Rare pictures 2

operafantomet wrote:Now for the category "Celebrating with style".

Opening night party of the Viennese production, courtesy of ladygodiva.

Dang, Anea, that's quite a picspam you treated us to on the last page. Ahhh, I remember a lot of those old pics. So good to see them again.

~Madame~

Madame Giry wrote:Dang, Anea, that's quite a picspam you treated us to on the last page. Ahhh, I remember a lot of those old pics. So good to see them again.

~Madame~

Hey Madame, here are some pictures of the Broadway ones:

https://s1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa426/thephanfullerton/?action=view&current=167852_10150187457694689_55494929688_8603350_7491975_n.jpg

https://s1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa426/thephanfullerton/?action=view&current=154860_10150149747069689_55494929688_7975100_6083213_n.jpg

If you want some Canadian ones I have some good ones of those. Same with London + Anyone got Peter Karrie Vancouver pictures or a brochure they could scan from?
OG

Thanks, phanfullerton!

I actually moved the question over to the Costumes thread because I felt it was more appropriate for that thread. I have picked up all the images on Anea's page about the robe: http://potocostumes.webs.com/firstlair/mandarine.html and have some more from my own internet travels.

I think I have a pretty good sampling of international ones but in particular I'd like to see a photo of the Vegas Robe. Of course, any help is appreciated.

~Madame~

Would love to help with the vegas robe but I have no pictures, sorry!
OG

TheFinnishPhantom wrote:
Vancouver

Hey Finnishphantom,
Are these photos from the Peter Karrie Vancouver brochure? If so, do you have any pictures from this particular brochure with a close up of the mask?
Thanks!
OG

Those are Jeff Hyslop from the earlier Canadian tour.

SenorSwanky wrote:Those are Jeff Hyslop from the earlier Canadian tour.

thanks senorswankey, that final lair shot didn't look like Karrie, but it's hard to tell. One day, I will find a picture of PK's Vancouver mask! Mwwwaaa haaaaaaaaa haa!

It's the same as his Toronto one. I've got a BBC Wales documentary of his time in the Vancouver leg of the tour. And weren't some of those shots (the lantern one, in particular) used in the legs of the tour he did in Canada, Hong Kong, and Singapore? If not, his mask was the same for those shots.

SenorSwanky wrote:It's the same as his Toronto one. I've got a BBC Wales documentary of his time in the Vancouver leg of the tour. And weren't some of those shots (the lantern one, in particular) used in the legs of the tour he did in Canada, Hong Kong, and Singapore? If not, his mask was the same for those shots.

oh, so the toronto mask IS a Vancouver mask, not a new one from the same mould?

He played the role for a time in Toronto before going on tour, I believe. He had at least three stints in that production, one in like '94 (I think just before or after Colm came back for a time) and another in 1997 and then '98-9. Or it might've been from '97 all the way through early '99, but I think Ethan Freeman was in the role during that time frame too, though that might've been in '97 before PK came back, but then again, Ciaran Sheehan was there sometime in the mid-90s too. I'm not entirely clear. I wish there were a site for all the productions like there used to be that Geocities site Phantom on Broadway (which is now no longer in existence, I don't think). It listed the cast for almost every month from 1988 onwards.

And I'm sure they made several masks from the same mold. But it was definitely the same design. Livent produced all the Canadian productions and the Far East tour that extended from it.

thephanfullerton wrote:

SenorSwanky wrote:It's the same as his Toronto one. I've got a BBC Wales documentary of his time in the Vancouver leg of the tour. And weren't some of those shots (the lantern one, in particular) used in the legs of the tour he did in Canada, Hong Kong, and Singapore? If not, his mask was the same for those shots.

oh, so the toronto mask IS a Vancouver mask, not a new one from the same mould?

I'd rather say the Vancouver mask is a Toronto mask. Judging from Karrie pictures from Toronto and Vancouver, it does look identical. He probably wore out more than one mask during his Canadian run, so I will not claim it's THE same mask he wore all along. But definitely masks from the same mould.

Karrie only had 3 'moulds' from his 3 seperate runs.

The original London run was first

In Canada they have a different company designing and making the masks, so he got a new one there, it is one mould and they produce several masks so replace them as they get worn and cracked, so the mask will always be the same once the same mould is used, so in that regard I dont know why you would think the one used in the Canadian tour would be any different from Toronto or the Far East tour.

The 3rd would be the UK tour since that was done quite a while after his innitial London run so a new mask was made for that.

One would think that since the masks already fit the actors, if an actor changes location (internationally) he would keep the same mask and save the trouble, but I am somewhat sure that in Phantom the mask is considered a prop, not a costume piece, so it is probably owned by the particular production/production company. Hence when Grant Norman went to London he got a new mask and when Ethan Freeman came to Toronto he also got a new mask. Brad Little in the Asian tour also had a new mask.

