Age of Phantom actors

I was wondering, does anyone have any idea of the YOUNGEST woman to play Christine and the OLDEST? Just a factoid I'd love to know! :-)

Thanks!

Unless things have changed, the youngest would be Amy Nuttall, the alternate from the 2nd UK Tour. She was 17 when she performed the role in 2000. I don't know the oldest for sure, but a few candidates would be Lisa Vroman of the various US productions and Jill Washington of London. Neither's birth date is public, so I don't know their actual ages, but I think they were probably in their early if not mid-40s when they retired from the role. Vroman first performed the role in the early 90s in San Francisco (or was she on the 3NT first?) and last performed in the 3rd National Tour in 2003. Washington performed the role intermittently over the course of the 90s. I guess if you include understudies, Kris Koop and Kimilee Bryant, who both currently or at least recently have understudied the role on Broadway, are probably around their early 40s. Bryant has played Christine in various global productions on and off over the course of at least 13 years, and Koop's been in the Broadway ensemble for quite a long time, probably a decade.

From the first page of this topic:

Youngest to date is still Amy Nuttall. She understudied the role in the UK tour in 1998, when she was only 16 years old.

Amy Hudson (now Holden) in South Africa was also fairly young, I think she was 19 when she alternated with Lana English in 2004

In the opposite end of the scale you have Lisa Vroman. Although it's hard to find exact dates online, I think she was 49 when she last did the role. Correct me if I'm wrong, though. And she had such a youthful voice, I was a bit surprised when I was first told her age.

The age of Vroman is estimated from when she graduated, but I have yet to find her exact age*. Jill Washington in West End was in her mid 40s when she last played the role in 1997.

And as someone pointed out, alternate Julie Goodwin in Australia/World Tour was also only 19.


* "She graduated from South Jefferson Central School in New York State in 1975, the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam in 1979", according to Wikipedia. So she was likely in her late 40s when she last did the role. Between 47-49 somewhere?

operafantomet wrote:From the first page of this topic:

Youngest to date is still Amy Nuttall. She understudied the role in the UK tour in 1998, when she was only 16 years old.

Amy Hudson (now Holden) in South Africa was also fairly young, I think she was 19 when she alternated with Lana English in 2004

In the opposite end of the scale you have Lisa Vroman. Although it's hard to find exact dates online, I think she was 49 when she last did the role. Correct me if I'm wrong, though. And she had such a youthful voice, I was a bit surprised when I was first told her age.

The age of Vroman is estimated from when she graduated, but I have yet to find her exact age*. Jill Washington in West End was in her mid 40s when she last played the role in 1997.

And as someone pointed out, alternate Julie Goodwin in Australia/World Tour was also only 19.


*"She graduated from South Jefferson Central School in New York State in 1975, the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam in 1979", according to Wikipedia. So she was likely in her late 40s when she last did the role. Between 47-49 somewhere?

Oh goodness! I had NO idea Lisa was in her forties when she was still performing as Christine. I'm 31 and think I'm too old...LOL! I saw Lisa when she was the understudy to Tracy Shayne back in '93 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and she was lovely. Yes, very youthful voice, she did an incredible job! I think I do remember reading somewhere about the youngest being around 17 years of age. Pretty incredible on each end of the spectrum. :-)

Devon wrote:Oh goodness! I had NO idea Lisa was in her forties when she was still performing as Christine. I'm 31 and think I'm too old...LOL! I saw Lisa when she was the understudy to Tracy Shayne back in '93 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and she was lovely. Yes, very youthful voice, she did an incredible job! I think I do remember reading somewhere about the youngest being around 17 years of age. Pretty incredible on each end of the spectrum. :-)

I think most stage Christines are in their late 20s and early 30s. A fair amount is also in their mid 30s. You need stamina and a well developed voice to cope with 5-8 performances a week. I'm guessing that's partly why the ones under 20 has been alternates and not principals.

I agree that Lisa Vroman had/has a very youthful voice.

operafantomet wrote:

Devon wrote:Oh goodness! I had NO idea Lisa was in her forties when she was still performing as Christine. I'm 31 and think I'm too old...LOL! I saw Lisa when she was the understudy to Tracy Shayne back in '93 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and she was lovely. Yes, very youthful voice, she did an incredible job! I think I do remember reading somewhere about the youngest being around 17 years of age. Pretty incredible on each end of the spectrum. :-)

I think most stage Christines are in their late 20s and early 30s. A fair amount is also in their mid 30s. You need stamina and a well developed voice to cope with 5-8 performances a week. I'm guessing that's partly why the ones under 20 has been alternates and not principals.

I agree that Lisa Vroman had/has a very youthful voice.

You make a very valid point. Their voices do have to be well developed not to mention dancing, acting, etc. It would take a strong person to put on that many performances, must be grueling at times. I give anyone in theater so much respect, having done some musical theater myself I know how hard it is, I can't imagine Broadway, etc! I remember reading somewhere about Sarah Brightman, that she didn't cope that well with the demands of the role of Christine. And that is why she didn't stay long when Phantom came to New York.

