The London production 2

I'm sure many would be interested to know: The new block of tickets just went on sale through April (woohoo!). They have changed the performance schedule for this new block...so as of November, the weekday matinees will no longer be on Tuesdays, but on Thursdays. This might explain why it took quite some time to release this new block... From what I understand, their Tuesday matinees are not their best selling performances, so it makes sense that they testing put another day.

Interesting change, thanks for letting us know. I agree that the change makes sense.

Thanks Miss Von Krolock and Mona Lisa for your input on upper circle seats. I'm thinking maybe I'll try slightly cheaper seats towards the back of the dress circle first. From row B to upper circle might be a bit drastic!

I'm so glad the next block of seats have been released. Am also glad about the matinee day change; I went to see the matinee on mybirthday this year, a Tuesday and next year my birthday is a Thursday so I'm thinking birthday phantom again

ifonlyidont wrote:Thanks Miss Von Krolock and Mona Lisa for your input on upper circle seats. I'm thinking maybe I'll try slightly cheaper seats towards the back of the dress circle first. From row B to upper circle might be a bit drastic!

There's a few restricted view seats towards the back of the stalls if you're not too keen on sitting that far away which are quite cheap. I've never sat there, so I don't know how restricted they are. I do love sitting in row B, I love seeing all the actors' expressions and the tiny details in the costumes.

Thanks for the info about the weekday matinee change.

Helen wrote:There's a few restricted view seats towards the back of the stalls if you're not too keen on sitting that far away which are quite cheap.

I've sat N15 in the Stalls and when I sat down I thought great - a lot better than I had expected. Unfortunately a seriously tall person sat infront of me and the rake didn't help one jot, so very hit and miss.

We have some casting news for next cast, casting appears to have been done pretty early this year, I remember a few years back when offers didn't go out until the latter end of June.

Simon Shorten who is currently in Les Mis is joining as swing and cover Phantom; Jo Loxton who has previously been in Phantom and Les Mis is joining as first cover Madame Giry and Katie Hall will be the new Christine alternate. It's also been said, but not confirmed, that Killian Donnelly who is currently Enjolras in Les Mis will be the new Raoul.

Is it true that Tabitha Webb is leaving, and Katie Hall is the new Christine alternate? If so, from what date?

ETA: I see someone just posted about cast changes, including answer to my question. Thanks!

And to further answer your question, from September 5th!

I'm going to be at the September 3 evening show to see the currents leave!

MajesticPhantom wrote:I'm going to be at the September 3 evening show to see the currents leave!

Fantastic! So will I be! Maybe see you there (and anyone else who is going then too.)

starryeyed wrote:We have some casting news for next cast, casting appears to have been done pretty early this year, I remember a few years back when offers didn't go out until the latter end of June.

Simon Shorten who is currently in Les Mis is joining as swing and cover Phantom; Jo Loxton who has previously been in Phantom and Les Mis is joining as first cover Madame Giry and Katie Hall will be the new Christine alternate. It's also been said, but not confirmed, that Killian Donnelly who is currently Enjolras in Les Mis will be the new Raoul.

Ooh that's interesting. Donnelly was a good Enjolras I thought. Funny how so many Raouls these days formerly played Enjolras...such is the CamMac circuit I guess.

Excited to hear about Katie Hall because I've heard good things about her, and I don't particularly like Tabitha Webb (or Sofia Escobar for that matter) as Christine.

I remember hearing some not so good things about her when she was understudy Christine, however I loved her Cosette in London and completely and utterly loved her Cosette on the tour, I think she has really grown as an actress (and singer) since her understudy days so I am really looking forward to seeing her. I'll be honest though, I'm not to enamored with any of the other casting announcements so far, but we shall see!

I saw Katie Hall when she was understudy. I liked her. She hadn't been in the show for very long, so I must have seen one of her first performances. From what I remember, her singing was exceptionally good, but her acting was good in some parts, not so good in others. She's had more acting and performance experience now, so I have high hopes for her Christine. I'll be sorry to see Will Barratt go, I really like his Raoul, but I'm sure Killian Donnelly will do a great job if he takes over the role. I really want to go to the last performance of this cast, but I'm not sure I'll be able to.

