MASQUERADE Previews Thread — Page 4

I’m mixed/positive on this. I saw it yesterday. Some notes:

- Nothing is “staged” on the roof anymore. At least not yesterday. They moved us through the roof set during one of the transitions. It worked better that way, I would imagine, since (as impressive as the roof set is), it literally takes you out of the experience, as you are staring into office windows in every direction.

- There was a tech stop around 3:00 that brought everything to a screeching halt. It was very awkward. The woman playing Giry was mid-scene and then just had to…walk off. We sat there for about 15 minutes and they restarted. They played the audio for the scene we had just watched twice, by mistake, and then we awkwardly sat there for another few minutes in silence until we were hurried to the next location. There, the music wasn’t playing and Christine was forced to start singing a capella.  As soon as she finished, the music began again and she had to re-sing the song. It was definitely sloppy and awkward and took me out of the experience, but I guess it’s par for the course with something as technically intricate as this production. Just wished the staff would’ve handled it a bit better. 

- I had the opposite experience of being moved around slowly. We were RUSHED during certain moments. I’d have to imagine this was all a domino effect from the tech pause, but it was strange to be hurried up a flight of escalators after sitting in a room in silence for 15+ minutes during a tech hold. Messed with the pacing for sure. 

- As stated above, the fourth wall breaking was inconsistent and admittedly bothered me. Especially during the dressing room scene, there’s quite a bit of audience interaction which felt entirely unnecessary. Just play the scene, instead of hamming it up and pandering. There’s literally no need for the performers to acknowledge the audience in that moment. 

All that said, by and large, this is very impressively executed. Some moments are straight up stunning (that opening! The boat! -…although I could’ve done with more fog…- The finale!).

Others, not so much (the carnival sequence is way too long, as is the wind-up-doll moment and the dressing room scene mentioned above). But it’s a feast for the eyes. Even if you’re losing interest in the action, there’s never a shortage of extravagance to look at. 

My Phantom was Clay Singer (very good, albeit way too young - I was admittedly hoping for Hugh). And my Christine was Riley Noland (absolutely fantastic). 

They have their work cut out for them in terms of the technical complexities. Once it’s more of a well-oiled machine, I’d love to return, but I’d be very hard pressed to drop another $200+ on it any time soon. 

Some thoughts for prospective attendees:

- PLEASE understand you might be split up from your group, but you WILL be reunited. It’s not that deep. So many people were just stopping in the middle of a transition waiting for their group, completely in the way of everyone else’s’ experience. Just. Keep. Moving. 
- As mentioned, wear comfortable shoes! 
- There was someone in my group in sneakers and grey sweatpants, which seemed borderline insulting to the cast. I was surprised he wasn’t asked to change. Dressy-casual is totally fine. Some people were in cosplay or tuxedos while others were in simple black button downs or cocktail dresses. 
- I wore a (casual) suit jacket and was very glad I did. It was freezing in there!

Updated On: 9/1/25 at 01:11 PM

Well, I finally saw Masquerade and since I don't know how to use the spoilers tab thing, 

Overall, it was exciting, fast paced, emotional, and entertaining. 

Absolute highlight: During Music of the Night, having Telly Leung litereally push my legs out of the way so he can access Christine.  

 

****MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD****

Now as someone who saw the original 1988 production at the Majestic 90 times, this production had me nervous: would I like Phantom at all without Bjornson's designs or Prince's direction? Turns out, generally, yes I would. It was just a comforting--very comforting--thrill to hear that music in New York City once again. I loved so much about it. The masquerade scene happening and spinning all around me was a dream. The way the cast and crew simply extended an arm and we magically knew how and where to follow. The added backstory of Phantom. The dramatic murder of Buquet. The shocking "wait is this part of the show?" reaction to the chandelier falling. I was one of the Negative Nellies about the dress coded because I hate dressing up, but omg let me tell you if I looked around during one of those scenes and saw some dude wearing khaki shorts and a red t-shirt or something, it would have ruined the show. 

Many of the scenes have been re-ordered to make the whole thing work, but it does make sense overall. 

