The Broadway production + Original US Replica tour

Broadway Phantom Casting News: CLICK HERE

Also, Sean MacLaughlin recently tweeted that he'll be filling in as Raoul from September 15 through 19.

I'd go just to see Sean again, but I've got a couple of local things happening that week.

Rachel Zatcoff is coming in as Christine alternate and Craig Bennett as Firmin:

http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Rachel-Zatcoff-Craig-Bennett-Join-Company-of-Broadways-THE-PHANTOM-OF-THE-OPERA-20150828

I am thrilled that they've cast someone with vocal pedagogy and educated chops! She has her MM from Temple!

While I believe Voor Hees and Udine are talented (because they CERTAINLY ARE), I think it's too much too soon for an actor younger than 25. Especially Voor Hees. She's spunky, she reacts well on stage, but it misses gravitas and sculpt (she was very similar to Katie Hall's 2011 performance in the West End). But if I were her, I'd probably take the opportunity offered me, as well!! I wholeheartedly hope she continues to grow and shine in her next venture with Prince!

I too agree it's a good thing the "Christines under 25" thing becomes a norm. There's been many very good ones, both vocally and acting wise, but I would never want that to exclude those who brings more experience to the table. Excited about the new Christine.

Not sure how I feel about there now being THREE restaged US tour members in lead roles on Broadway, though. Julia Udine, Craig Bennett and Linda Balgord all opened the restaged US tour when it opened in 2013. Whereas I'm sure they're all good actors who knows how to adjust to a new role and/or a new director, I can't help but feel something of the restaged tour (whose directing I really don't like) might leak through into the Broadway production. Hal Prince, you better be on top of things.

I have had similar reservations. In the West End, I saw Andy Hockley as Firmin and Olivia Brereton as Christine post restaged tour. I liked him, but wasn't keen on her. I'm not sure, though, it was because of her year in the provinces.
Also, I saw Linda Balgord in the restaged tour during its first week and on Broadway in her fourth month. Her interpretation and executions were markedly different, though I surprisingly preferred her in the restaged tour. I thought she was too "affected" the style on Broadway.

I'm pleased to see audience members voicing their views on articles such as this one: http://abc7news.com/entertainment/phantom-of-the-opera-gets-haunting-redesign-/958513/

Each time the tour moves to a new stop, we get the same hold rehashed "it's grittier" and "oh yeah we've changed the sets but only because technology has improved in 25 years, not because we're trying to downscale and go cheap, HONEST" hogwash. It gets so tiring.

I wonder if the cast believe what they get told. They had their Carlotta tell BWW that the reason for Masquerade not being on the staircase was supposedly because masked balls only happened in the rotunda below. What a load of rubbish.

Laurence Connor meanwhile keeps saying that Christine is 18 in the Leroux novel, which is not true.

The constant restructuring of history is very, very frustrating.
And, sure, lighting technology has been updated- but that doesn't mean Andrew Bridge didn't accomplish TIMELESS lighting effects. His work was specific and extraordinary in the original, and still is. Bending reality.

Well... I try staying as open-minded as I can about the restaged tour. I really don't mind the restaged Les Mis, and I honestly even have trouble to see why people are complaining... However, I just can't say the same for the restaged POTO. Sure, there are a few touches that I actually liked, but overall, there are more things that I disliked or even hated and I still think Hal Prince's staging is better. I just hope that if POTO comes to close on Broadway or in West End, I just hope they won't re-open it with Laurence Connor's staging. Already, the upcoming Toronto production is going to be the restaged version, and man, I live in Ottawa, it would have been a great opportunity for me to finally see POTO live, but as a student, I'm not going to spend 300$ for a weekend for the restaged tour. Even if they have Samantha Hill and even if she's right now my favorite Christine.

I honestly don't mind if some actors in the US tour come to Broadway. There *are* some talented people among them, and if directed by Hal Prince, I think Chris Mann has very good potential. But I think I had more trouble with the UK tour since it was hard for me to remember how good Earl Carpenter and Simon Bailey were, and then see them... playing again their characters but in a different and disappointing way.

I'm not too surprised the actors are defending the show and the new staging, though. That's probably what's expected of them and they have to deal with it like real professionals.

Admittedly... I'm pretty embarrassed to admit it, but I've always headcanon-ed Christine (in the ALW-verse, since I saw the musical after reading the novel in French (my native language) and that I knew Christine was around 20) being between 18-21 (because I come from the gutter that's the 2004-movie generation ). 25-26 is somewhat too old for me, but feel free to disagree. I won't start ranting on it.