The only kept mask I know of that moved from one int'l production to another would be Ciaran SHeehan's whose mask was clearly from his run as U/S in the US productions.

It's also hard to say about Cris Gronendhal when he did Toronto, there aren't any production pics of him. Perhaps the toronto production was able to make a deal with the US productions to allow the mask to come with the actor.

Only semi related, but I understood the same was the case when Jennifer Hope Wills did a short run in the US tour in between her Broadway run. Since it was a limited engagement, and she was going back to Broadway afterwards, she took her costumes with her. This meant they didn't have to-refit stuff for her in the tour. One would think that was a standard deal, and that the US tour and the Broadway production often shared costumes, but as mentioned above they belong to different owners, and hence different accountings.

When Rebecca Pitcher joined the World Tour in Singapore some years ago, she wore the Aussie costumes - except that her dressing gown clearly was from the USA. I don't know why this was the case, but there you go...


Brad Little and Rebecca Pitcher, from the World Tour (Singapore stop).

Oh, forgot too. the deformity also plays an important part in actors getting new masks for different productions.
Deformities are fragile and are usually replaced after every other show, therefore they have to make LOTS of them, and usually this is done specific for eacy production since the deformity varies, usually because of the size of the theatre, etc.
In addition to the mask fitting the actor, it also has to fit the deformity.

Gone are the days though (at least in the US productions) where masks are actually custom fit to the actor. It's been that way for a few years, and it's unfortunate. There are a few options regarding fit, eyebrow, etc, but in the end I suppose it cuts down on cost too.

Phantom on a Budget wrote:Gone are the days though (at least in the US productions) where masks are actually custom fit to the actor. It's been that way for a few years, and it's unfortunate. There are a few options regarding fit, eyebrow, etc, but in the end I suppose it cuts down on cost too.

That's kinda sad. Is it the same case in Vegas? I seem to remember they did some mask fittings before the production opened, but since Crivello has been the only main Phantom there for some years it's hard to tell what's the case. Do understudies get their own masks there?

Good point about mask fitting the deformities, though. The placement of the lip, and special details like the "missing ear" in the Aussie version definitely needs to be taken into consideration.

I know I have posted these pictures in the past, but I was very impressed with the mask work in Copenhagen. The masks for the three main Phantoms they had were highly different and definitely sculpted to suit each actor. The cut of the eye was different, plus the shape of chin, forehead and nose in profile:


Flemming Enevold, Preben Kristensen & Peter Jorde



1. All three on stage as "The Three Phantoms" in 2009.
2. Peter Jorde & Flemming Enevold in 2000


However, the understudies didn't get their own masks. Understudy (and for a while alternate) Jørn Pedersen wore Flemming Enevold's mask - it has a very distinctive nose - while it looks like understudy Tomas Kofod wore Peter Jorde's mask. Seems to fit them well, though.

1. Susanne Elmark and Jørn Pedersen in 2000 or 2001
2. Tomas Kofod and Emma Frost, 2009. This picture is made of awesome.

I still mourn Tomas Kofod never got to perform the Phantom. He was one of those awesome Raouls which you could just tell should play the Phantom one day. The understudies did a full run of the show in costume, where this picture is from, but they didn't perform for an audience. Christine understudy Emma Frost never got to perform Christine either. I guess that's the benefit / bad thing about having two principals sharing the role...

Story-wise, it kind of makes sense that the Phantom wouldn't have a custom-fit mask that mirrored the "good" side of his face. But aesthetically for us, it's awesome to see the differences in the masks between actors and the synergy between the mask and the "good" side.

I'm really quite fond of the Danish masks, when compared to the rest of Europe (except the UK) they have the nicest looking masks (except also Basel) all the rest are almost cringeworthy with Antwerp and the later German ones being the worst.

Yeah, the Danish ones are cool. I like the bright colours, but I am not quite so keen on Preben Kristensen's . I do like Flemming Enivolds though.
My faves are: UK, Canada, Argentina, Switzerland, Denmark. I am strangely fond of the Madrid ones too. If I had a mask from each of those productions, I would be a happy guy
I don't like the Vegas ones so much and I think that Crivello looks weathered and creepy as the phantom. He didn't when he shared it with Brent B, but he looks way different in the part now. It isn't him I don't think, its just his make-up appears to have changed. McGillin's Broadway one was weird too, but I didn't like his phantom at all either. (No offence to Crivello and McGillin fans, just IMHO)
OG

operafantomet wrote:

Phantom on a Budget wrote:Gone are the days though (at least in the US productions) where masks are actually custom fit to the actor. It's been that way for a few years, and it's unfortunate. There are a few options regarding fit, eyebrow, etc, but in the end I suppose it cuts down on cost too.

That's kinda sad. Is it the same case in Vegas? I seem to remember they did some mask fittings before the production opened, but since Crivello has been the only main Phantom there for some years it's hard to tell what's the case. Do understudies get their own masks there?