The just ok: (I won't call them negative)

-the stairs.  I have severe lymphedema in my legs these days and at one point, everybody ran up TWO flights of escalators. Sorry, I can't do that. I could feel the rest of the audience seething me behind me that I wasn't running too. 

-The mask. Yes it was necessary, but the mask provided to me literally poked me in tbe eyes the whole time. 

-I detected lip synching as well, especially during the outdoor Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again. 

-the lack of good merch.  Come on, no magnets? 

Why we allowed CamMack to close this show at the heightd of the omicron variant is beyond me. 

 

-

Thanks that makes sense.  
 

Scarlet Leigh said: "Dave13 said: "Oftentimes, the group was split up. I often found myself in a small room with about 1/4 of the group. I would like to think the rest of the group was enjoying a similar scene. I get the feeling that if I go again, I may see a different show and have a different experience, especially knowing where to stand to get ahead of the group."

All the split groups see the same things just in a different order. So for example... and I will spoiler tag this just in case people want to be TOTALLY unspoiled.

So ANYTIME the group splits, you are not missing anything. You are all seeing the same thing just in a different order."

 

WiCkEDrOcKS said: "Speaking of watching your step, so many people in my group tripped or stubbed their toes at certain points. What the hellare they going to do if (read: when) someone falls…? Feels inevitable."

Help the person get up? See if they are ok? I mean, what else do you want them to do? As long as the pathways are walkable, I'm not sure what else you expect from them. 

 

My reply was not meant to be snarky. This isn't a sit-down and watch immersive production like The Great Comet. Everyone knows what they are getting into. I don't know what else they could do to make it less likely for people to trip, unless there's something in the building that's an unmistakable tripping hazard that I'm unaware of (if so, please share!). People have to get up and walk around. 

It's a bit like asking, "What are they gonna do if someone has a seizure during [show with flashing lights]?" You can (and absolutely should) warn people, so they can take their own precautions as necessary, but beyond that, you will inevitably have to deal with things as they arise when running these types of events. I'm sure they have stop protocols if someone gets seriously hurt, but my question is, what do you actually expect them to do to prevent tripping? I'm genuinely curious. Warning people to watch their step, maybe even repeating it as they move, seems to be about all they can do.

Give me Howard McGillin and I'll go see it. 

I love Howard in everything he's ever done, and while he's an exemplary phantom, my top five phantoms of all times are largely baritones or those with a truly unique sound. Colm Wilkinson, Norm Lewis, John-Owen Jones, Anthony Warlow and of course Michael Crawford. Walker is the Masquarade Phantom who best matches what I think the character should sound like, I'm bummed he's out of town when I'm in New York or I would have seen loved to see him. (I have tickets for Kyle Scatliff, who I hear is wonderful!)

JSquared2 said: "Anyword on when they're going to put the next block of dates on sale?"

They're killing me with this. I need a two-week extension.

 

They're pulling a mincemeat and announcing 'extensions' for more press and ticket sales. There's no way in **** this can recoup in 5 months and then just close, no way.

I wish they have more payment options  this is costing an arm and a leg 

FANtomFollies said: "I saw this last weekend and was extremely disappointed. I don't know how much money they spent but it wasn't enough. The set, costumes and lighting were mostly terrible, with a few exceptions. Most of the rooms just had the walls painted black with some ugly fabric swags or gold framed mirrors. Part of the problem is also that the ceiling is so low in every room. I think we needed at least one space that felt large and grand. And don't get me started on the rooftop. The costumes looked like they came from David's Bridal, and the lighting was too bright and had no atmosphere.

The performances were the saving grace, and were great across the board. I also enjoyed the pacing and the way the story is told in a new way. Some may be able to overlook the lack of beautiful visuals, but as a lover of the original Maria Bjornson designs, I can not. I'm completely open to a new vision of what Phantom can look like - but this just looks cheap and lackluster."

I bought tickets this week when they released through the end of November because I feel compelled to give it a try, but I expect I'm going to be disappointed as well. To me, the original Prince/Bjornson/Lynne production was perfection.