The reason the restaged Miz isn't as bad is because Connor basically plagiarised the Trevor Nunn original (resulting in a fall-out between Nunn and Mackintosh).

As a result of that, Mackintosh was careful in making sure Connor didn't really take much from the Hal Prince original. The result is that he couldn't nick anything good, and what was conceived from scratch was poor.

I don't think ALW actually thinks that much of the new tour. One saving grace of Phantom not being a solely Mackintosh production is that Cameron doesn't have the rights to stagings outside the UK and North America. Which means I don't think we'll be seeing the restaged version crop up all over the world. This is why the most recent international productions that are going for full-scale stagings (not the Eastern European countries) are still using the original production as the blueprint (e.g. Moscow).

Irina- I can't remember specifics in the book well enough, but I sort of feel that the part is not played as an 18-year-old in the ALW version. Brightman was about 25, and the role and its aura and its words feel tailored to that, from my view. But even if it is an 18-year-old, Christine is quite wise for her age. "Wishing" reveals someone who has gone through years of turmoil and is now quite self aware and reflective. A lot of very young actresses haven't necessarily had the experiences in life to draw upon when making choices, and, particularly in Wishing, I find their performances to be quite reactionary and not filled with the gravitas of someone making the choice to grow up and overcome her grief. Spunk rather than strength. Every Christine whose performance I remember having an arch has been 26 or older, and every one that I remember just being spunk has been a bit younger, usually.

MajesticPhantom: I see your point, only, we're in the 19th century. And you know, being 20 in 1881 is different from being 20 in 2015. But that's my point of view and feel free to disagree. And I apologize for being off-topic...

You're not off-topic, really. We agree more than realized. While, yes, being that age is different back then (which I thought about mentioning), that means it's more important to find actors who will tap into the quality of being 18 back then (ie life experience, etc) as to opposed to going for literal 18-year-olds, if that makes sense?

No, I see what you mean and I agree! It is great however from time to time to have actresses who have between 18-21. We get to see great talents. But yes, ultimately, it's better to have someone in her mid-twenties...

Irina de France wrote:Admittedly... I'm pretty embarrassed to admit it, but I've always headcanon-ed Christine (in the ALW-verse, since I saw the musical after reading the novel in French (my native language) and that I knew Christine was around 20) being between 18-21 (because I come from the gutter that's the 2004-movie generation ). 25-26 is somewhat too old for me, but feel free to disagree. I won't start ranting on it.

Some inputs on this:

*Christine in the novel is indeed somewhere around 20-21. Not younger, as she's graduated from the National Academy of Music AND has been in the chorus at the opera for some time. But not much older either, as her graduation isn't THAT far away. So Gaston Leroux never said she is supposed to be 25-26 somewhere.

*A mistranslation of the novel claims Christine is 15. That's not what Gaston Leroux wrote. He said her heart was as pure as that of a 15 year old. Again, as a graduate from the Academy she couldn't have been in her mid teens (though of course the 2004 movie changed her background story and featured her as a 16-year-old orphan living in dorms at the opera). And of course, by poining out she had the qualities of a 15 year old, Leroux is telling us she is NOT 15 year old.

*Now, that doesn't really mean an actress has to be this exact age to play the role convincingly. Younger actresses has played the role with great success (Katie Hall, Julie Goodwin and Amy Nuttall should be mentioned). But they often lack the stamina to play the role some 5-6 times a week, and their acting can be more intuitive than well founded. Like, there's awesome potential there, but they're not quite there yet. Opposite, there's been more mature actresses playing the role who might be way older than 20-21, but who also nailed the role vocally and acting wise. At the top of my head I wanna mention Lisa Vroman, Elisabeth Southard and Jill Washington. And there's of course everyone in between - actresses in their 20s and 30s who might be splendid or lackluster. Some of the very best Christines I've seen (Mia Karlsson, Valerie Link, Kristi Holden) has been in their early and mid 30s.

That's the magic of acting - once you're in wig and costume, up on stage, it's up to you, your talents and your co-players to create stage magic, to make a role come alive. Age matters little here, at least to me.

(I mean, I've always been in favour of elder Phantoms, or at least those in their 40s. I felt younger Phantoms didn't have the gravity. Then Jonathan Roxmouth came along. Christian Müller too. Back to stage magic - it's about the role you create more than who you are)

Not saying you're right or wrong in preferring Phantoms and Christines of a certain age. It can be based on clues giving in the original novel, in a specific stage or movie version, or simply on your own preferences. We all have different reasons. But I wanna separate between role age and cast age.

