Has the Phantom of the Opera's set been replaced/refurbished? — Page 2

devonian.t said: "obviously the design is now rather "classic". But I'd sooner that than the tour mess."

Lot666 said: "RemlapLBC said: "I'm just saying the chandelier crash in the Las Vegas productionwas amazing. They obviously can do things with 30 years of new technology. That said, I hope they don't do too much to it."

I'm not sure if/how this might impact things, but the chandelier in Las Vegas was positioned way out in the middle of the orchestra seating area and only went up and down; it did not swing over onto the stage (directly at several members of the cast) as the London/Broadway chandeliers do."

It's also worth noting that the theatre the Vegas production was housed in at the Venetian was custom built for that production, so they were able to do things that would be impossible pretty much anywhere else (such as having the chandelier disappear completely into the ceiling after the crash)

The show doesn't even have to close to get some of the costumes there. I've seen pieces from The Lion King on display there for a number of years now.

I love any of the costume pieces that are put on display at the Smithsonian. It's fascinating to be able to see some of those iconic pieces close up. One of my favorites is the curtain rod gown Bob Mackie designed for Carol Burnett for the "Went with the Wind" sketch. That is an absolute genius stroke of parody!

I am also glad that the London production had a spruce up recently as that one was looking terrible. The one time I went back stage (mind you it was in 96) the sets were dusty and alot of the candles were missing in the deck. Last time I was there in 2015 the chandelier was still missing some of its pieces. But from seeing instagram posts, it seems to have all been fixed and they are 'cleaning' things more. Hope to see it later this year. (I also remember part of the proscenium looking bent, not sure if that is fixable though) and when the boxes came on they were very wobbly.

faceleg said: "I don't remember it completely disappearing. I was in the balcony seating and could remember still seeing it up there for the rest of the show. But it's also been a while lol"

Yeah, after the crash, it would get pulled up above the dome of the theater and hang out up there for the rest of the show. I'd love it if they could manage the same here, somehow, but the show would have to be totally reworked and the theater heavily changed.

Lot666 said: "ksilver117 said: "after the crash, it would get pulled up above the dome of the theater and hang out up there for the rest of the show. I'd love it if they could manage the same here"

When the London/Broadway chandelier crashes at the end of act one, it returns to the ceiling during the interval to reflect the "To the new chandelier! And may its splendor never fade!" lyrics in Masquerade. If the chandelier was removed from view after the crash, the lyrics would make no sense."

Those lyrics could easily be altered, as they were for the film and, presumably, the Vegas production.

Fosse76 said: "Those lyrics could easily be altered"

But what would be the point of doing so? How would this improve the show?

Lot666 said: "ksilver117 said: "after the crash, it would get pulled up above the dome of the theater and hang out up there for the rest of the show. I'd love it if they could manage the same here"

When the London/Broadway chandelier crashes at the end of act one, it returns to the ceiling during the interval to reflect the "To the new chandelier! And may its splendor never fade!" lyrics in Masquerade. If the chandelier was removed from view after the crash, the lyrics would make no sense."

Trust me, I know the lyrics, my S.O. was in it for just under seven years :P

It's why I said it would have to be reworked. The lyrics would be, weirdly, the easiest to re-work. The lines they used in Vegas worked really well. My comment was more about how great it would be to have that effect used in the Broadway production, rather than it actually being a practical thing to do to the Broadway production.

Lot666 said: "Fosse76 said: "Those lyrics could easily be altered"

But what would be the point of doing so? How would this improve the show?"

The discussion was about changes in how the chandelier drop is handled. If like Vegas or the movie, the lyrics in Masquerade would need to be changed to make sense. This is not rocket science.

And in Vegas they also had a stuntman doing the drop so it looked more realistic. When I saw Phantom with my mother in the 90s she didn't know if the dummy was supposed to be real within the context of the show. Doesn't help that the audience might have forgotten who he was. I've seen a couple performances where some ballerinas have ad libbed "BUQUET!"One thing that really bothers me about Broadway is that they don't model the wedding dress doll on the actual actress anymore. It's super creepy to see the Phantom throwing around a likeness of the actual actress. And of course the ensemble member playing her in the music of the night wears a generic mask.



Look at that! Super creepy! First picture is from The Phantom of the Opera, the First Year Backstage (a must read for hardcore Phantom fans, lots of cool pictures taken by Steve Barton's dresser in London). Second picture of course shows Rebecca Luker in her Broadway debut (with Sarah Brightman on the floor).

Lot666 said: "You took my comment out of context so you could make a b*tchy retort."

Of course the lyrics would have to be changed if the chandelier was removed for act two; I was questioning the point of changing the chandelier at all - how would that improve the show?"

Wrong. The relevant part of your original comment was "[i]f the chandelier was removed from view after the crash, the lyrics would make no sense."

To which I replied: "Those lyrics could easily be altered"

Exactly what did I take out of context?