Other than JOJ and Sofia, is anyone else confirmed as staying?

As far as I'm aware it's a pretty big cast change and I believe JOJ and Sofia are the only principals staying on. In related news, Nadim Naaman currently second cover Raoul has been promoted to first cover for the new cast! I love seeing second covers getting bumped up!

ETA: I'm also sad to see Will Barratt go, my mum loves him but always maintained he lacked something Simon had that she couldn't put her finger on. I'd say she was probably right, however, I appreciated Will since he had such a refreshing take on the role I thought, he wasn't too arrogant yet he was still strong enough to be an interesting Raoul. He also had a great voice. I supported him from his understudy days and he was the one understudy I'd really wanted to get promoted, and it's sad to say but I was seriously excited when he got promoted to principal.

I guess it's that time of year again to start my campaign, so Philip Griffiths for Principal Andre, please! God knows he has earned it by now.

Aww I like current 1st cover Oliver Eyre, it's a shame he's won't be 1st cover or main, but I am really excited about hearing Killian's gonna be Raoul. I think he's amazing. I just saw him in Les Mis a couple of weeks ago and back in February I saw him in 'Direct from the West End' in Oxford where some West End singers sand West End songs. He sang All I Ask of You with Jessie May and I thought he'd make a wonderful Raoul.

I've only seen Katie Hall in the Les Mis concert DVD but I really liked her.

Can't wait to see the new cast and it's still only May!

auctioneer wrote:I guess it's that time of year again to start my campaign, so Philip Griffiths for Principal Andre, please! God knows he has earned it by now.

He certainly has! I've never seen him as Andre, but I've always wanted to. I'm sure he'd be brilliant. I really like the first cover, John Jack too, so if he got principal Andre, I'd be pleased. I'd love Nicola Rutherford to get principal Carlotta and Leisl Dowsett to get principal Meg. I've seen them both a few times and like them a lot.

ETA: I'm also sad to see Will Barratt go, my mum loves him but always maintained he lacked something Simon had that she couldn't put her finger on. I'd say she was probably right, however, I appreciated Will since he had such a refreshing take on the role I thought, he wasn't too arrogant yet he was still strong enough to be an interesting Raoul

Yes, thinking about it, I understand what she means. For me, the big difference is in the Final Lair scene. I felt that in that scene, Simon had so much presence, even though he was just standing there with a red noose round his neck. Will is good in that scene, but I think Simon got it just right.

Just wanted to say that the Killian news is in the public domain now so we can put that in the 100% confirmed category

I saw the matinee yesterday - had three understudies - Nicola Rutherford (Carlotta), Kate Batter (Mme. Giry), and Marc Vastenavondt (Piangi). Nicola got quite a few laughs for her post-Think of Me rant - sometimes that can be greeted with near-stony silence from the audience. The other two were fine, though Marc's voice isn't as strong as Rohan's (and his face is quite thin which looks odd in the part!).

What I really want to focus on, though, is John. Purely because he really outdid himself yesterday and delivered, dare I say, the best performance I've seen from him yet. He was even more furious in the Mirror than usual, really spitting out the words. His MOTN is fabulous and I do like the chemistry between him and Sofia, there's a real tension in the scene between her fear of him, trust in him and her response to his voice (which, thankfully, is not quite as extreme as Gina's, which made the whole thing a little too sexual). He does an extremely good Wandering Child as well, that voice of his can be really alluring and, instead of 'Don't go', he screams 'Christine!', which is a nice touch. But it was his Final Lair that was truly outstanding: his mockery of Raoul, not only 'be my guest sir', but once he was in the lasso, JOJ laughed to himself at the organ, which I thought was great I love how he physically shrinks in the FL, his once-confident posture collapsing into quite the pathetic figure when declaring his love to Christine - Sofia is particularly compassionate and squeezes his hands gently before leaving. What made the show, to me, was the audience's response to JOJ: there was spontaneous applause after the final line, as if the power of his singing was just so stunning it really moved the audience; plus he got a partial standing ovation, which *never* happens at matinees. Although I've seen his Phantom six times now, the fact he does something new each time I see him just makes me more certain of the fact he's my favourite - vocally, I think it's difficult to find an actor with a more magnificent, powerful voice and he acts so well rather than relying on his voice too much.