Am "seeing" it here in Toronto on Wednesday. Wish to God it was the original staging and design! As it is, I'm still really excited about going, as it'll be glorious to hear POTO live again! God, it's been entirely too long since it was here! :-( I just feel sorry for all the Phantom virgins in the audience who'll be getting entirely the wrong impression of the show. And, I hate to say it, but, from what I've read in you guys' reviews here, I'm kind of glad I can't see the ways this new staging/design's butchered it! I hear, at least, that the orchestra and the singing's really good, though?

Oh, it's in Toronto now? Man, I could seriously go and see it since I'm in Ottawa. But nah, not going to spend my money on it, especially that I'm a student...

Yep, it opened here on Tuesday Dec. 8th. I know what you mean! Am a student too. LOL Thank God for friends who know how to get super-cheap tickets on CNIB discounts! Plus, LOL it does actually help that neither of us can see the stage, because we don't have to worry about good seats. Nose-bleed section, here we come! LOL

Well, the ticket price isn't that bad, to be honest. It's just I'll have to pay for a bus ticket to get to Toronto since I don't have a car, then a hotel room, then my food, and so on and so forth...

Well, since you can't see the show, I think you will enjoy hearing it, since vocal-wise, everyone in the cast is good.

:-) *Wink!* True! And yeah, I've heard the performers are good vocally. Thank God for that at least! I know what you mean, though, about the travel expenses adding up. They really do! Ouch! I really want to go back down to NYC at some point, hopefully in the not too distant future, to see it on Broadway again. Because that was awesome! And I'd dearly love to see it in London, too, either for the 30th anniversary (hope they have another celebration like the 25th!), or as a graduation present to self when I survive, er, I mean, finish my doctorate. LOL But either of those wish-bones are going to take some serious saving up for!

Just saw the wonderful Broadway version having seen the London one back in September. With are marketed as the brilliant original but I think the Broadway one is the brilliant bigger better original. Physically it's just so much better. And in better shape. The cast were great as usual but I could see some of what has been said about Jane's portrayal of the role. Which did not really bother be since as a fan from the 90s and pre YouTube, I prefer vocals to acting since I heard phantom more than I saw phantom.
This was also show #30 for me so a real unexpected treat as I did not expect to see the show again so soon.

Every time I see it I notice something new (at least new to me) and this time I noticed that Mr. Andre is the proud owner of a wooden pistol and three human skulls.

Other news would be casting. Cast change is coming soon. There will be a new Christine, Raoul and Piangi. James is staying on another year and they just filmed a new video spot

So James is staying for another year? All righty. I'm going to make myself some popcorn and watch the drama unfurl on Tumblr, then.

I am very curious to know who's going to be the new Christine and the new Raoul. I wonder if they'll take people from the US tour again. I know some people are hoping for Celia Hottenstein, but I wonder if it's likely considering she's the alternate and it'd make more sense to have Katie Travis who's principal...

Also the broadyway production has in the past gone through stages or rapid Christine shuffling around. Not to mention that Sarah Jean Ford and Kelly Jane Grant are still in the cast (Former Christines) and the current alternate Rachel might get bumped up as has often happened recently ( and the other Rachel who is understudy)

But it would be cool to have new people aswell.

So the US Tour is coming to Denver in August-September. Guess I finally have to decide if I really want to see it now....

~LCD

justin-from-barbados wrote:
Other news would be casting. Cast change is coming soon. There will be a new Christine, Raoul and Piangi. James is staying on another year and they just filmed a new video spot

When will the cast change take place ?

I thought they had cast changes the first week of September and the first week of February ?

It's been awhile since I've been on here, but I am seeing Phantom again! My husband got me tickets for my birthday in August. However, it's the US Tour. Well I have been curious to see it and I missed it when it came to Baltimore earlier this month. Plus I'M not paying for it, so why not? Although I will feel guilty if it's not good and he wasted his money. Plus he hasn't seen the show since the late 90's so I hate that this will be his brush up on it. BUT I'm trying to keep an open mind and I hope at least the music will sweep me away. I also have an acquaintance from college who's a swing for the show so it will be nice to see him again.

Some "behind-the-scenes" views from the Majestic. No major revelations, but it's always cool to see these angles.

http://www.playbill.com/article/exclusive-see-how-the-phantom-of-the-opera-set-comes-to-life

I will be able to be in NYC in August and am planning on going to see Phantom on Broadway for the first time. It looks like James Barbour is the lead role. I haven't seen Phantom since the early 2000's. Are their any major changes to the production? How are James Barbour and Julia Udine?

Dang, prices are unreal. $200??

The only change I've heard about lately is some new choreography for Masquerade. I'm curious to see it. Gillian Lynne was there rehearsing it with the cast according to a few posts on social media.