How is Phantom these days?- Page 3

[Fosse76]

Posted: 6/21/18 at 1:01pm

Lot666 said: "amygbrooks said: "super garish costumes and sets"

I can honestly say that I've never before heard anyone refer to Maria Bjornson's designs for Phantom as "super garish"."

I worked at the Civic Opera House in Chicago when the 2nd National tour was brought in. Let me tell you, the ushers there were unimpressed. And before you make any derisive comments about the ushers, these were professional people (doctors, lawyers, judges) who did it because they enjoyed it. While they were always professional and courteous with the audience, they certainly didn't hide their opinions about the show from management or anyone associated with the show. Garish, cheap, garbage were just some of the descriptions I heard. I have never seen a stage manager so annoyed. 

[amygbrooks]

Posted: 6/21/18 at 1:22pm

Lot666 said: "amygbrooks said: "super garish costumes and sets"

I can honestly say that I've never before heard anyone refer to Maria Bjornson's designs for Phantom as "super garish"."

I think the designs are very of their time. But when compared to the current, modern sets of Dear Evan Hansen, The Bannd's Visit, etc? The contrast is striking and does Phantom no favors.

[thedrybandit]

Posted: 6/21/18 at 2:57pm

Lot666 said: "If Mr. Crawford is out for one of the aforementioned reasons, Laird Mackintosh is the official first cover, followed by the swings who understudy the Phantom (Jeremy Stolle, Paul Schaefer, and Greg Mills)."

As far as I've always been told (By one of the guys listed here, actually) there's no official first cover, they try to rotate it to be fair to the guys, but it doesn't always work out perfectly since Jeremy and Paul are always in the ensemble, and Greg is a swing who fills roles as needed, so they can't do a perfect rotation.

[Solipsist234]

Posted: 6/21/18 at 3:10pm

Okay, hold up! The OP has already decided to take his friend to see Phantom; alright, that's all fine and good! But now it's time to bash the late, great Maria Björnson and her other-worldly designs (from that damn chandelier to the entire Masquerade scene?) Geez, you would think more people had class! Now, the current national tour set might be impressive in terms of a touring production, but they pale immensely in comparison with Maria Björnson's original designs. That's just my two cents!

Also, a person who believes that Dear Evan Hansen and Mean Girls' LED screens pass for intriguing stage art is completely misguided! It's all natural over at the Majestic, y'all!

[charityhopevalentine2]

Posted: 6/21/18 at 5:45pm

Ali Ewoldt is an incredible Christine. Her portrayal is so interesting. She's a psychology major and she has a really great insight and motives for her Christine. She talks about it in her Character Study video with Broadway dot com if you're interested in looking into it.

[Gizmo6]

Posted: 6/21/18 at 5:55pm

Obviously these ushers/Doctors have no appreciation for art or intelligence to understand the storytelling with the costumes.

Maria Bjornson was a visionary. Phantom is the best designed commercial show it’s period.

[greenifyme2]

Posted: 6/21/18 at 11:08pm

Just got out of the show, lottery win- front row orch right on the aisle. One of my favorite seats I’ve ever sat in at a show.

I’m sure the fantastic view helped, but my husband and I went into tonight with reserved expectations. We were both pleasantly surprised at what great shape the show is in. Ben Crawford was captivating, there was one point toward the end when he was standing right in front of me and I could swear he was looking right into my eyes.

Could they modernize if? Sure. Do they need to? No. There was something nostolgic about seeing something for the first time in over 12 years that was exactly the same and brought back great memories.

Some observations of things I never thought of in my previous viewing before watching a lot of theater-
Dang it must be hard for the Phantom to sing through all that stuff on his face. The prosthetic, the mask, the cloak over his head.

And wow those costume changes.

Loved it! I’d recommend it for sure.

[labellaragazza1]

Posted: 6/22/18 at 9:52am

greenifyme2 said: "Just got out of the show, lottery win- front row orch right on the aisle. One of my favorite seats I’ve ever sat in at a show.

I’m sure the fantastic view helped, but my husband and I went into tonight with reserved expectations. We were both pleasantly surprised at what great shape the show is in. Ben Crawford was captivating, there was one point toward the end when he was standing right in front of me and I could swear he was looking right into my eyes.

Could they modernize if? Sure. Do they need to? No. There was something nostolgic about seeing something for the first time in over 12 years that was exactly the same and brought back great memories.

Some observations of things I never thought of in my previous viewing before watching a lot of theater-
Dang it must be hard for the Phantom to sing through all that stuff on his face. The prosthetic, the mask, the cloak over his head.

And wow those costume changes.

Loved it! I’d recommend it for sure."

 

So glad you enjoyed! I'm a big fan of the front row (especially if you're familiar with the show). Those costumes up close are just WOW.

 

 Haha Ben and many other Phantoms have all said that the Point of No Return costume is their least favorite because it's notoriously difficult to move in and nearly impossible to see. The cast right now is pretty stellar. 

 

I love the nostalgia factor. I once had a professor who had never seen the show, but hated that it was performed the same all over (this was quite a while ago, before replica productions and high school licensing). She claimed it was ridiculous and garish and cookie cutter. But... that was the point. ALW said he wanted people in Brazil and Spain and Asia to see the show as if they were visiting Broadway or the West End. The "Remember Your First Time?" campaign and the 2004 movie were big lifesavers for the show and I love being able to see the same show I feel in love with 15 years ago, with different interpretations.