I don't think the demands of the role was the problem for Sarah Brightman. Basically it was shaped around her voice and abilities as a ballet dancer, and her (lack of) acting. The mix of chest voice with occasional high chest notes thrown in has been a bigger nightmare for legit opera singers, methink... (I say this as a Brightman fan, just for the record).

I think it was just as much the witch hunt on her and ALW as a couple, and of her as an "unwanted Brit" on the Broadway stage that made her leave Broadway and also musical theatre alltogether (apart from a stint in "Aspects of Love"). Instead she went on recording a solo CD in 1988 and one in 1989, and she was initially separated from ALW in 1990. Two nervous souls haunted by the media does not a happy marriage make... After that she's developed her own cross-over/fantasy/classical genre and mostly stuck to concept CDs with ditto stage shows.

But to stay on topic: Sarah Brightman was 26 when she first played Christine at Her Majesty's (25 in Sydmonton). Original West End alternate Claire Moore was half a year older. Original Broadway alternate Patti Cohenour was 35 when she first played the role.

operafantomet wrote:"She graduated from South Jefferson Central School in New York State in 1975, the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam in 1979", according to Wikipedia. So she was likely in her late 40s when she last did the role. Between 47-49 somewhere?

That'd make her 46 in 2003, 53 now. Very youthful Christine with a dynamite voice to the end. One of my second tier of favorites.

If Cohenour was 35 in 1988, that'd make her at least 41 when she last did the role, because I know she was doing it in Toronto in '94, maybe later. So she was up there as well.

The South African Phantom page posted a picture of a cake yesterday. A cake celebrating their Phantom's 25th birthday, on the 25th of February, in Phantom's 25th year, on their 25th performance in Johannesburg!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=378259088854011&set=a.244182785594976.77089.209472882399300&type=1&theater

But anyway, that means Jonathan Roxmouth was 24 when he started out as the Phantom.

That's incredible coincidence. Though, to nitpick, it's Phantom's 26th year. The 25th year ended in October of last year. The Broadway production's in its 25th year though.

Also, Roxmouth seems like a good Phantom, not at all that young.

I think I mentioned this in another thread but the average age of Phantoms in the London production seems to be 30-35 when they first played the role that's including understudies. Of course there are a few exceptions, some older some younger. I really don't think the age matters as long as they do a good job.

SenorSwanky wrote:That's incredible coincidence. Though, to nitpick, it's Phantom's 26th year. The 25th year ended in October of last year.

My mistake, what they wrote is that Phantom has been running for 25 years. I.E. it has not been running for 26 full years, that will happen in October. It was just me who misphrased it.

But yes, an incredible coincidence!

aussiephan wrote:I agree.........Anthony Warlow was the first Phantom I saw onstage in 1990 when he was 28 and I didn't like his Phantom that time around, way too youthful with not enough angst from life experience although his vocal performance was wonderful. In fact for many years I rated his one of the worst Phantom's I'd seen because his acting let him done IMHO with very bad memories of an awful final lair I'd seen him do where I wanted Christine to go with Raoul becuase he acted like a spoilt brat It was with some trepidation I went to the first preview of the return tour in July 2007 not knowing what to expect from him. I was wonderfully suprised - the voice was still there, but moreso he finally acted the role how I'd wanted him to do it years earlier, and all I can put that down to was those life experiences. In general older Phantoms IMHO are better for that life experience of the highs and lows life deals to us and they bring it out in their perfromances. It is only in the last two years I have found a younger Phantom (Roy Weiseensteiner) who is able to portray the angst of an older performer for the role.

Bonnie

Oh yes Roy Weissensteiner has it..I´ve seen him in Essen and he shows so many new and great sides of the Phantom.
But older Phantoms have the life experience, yes. That´s better for the role...
Yes sometimes young(er) people had many experiences in their young life...and can put it into the role...

With these young Christines who actually did wonderful jobs, can someone tell me WHY on earth they cast Emmanuelle Grey Rossum, who couldn't do the main arias, was cast for the film? If they were dead-set on casting minor, and it seems they were, well there are others who can at least hit the right notes.

mauerite#5 wrote:[\quote]

In comparisation, Michael Crawford was "only" 44 when he originated the role in 1986, while Colm Wilkinson was 45 when he performed it in Toronto in 1989.

The main reason I don't like Colm is he can't "act young". Both his Phantom and Valjean are grandpa's. His Valjean is an old geezer throughout the whole show even though it spans 20+ years and his Phantom is a little dirty-old-man-ish.[/quote]

I didn't like Colm as the Phantom, either! It didn't have anything to do with his age, though. It was the huge amount of rage and anger in his interpretation. It threw off that balance the character needs. But I did love his Valjean. So solid and strong. I feel romantic roles aren't really aren't for him.

Aria Clements wrote:With these young Christines who actually did wonderful jobs, can someone tell me WHY on earth they cast Emmanuelle Grey Rossum, who couldn't do the main arias, was cast for the film? If they were dead-set on casting minor, and it seems they were, well there are others who can at least hit the right notes.

Oh, I agree! But you're applying logic and sense here, which no longer has a place in the ALW universe.