I think the tragedy of JOJ's Phantom is the struggle/inability to express his love for Christine. This may sound odd, but JOJ's Phantom isn't as obviously in love with Christine as say, Scott Davies'/Nigel Richard's. His Phantom is confident, commanding, and, well, quite sexy: but this is a front and the devastating part of his Phantom is when that front breaks down and he can't cope with the emotions he's attempting to express, hence stealing Raoul's bits of music to declare his love to Christine (I've never felt so much pity for a Phantom during 'Say You'll Share...', and Sofia's horrified reaction - even begging the conductor to help her - just added to this). This juxtaposition - of confidence and the pathetic, pitiful side - make his Phantom truly compelling, whereas other actors have a different take (say, I felt pity for Nigel Richards' Phantom from the start as it was evident he could not win Christine; indeed, I think there was an unconscious awareness, in his desperation, that she would never reciprocate).

As for mishaps, the stage left drape on the corner of the proscenium needed some coaxing so the chandelier rose late and extremely quickly! The disappearance at the end looked as if it almost wouldn't work as the cloth was twitching only a few seconds before Meg removed it - though there were some nice surprised reactions from the audience at the reveal. A few musical cues were off: the transition from 'I am there inside' to 'Angel of Music etc etc' was a little dissonant and the 'haunted' piano got a few notes wrong (I didn't realise it wasn't taped until now as the conductor was definitely conducting it as he does the music box).

Okay, so that turned into a longer review than I wanted it to be...but it was a stunning show, I was quite overwhelmed at the end!

Lycanthrope wrote:He does an extremely good Wandering Child as well, that voice of his can be really alluring and, instead of 'Don't go', he screams 'Christine!', which is a nice touch.

Ahhh I love that he does that! It works really well

Lycanthrope wrote:The disappearance at the end looked as if it almost wouldn't work as the cloth was twitching only a few seconds before Meg removed it

I always hold my breath there as well...

Glad that you witnessed such a great show and thanks for the review, Lycanthrope!

Lycanthrope wrote:I love how he physically shrinks in the FL, his once-confident posture collapsing into quite the pathetic figure when declaring his love to Christine

JOJ was the first Phantom I saw, and that was one thing that I always remembered about his portrayal, how different he was at the end to the confident and captivating figure he was earlier in the show.

What made the show, to me, was the audience's response to JOJ: there was spontaneous applause after the final line, as if the power of his singing was just so stunning it really moved the audience

Last time I was there, I started clapping after the final line, but no one else did. Quite embarrassing.

The disappearance at the end looked as if it almost wouldn't work as the cloth was twitching only a few seconds before Meg removed it

I've seen that happen a few times, but it's always gone right in the end.

Thanks so much for the review, it kind of makes me want to go again!

[quote="SweetChristine"]I´ve seen Scott Davies long time ago. How is his Phantom now?[/quote]

I saw Scott Davis the second week in April and absolutely adored his performance. As soon as Scott took to the stage, I knew I was in for a treat. His voice is wonderful, and his inflections and tone in each of the pieces he sings is quite fantastic. When Scott sang The Music of the Night, he brought me to tears. That was actually the first time any Phantom on stage moved me to tears. I will admit, I have not seen many, only three others perform the role, however, for the first time I saw it portrayed with gut emotion from the man behind the mask that was not acting but sincere.

A couple of little nuances I love in the show that Scott does, which may seem silly to you, are at the beginning after he takes his hat and cape off, he smooths back the hair of his wig. Not all Phantoms do that, and for some reason it sort of plays upon the need for the Phantom's desire to appear attractive like any other human, especially in this important meeting between himself and Christine when he has her under his spell. The second thing I love is when the Phantom catches the fainting Christine in their arms, rather than letting them fall to the floor. The way he carries her off to the gondola and lays her down and then covers her up carefully and hovering over her while singing the last chords of The Music of the Night is fantastic. I can't say enough about Scott.