[Lot666]

Posted: 6/22/18 at 2:43pm

Fosse76 said: "before you make any derisive comments about the ushers, these were professional people (doctors, lawyers, judges) who did it because they enjoyed it."

How does being a "professional" person (i.e., doctor, lawyer, judge) make one's opinions about musical theatre more credible or relevant?

Updated On: 6/22/18 at 02:43 PM

[Lot666]

Posted: 6/22/18 at 2:45pm

ksilver117 said: "As far as I've always been told (By one of the guys listed here, actually) there's no official first cover, they try to rotate it to be fair to the guys, but it doesn't always work out perfectly since Jeremy and Paul are always in the ensemble, and Greg is a swing who fills roles as needed, so they can't do a perfect rotation."

Interesting; all of them have told me that Laird Mackintosh is always first up when the Phantom is out.

Updated On: 6/22/18 at 02:45 PM

[Lot666]

Posted: 6/22/18 at 2:49pm

Solipsist234 said: "a person who believes that Dear Evan Hansen and Mean Girls' LED screens pass for intriguing stage art is completely misguided! It's all natural over at the Majestic, y'all!"

I haven't seen Mean Girls, but I've seen Dear Evan Hansen four times. While I think the video screens feel quite appropriate for that particular show, I also think this technology is relied on too heavily in many other productions. One of the most disappointing aspects of Anastasia for me was the overuse of video backdrops that didn't fit at all with such a period story.

[thedrybandit]

Posted: 6/22/18 at 3:14pm

Lot666 said: "Interesting; all of them have told me that Laird Mackintosh is always first up when the Phantom is out."

I think it might be that it ends up being easiest for Laird to go on, since there are a few Andre covers, and he's been principle fill-in a few times, so they may prefer him. My info could be out of date, I've been out of the loop on that, but I know that my original answer was the case a couple years back.

Oh and for the original topic of the post, the current leads and 'secondary' leads (Carlotta, Piangi, etc) are all fantastic, and the show is in really good shape. I see it about once a year and when I saw it a month or so back, it felt fresher and more exciting than it has in about five years. If you're going to go, it's a really good time to see it.

[Wick3]

Posted: 10/17/19 at 10:42am

Did anyone go see Meghan Picerno (the new Christine Daae) last night? I believe it was her Broadway debut after doing the world tour of Phantom. It also seems to me she will be the main Christine and Eryn LeCroy will remain the alternate?

I went to Kaley Ann Voorhees's last performance on Sunday evening and she was amazing as always! Her depiction of Christine is the way I've always envisioned Christine to be so will miss her but am happy she's moving on to the next chapter of her life. Her singing "Wishing you were somehow here again" gave me chills.

Ben Crawford is still phenomenal and John Riddle as Raoul is excellent too. Great voice though I wish he had a mustache similar to Jay Armstrong Johnson. 

[Lot666]

Posted: 10/17/19 at 11:17am

Wick3 said: "I went to Kaley Ann Voorhees's last performance on Sunday evening..."

How was Bradley Dean as Andre? He blew us away in Bat Out of Hell at NY City Center and now I can't wait to see him in Phantom.

[TBone]

Posted: 10/17/19 at 2:48pm

Saw the show last night and really thought the current cast was pretty fantastic.

I did notice that after "Why so silent..." the phantom did not exit through the stage floor. There was the flash and then one of the ensemble members held up their cape to cover him and they ran off stage right in the chaos/darkness. When I saw the show back in January, the same thing happened. Does he no longer drop through the floor?

The other difference was that during the final lair scene, the phantom didn't cut the lasso down with a candle. He sort of lifted the lasso up, and then shoved it and Raoul to the floor stage right. I thought I had read something online about that effect being different, but cant remember where I read it. Has that also been changed or did I just catch it on a night it wasn't working?

[Justin D]

Posted: 10/17/19 at 3:04pm

yea they stopped with the masquerade trap a while now, causing too many injuries. That last bit though with the lasso seems to be a genuine flub, maybe he realised the candle was not loaded and had to improvise.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 10/17/19 at 4:06pm

I thought for sure the trap was still used in August but I admit the flash temporarily blinded me. He very well could have just run off in the chaos and I didn’t notice.

[Justin D]

Posted: 10/18/19 at 8:02am

yea its still there at the back of the orchestra pit, last time i saw it there was some sort of pillow down there, i suspect people use it for napping between shows, lol

[Wick3]

Posted: 10/18/19 at 9:00am

Lot666 said: "Wick3 said: "I went to Kaley Ann Voorhees's last performance on Sunday evening..."

How was Bradley Dean as Andre? He blew us away in Bat Out of Hell at NY City Center and now I can't wait to see him in Phantom."

He was great!!! I think it was you or someone else who mentioned it in another thread but this cast may be the last cast who Hal Prince directed. 

[Lot666]

Posted: 10/18/19 at 11:26am

Wick3 said: "Lot666 said: "Wick3 said: "I went to Kaley Ann Voorhees's last performance on Sunday evening..."

How was Bradley Dean as Andre? He blew us away in Bat Out of Hell at NY City Center and now I can't wait to see him in Phantom."

He was great!!! I think it was you or someone else who mentioned it in another thread but this cast may be the last cast who Hal Prince directed."

Thanks, I can't wait to see him! He was the last cast member selected by Hal.