Profile for martinsmithfan

Well I was wrong about them announcing it on the anniversary of the closing of the Broadway production - but they’ve heavily ramped up the marketing this past week:https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photos-Promotion-Underway-with-Masks-Mirrors-for-MASQUERADE-20250420?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR62JIKPwPW8vMFJgiWc6IRYKgdjf4A9fmtmQE6j6RHw1N1-Pu5aaK3

It recently occurred to me that they will be officially announcing all the details on April 16. You know, two years after it closed. So I'm looking forward to that.Articles have begun appearing in more mainstream publications about it, though it seems still no official press release providing info:Page Six

I’ve seen another rumor surface that one of the three (or supposedly six, three principles and three understudies) Phantoms will be Hugh Panaro.Hugh’s name had been linked to a workshop of this production in the past, as well as former Broadway understudies Paul Schaefer and Jeremy Stolle.Very interesting if true.Another interesting rumor I’ve seen is that the show might actually be cut down to ballpark 75 minutes - which will be interesting to see what stays and goes if true.

HogansHero said: "I also have heard (third hand, so take it as you will) that there is at least one major piece of information about this undertaking that has not been announced and, if true, will eclipse all of the gripes that have been voiced by some in this thread."I know you probably can’t but I’m insanely curious if there’s any insight you can give about what this may be. With the rumored price tag I wouldn’t mind hearing a reason that’ll turn me off to spending $200 on this lol.

Some further tidbits were shared over on theatreboard from user 42ndBlvd - unsourced but interesting if true:There's going to be 3 separate casts and audiences each night moving from room to roomNo live orchestraTickets from $200"Definitely" going to be an abridged versionAudiences will be ushered, not allowed to roam200-300 people every nighthttps://theatreboard.co.uk/thread/12909/immersive-phantom-opera-masquerade

There’s a mockup of one of the sets below with some other little bits of plans for the building:https://www.nyc.gov/assets/lpc/downloads/pdf/presentation-materials/20240213/218-West-57th-Street.pdf

It looks like they’re gearing up to make an official announcement with proper details:https://masqueradenyc.com/ Also it appears it’ll be mounted at the former Lee’s Art Shop on 57th street, this article was posted back in March:https://www.bizjournals.com/newyork/news/2024/03/05/theatre-opera-lees-art-phantom-asher-young.html

I haven’t seen this mentioned but during the scene where they are talking about the blonde wigs, when Herbie asks why he made June wear those wigs Rose answered “it makes her look…” and she paused/hesitated and then finished with “…like a star”I thought this was an interesting moment with everything that was talked about with the intention of casting a June that was of a more mixed skin tone.

Does anybody have the early access or promo code for the PA academy of music shows? Been waiting to grab my Les Mis tickets and would love to be able to grab them now. Thanks!

Per their instagrams:For the January 17-February 7 block of shows, the role of Sweeney Todd will be played by Nicholas Christopher Wednesday thru Saturday, and Paul Jordan-Jansen will play Sweeney Todd on Sunday.Jeanna de Waal will be playing Mrs. Lovett for all evening shows and Sundays, while Delaney Westfall will play the role for the matinees.Won’t be surprised to see this on TDF for this entire duration, so very excited to get to see these pairings!

This show has been showing up on TDF intermittently so grabbed a ticket for tonight’s performance after seeing the initial positive reviews here. Still optimistic despite the slight shift in opinion recently haha. Haven’t had a good cry in the theatre since Phantom closed so wondering if that part will ring true for me.Has anyone else here seen the show through TDF yet and can report on what kind of seats you got?

disregard!

I'm planning to potentially make a trip to New York this Saturday to try for SRO for both the matinee and evening shows. Both shows are sold out on telecharge so I'm pretty sure it'll be entirely possible to get them.I know I need to go to the physical box office, but does anyone have any insight into how fast SRO sells out? What time should I try and arrive? Its about a 90 minute drive to the train station, and another 30ish minutes to get to the city so I need to plan my day around when to ...

I’m curious what everyone’s thoughts are on Ben Crawford’s Phantom?Also,Thank you everyone for all your replies and suggestions to help me with the dilemma I was in, it means a lot and was really helpful.Very happy ending to this story, I was venting on the phone with my grandma about that performance I attended and what I was trying to plan to do for April 3—and she offered to cover the price of the ticket for April 3 as a gift.I feel incredibly blessed that I’ll get this opportunity to get ...

Phantour said: "I agree with this strategy! I have done it for friends who were looking for a specific date, but it was sold out. I kept looking and things would open up. This also worked for me for the anniversary performance. The night before I was in rear mezz and it wasn't the best experience so I didn't want to sit there again for the anniversary as I booked. I saw a side front orchestra seat open up the day of for $244 (a bargain with rear orchestra having seats at $400+ a few weeks bac...

After trying for months to win the Phantom lottery, I finally won for the Tuesday show. Phantom was my first Broadway show and is one of my favorites, hadn't gotten to see it since 2018.I can't afford the normal price tix so winning was a true blessing as it seemed that I would get my chance to see it one last time before it closed. I got second row, way on the right row BB, seat 14. But the seats were wonderful.I was desperate to get Ted Keegan to be my last Phantom, seeing an old school leg...

So I’m curious, have folks here gotten a chance to see this company and touring production yet? And if so what were your thoughts/feelings? I’ve now seen it twice in Philadelphia, and have some mixed thoughts on a few things and am curious what other folks are feeling.

I did a write up about this in the r/Broadway subreddit and it’s only kind of related but this situation with Beanie Feldstein and every surrounding her now cut short time with the show reminds me of when Martin Smith was brought in as the third principle Phantom in the West End production of POTO in 1989…you can read about that here if you like, it’s an interesting story and again shares some parallels with Beanie:

I've spoken to people who recorded his performance and lost their tapes, as well as old collectors who had several tapes of his performance but are lost as to where they are now. So I know he was recorded in the role in some capacity. He was in the London production but I wanted to be sure to cover all my bases.

Hi there, I'm the runner of a website dedicated to the memory of the late Martin Smith:inmemoryofmartinsmith.weebly.comI'm looking for information regarding Martin Smith's stint as The Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera". He played the role in October-November of 1989. It is famously said he wasn't at his best in the role but there's no clear reason as to why. I figured someone here must have seen him and can shed a little light on the issue.In addition, I've been sear...