TheStudent wrote:

A couple of little nuances I love in the show that Scott does, which may seem silly to you, are at the beginning after he takes his hat and cape off, he smooths back the hair of his wig. Not all Phantoms do that, and for some reason it sort of plays upon the need for the Phantom's desire to appear attractive like any other human, especially in this important meeting between himself and Christine when he has her under his spell. The second thing I love is when the Phantom catches the fainting Christine in their arms, rather than letting them fall to the floor. The way he carries her off to the gondola and lays her down and then covers her up carefully and hovering over her while singing the last chords of The Music of the Night is fantastic. I can't say enough about Scott.

These are common to most, if not all, London Phantoms. The smoothing the hair has been done by most London Phantoms I've seen and dates back to Michael Crawford -- it was a gesture that arose by accident, but Gillian Lynne noticed it and told Crawford to keep doing it. All London Phantoms catch Christine and carry her to the bed, unless they have a bad back. It's a tribute to/steal from the Lon Chaney film.

I know JOJ doesn't always catch Christine, actually does he ever do it anymore? I know he had a bad back and didn't catch her for quite a while but I've seen a few people mention he hasn't caught her quite recently. I've always been amazed by The Phantom catching Christine personally, I know the actresses aren't exactly on the heavy side but I've always wondered how The Phantom's can keep doing it.

If anyone is a fan of Oliver Eyre then you can catch him this week as Raoul as Will is on holiday, maybe longer if Will gets caught by that ash cloud again (he did last year and I'm sure ended up being off for a month!)

starryeyed wrote:I know JOJ doesn't always catch Christine, actually does he ever do it anymore? I know he had a bad back and didn't catch her for quite a while but I've seen a few people mention he hasn't caught her quite recently. I've always been amazed by The Phantom catching Christine personally, I know the actresses aren't exactly on the heavy side but I've always wondered how The Phantom's can keep doing it.

If anyone is a fan of Oliver Eyre then you can catch him this week as Raoul as Will is on holiday, maybe longer if Will gets caught by that ash cloud again (he did last year and I'm sure ended up being off for a month!)

JOJ definitely caught Sofia on Saturday! The one thing I always worry about 'The Carry' s that, when he swings her to face upstage, she doesn't end up hitting the cracked mirror - it's probably just the skewed perspective from the stalls!

Great review, Lycanthrope!

I now really really want to go see JOJ.

And as Oliver will be on as Raoul on Saturday I don't think I can resist anymore. Minutes away from buying tickets methinks.

It's been confirmed that the Swedish singer Peter Jöback will take over the role as The Phantom from March 2012, apparently he will be on a 6 months contract.

EarlFan wrote:It's been confirmed that the Swedish singer Peter Jöback will take over the role as The Phantom from March 2012, apparently he will be on a 6 months contract.

WHOA! Really? Confirmed? A BRAND NEW Phantom at long last? (Though I do love JOJ).

How old is he? What is his background like? Does he have experience in theatre?

This is exciting...

EDIT: Ah, I see he has a Cam Mac connection with Saigon and Eastwick. And thank God, he's not a 20something; he'll be 41 next year.

Scorp wrote:

EDIT: Ah, I see he has a Cam Mac connection with Saigon and Eastwick. And thank God, he's not a 20something; he'll be 41 next year.

Yeah, he's done quite a lot in musical theatre here in Sweden so he's got some experience. (Jesus Crist Superstar, Cabaret, West Side Story, Kristina from Duvemåla) I'm not sure about his voice when it comes to Phantom though but it could be interesting. For me he will always be known as Aladdin I grew up with the Disney movies and loved Aladdin, Jöback did the voiceover in the Swedish movie.

Joback may be known for his pop career, but in legit musical theatre, he has a glorious voice! I wish I was living in London longer than just til the New Year! That's really exciting!