Yes, the understudies all have their own masks, wigs, and everything.

Gosh, I forgot about Madrid, I actually loved Armando's mask, but not too keen on the pics I;ve seen of Juan Carlos's one, looks way too big on him.

Im a huge fan of the new US ones but I can agree with what you say about Vegas these days, everytime I see pics of Crivello backstage greeting some celeb or another he really looks creepy, I think though that's because vegas goes way overboard on the makeup in that you can actually see it beyond the mask, also for some reason he wears his wig rather far back, usually the mask touches the hairline on your forehead, in Vegas there is always a bit of space.

I like JCB's mask, just when it wasn't on him! It didn't really fit him. Here is a picture from the rare pictures thread of it (sorry to the person I have taken this from):
https://s1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa426/thephanfullerton/?action=view&current=juancarlosbaronaspain.jpg
I love the mask's colourscheme, it almost looks red under the eyebrow. If this ever came up on ebay, I would be desperate for it. Same with the souvenir brochure. I love it when a mask has a lot of colour. That how I like my masks
OG has left the building

thephanfullerton wrote:Yeah, the Danish ones are cool. I like the bright colours, but I am not quite so keen on Preben Kristensen's.

That's probably my fault, for putting out picture of the mask before airbrushed. When finished it had lots of grey and pink shadings, like the other Danish masks. Here's one I took of him after Josefine and I did the interview with him for the mockumentary. The fit is quite perfect, and the shading lovely:



I too like the Spanish masks. I also dig the Swedish mask (I presume it was only one mask/mould, as Mikael Samuelson did all performances bar 6-7, and remained the principal Phantom through the whole run). And the Swiss one. But I agree that there's been many odd masks in Europe, with a definite low in Essen. Those were just.... hideous. Especially the ones Uwe Kröger and Ethan Freeman wore. Looked like something out of Star Trek.

Not a fan of the Danish masks, in shape or color. To me, you can't beat:

1.) The Toronto design used for PK/Simard/Stanley/David Rogers, et al
2.) Early Broadway/3NT/2NT--Crawford to '98 or so
3.) UK

...in that order, though I sometimes flip-flop 2 and 3.

SenorSwanky wrote:Not a fan of the Danish masks, in shape or color. To me, you can't beat:

1.) The Toronto design used for PK/Simard/Stanley/David Rogers, et al
2.) Early Broadway/3NT/2NT--Crawford to '98 or so
3.) UK

...in that order, though I sometimes flip-flop 2 and 3.

Well, when it comes to Phantom you've never liked anything non-English (languaged).

operafantomet wrote:I too like the Spanish masks. I also dig the Swedish mask (I presume it was only one mask/mould, as Mikael Samuelson did all performances bar 6-7, and remained the principal Phantom through the whole run). And the Swiss one. But I agree that there's been many odd masks in Europe, with a definite low in Essen. Those were just.... hideous. Especially the ones Uwe Kröger and Ethan Freeman wore. Looked like something out of Star Trek.

that comment reminded me about something I wondered, in the 25th brochure they list the long runners from 1500 performances and up, I would have thought Samuelson would have got past that mark, any idea of what his total run was?

I liked how Samuelson's mask fit his face, it just seemed to look rather lumpy around the forehead in some of the photos.

justin-from-barbados wrote:That comment reminded me about something I wondered, in the 25th brochure they list the long runners from 1500 performances and up, I would have thought Samuelson would have got past that mark, any idea of what his total run was?

He was a bit below that number. The Stockholm production celebrated their 1000th performance on October 20th 1994. They played until June 1995, with a total of 1173 performances. Mikael Samuelson was only off a few of those - I keep hearing different things... 8? 20? It would mean he did some 1150 performances in total, maybe a tad more. But he would be under the 1500 mark.

This would mostly be due to the Swedish production not playing during summer. Musical productions in Scandinavia rarely do, alas. Had they done, he would probably have crossed the 1500 mark.

ETA: any word on the conductor from Stockholm and Copenhagen - Per Engström - in the brochure? He has conducted some 1600 performances, it's definitely impressive!

operafantomet wrote:

SenorSwanky wrote:Not a fan of the Danish masks, in shape or color. To me, you can't beat:

1.) The Toronto design used for PK/Simard/Stanley/David Rogers, et al
2.) Early Broadway/3NT/2NT--Crawford to '98 or so
3.) UK

...in that order, though I sometimes flip-flop 2 and 3.

Well, when it comes to Phantom you've never liked anything non-English (languaged).

True...for the most part. If I understood those languages, I probably would appreciate the performers more, but it's hard to feel the same emotions when they're singing different words, even though it's largely the same sentiment. They emphasize different words, but you don't know what they're emphasizing.

Having said that, Justin reminds me I do like Samuelson's mask. And some of the Hamburg and Basel ones are pretty decent. Very simple, and they fit their faces well. I own a replica of Simon Tunkin's, and it fits mine well too.