Toronto 2nd anniversary at Steinway Hall Sept 1991

broadcast on Toronto radio CFRB or CFRD

I was listening to an old audio and found this gem

Rebecca Caine sang Think of Me. and they had s short interview

when she heard her self singing from the phantom album she said " at first it did'nt sink in then I thought, it's me, it's me

Colm Wilkenson was interviewed

Q; How long does it take to put on the make-up

Colm; Depends on who you ask, other phantoms refute it to be 3 hours, all of that is rubbish, certain people build up to. Leslie Olson my make-up girl has it down to an hour and a quarter, I take it off the Irish way...Quickly in about 20 minutes. You talk to different actors and they say -oh it takes at least 6 hours to put it on and then I have to take it off slowly because I am still in Character, all that is bull you get in you put on your make-up and you do your job and collect your wage and go home.

Q: this my get back to the other actors who play the phantom

Colm; I would not dream about saying anything avouth Michael Crawford, Look, Look, I have other things beside the theater, I love my jobe with intensity, I love what I am doing when I am the phantom But I have my life and my wife and kids. these other actors will tell youthey come in at 10am to get into character that is baloney

ladygodiva wrote:Q; How long does it take to put on the make-up

Colm; Depends on who you ask, other phantoms refute it to be 3 hours, all of that is rubbish, certain people build up to. Leslie Olson my make-up girl has it down to an hour and a quarter, I take it off the Irish way...Quickly in about 20 minutes. You talk to different actors and they say -oh it takes at least 6 hours to put it on and then I have to take it off slowly because I am still in Character, all that is bull you get in you put on your make-up and you do your job and collect your wage and go home.

Haha, how true. RUG/official PR material still brags about how incredibly long it takes to apply and remove the make-up. I guess it varies, but Colm Wilkinson's description made me giggle.

ladygodiva wrote:


Q: this my get back to the other actors who play the phantom

Colm; I would not dream about saying anything avouth Michael Crawford, Look, Look, I have other things beside the theater, I love my jobe with intensity, I love what I am doing when I am the phantom But I have my life and my wife and kids. these other actors will tell youthey come in at 10am to get into character that is baloney

Colm makes me so angry, he had to mention Michael by name just to make a little dig and to let everyone know that he was referring to him! Michael is 10x the man/person Colm is.

Callie Daae wrote:

ladygodiva wrote:


Q: this my get back to the other actors who play the phantom

Colm; I would not dream about saying anything avouth Michael Crawford, Look, Look, I have other things beside the theater, I love my jobe with intensity, I love what I am doing when I am the phantom But I have my life and my wife and kids. these other actors will tell youthey come in at 10am to get into character that is baloney

Colm makes me so angry, he had to mention Michael by name just to make a little dig and to let everyone know that he was referring to him! Michael is 10x the man/person Colm is.

What was the dig at MC? I didn't quite notice it...?

I know Colm had an MC dartboard but I never took that to be malicious...just harmless fun.

Yes, As talented as Mr. Wilkenson is, there were a lot of digs from Colm directed at Michael Crawford, I think it was #@#@ Envy, I have many videos, and newpaper articles were these rants of Colm fall anywhere between Hilarious to down right mean and nasty, and some say actresses are bad due to the rivalry but gee whiz Colm can be very very catty,

In fact he not only snipped at Michael, he also snipped about one of his understudies that got a lot of attention,

The good news is that Michael Crawford, being the gentleman that he is, made no comment.

And also it is not really the actor who takes the time to apply the make-up it is the artist, like Tiffany Hicks the original artist said, in the beginning it took a long time, as time progressed it got quicker and quicker.

and in my opinion Colm really did not need a lot of make up to make him look ugly, (OOPs just being catty, like Colm, Ha Ha)

and jealousy like Colm had for Michael Crawford, is just that, like I said, it is sad when someone so talented like Colm has to put others down to bring him self up.,

I could do a whole thread on actors/actresses who were jealous of others and they could not contain themselves, and trash trash trashed others, the whole thing is sad and well as my other friends and Michael Crawford supporters say, talent allways wins out over garbage,

I was just looking through an old Toronto playbill and in the playbill, it stated that the make-up took over 3 hours to complete. gee Colm, I do guess it is who you ask how long it takes,

I was also thumbing through some old articles and for the most part, it was stated that it takes several hours to get into character and make-up, these again are from the Toronto run during Colm's time

I was just looking through some old video interviews with Colm in the early days of Toronto, and even on a live interview Colm said the it originally took his artist about 2 and a quarter at the start and less and less as time went on.

ladygodiva wrote:I was just looking through some old video interviews with Colm in the early days of Toronto, and even on a live interview Colm said the it originally took his artist about 2 and a quarter at the start and less and less as time went on.

Well, yeah, this interview was taken about 2 years after he started in the role.

I'm sure there is some envy from Colm that MC got to actually originate the role on stage when Colm had done the early first-act workshop and couldn't do the actual show because he was in Les Mis. He shouldn't let that get out in public. Having said that, he is a very wonderful man, from what I can tell, just as MC is. Both have warm hearts and jolly souls. And both are phenomenal performers and Phantoms, my top two favorites (one over the other depending on my mood, but both definitely the top two).

I totally agree with you, I find it sad when someone has to try to mock or make fun or put down another to raise himself or herself up..

I do agree, Colm has a wonderful voice, He made a fantastic Jean Valjean, I never understand how people feel the need to put another down.

Like I said while Michael was in LA, one reporter, mentioned it to Michael and Michael was the perfect gentleman and had no comment.

While Colm was fair to his fans he was not fair to those around him, in one interview on live tv, a fan in the audience asked Colm about Rebecca Caine, his reply was "She is JUST another Christine", this was months before the dreaded lawsuit.

another time Colm was told how wonderful his understudy was, Colm gave a hard look at that individual and stared daggars at the fan

ladygodiva wrote:While Colm was fair to his fans he was not fair to those around him, in one interview on live tv, a fan in the audience asked Colm about Rebecca Caine, his reply was "She is JUST another Christine", this was months before the dreaded lawsuit.

How much was official of this lawsuit? I've just heard tidbits here and there, and I remember Rebecca Caine said something like it being "one of the worst times of her life" or similar in an interview. But were any official version ever given? And what happened with that lawsuit?

after the suit she brought forth, she was awarded a large sum of money, I believe the remainder of her contract and then some, I do have the article somewhere, and I can look for it to give more info.

it had made the Toronto papers and was reported on one of Toronto news programs, I did see a Gloria Alred wannabe (Gloria Alred is an attorney specializing in women and minority rights), disecting the lawsuit,

it was a shame that the conflict took its toll on Rebecca, on the good side, she has come shining thru and not letting it get her down