on the bjornson designs, looks like it is made with alot of trusses behind it. If this is the case then I am very releaved that they are sticking very close to the original designs

operafantomet wrote:

Phantom gets a half-baked marketing tool which is less about celebrating the show and all about making money and selling an ill-conceived inferior sequel which flopped. It's an insult to the many great performers and artists worldwide that have made this show so successful. Completely contrived and bogus.

Could not have said it better myself. What a slap in the face. And as for what I actually want in that package:

Original Cast Recording - already got two copies, not paying for a new one.
Love Never Dies cast recording - AKA concept CD. Don't want it!
DVD - I have/have seen most of this already. 90% is on YouTube.
Hardback Book - I want this.
Replica First Night Programme - This one I'm curious about. Reprinted original West End program, but 60 pages?
Exclusive medallion - Eeeeh, whatever.

No way I'm paying $152 for that. Celebrating 25 years of Phantom my arse. Baaah, every news from RUG these days makes me more and more grumpy. I don't feel being a phan is good for me any more.

I can't decide whether I want it. I couldn't care less about the medallion, and I already have the original West End programme and of course the OLC... I have the music videos on the second disc (the only disc worth using) from the DVD of the filmthatshallnotbenamed, but I DO want to see the interviews and news reports from the 1980s, I DO want the book (does anyone know if it'll be sold separately?) but on other hand I certainly don't want anything to do with Love Never Dies. But the packaging is pretty, and I'm curious as to what this limited edition print thing celebrating the show's artwork is all about. It's not worth £95, but will I spend it anyway? I'm not sure... I really don't want to give RUG any money for LND shit, but I could always eBay off the LND CD and get some ££ back for that. I can't make up my mind! I am a collector, so... I find it very odd though that this boxset is not going to include the CD of the RAH concert. How bizarre. Why not have that instead of the LND CD? Is it too late to suggest this to RUG?

Well, it could be worse... They could've just stuck the movie in the boxset too. DO NOT GET IDEAS YOU PEOPLE FROM RUG READING THIS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmUfqqt26OM

justin-from-barbados wrote:Did anyone get tne RUG email newsletter regarding the new set of tickets going on sale.
There is a very interesting photo I;ve never seen before of Ramin, plus, a tiny one of Sierra from Vegas photoshopped infront of the Hannibal scene with a bit of proscenium.

The thing is, I believe this is from what they have built for the concert because the proscenium, though heavily based on the bjornson designs, looks like it is made with alot of trusses behind it. If this is the case then I am very releaved that they are sticking very close to the original designs

Didn't know they had an email list. Could you post the pics you're talking about?

Nice graphic design on that box set. Don't think I'll be buying it though. I might go to the live screening of the concert on the 2nd though; it's playing at two theaters near me. Don't imagine I'll be thrilled with the performance, but I would like to see the special guests and stuff.