Phantom Closing? — Page 45
#1102
Posted: 4/16/23 at 9:45am
That is VERY true. There was definitely the “special surprises for all of the last week. With the last one being the big send off” selling pitch. It does end up being a disappointment to those who dropped big money on a ticket to be part of something… historic.
I would have thought they’d at least sticker the “final public “ show. Or something.
#1103
Posted: 4/16/23 at 9:58am
"SURPRISE!!! We don't care about anything except your money, and this has been a very successful cash grab," seems to be what they were talking about. I mean, a simple acknowledgement of history at the final public performance is not too much to have expected, and those labeling it as "entitlement" need to think about the unprecedented nature of the occasion. This isn't like Diana closing after a couple of months; we're talking about 35 YEARS. They could have pretended for 5 minutes like last night was special, and I'm sure that would have been enough of a "gift" for most in attendance.
#1104
Posted: 4/16/23 at 10:05am
And I think that’s what it was. Instead of the cast standing onstage for 20 minutes just watching us cheering and waiting, knowing nothing was going to happen. And if they really wanted us to go home, they could have simply gotten off the stage instead of more and more people coming out to gawk at the audience.
#1105
Posted: 4/16/23 at 10:30am
WldKingdomHM said: "I think the meh energy is they shall be back very soon"
They won't. The Phantom family is being decimated by this. A scaled-down version will be there very soon, but nothing will be 'back'. Cameron will fire everyone and hire n00bs. It's his business model now.
The 'meh' is also very on-brand for how Cameron treats the productions that made him rich. Don't forget the original ORIGINAL production of Phantom simply vanished with barely an acknowledgement; to this day the co-producer, Really Useful, tries to pretend it's the same production when the programme, posters, and even press articles in the souvenir brochure state otherwise. Original Miz was extremely meh with the original creatives in the audience but not on stage and a very low-key speech from the cast thanking them. No Cameron in sight.
The productions that really went all-out in their closings with massive extravaganzas with buzz and acknowledgement of the repeat audiences/fans were the ones not produced by RUG or Cameron, those being the Las Vegas production (Live Nation / Base Entertainment) and Toronto's (Livent - though, as good as Livent were about that, we now know they were much worse when it came to everything else).
#1106
Posted: 4/16/23 at 10:32am
I can understand why those who attended are disappointed given the circumstances as it was the final show for the paying public. The expectation that the show would do or offer something special isn’t unreasonable.
Updated On: 4/16/23 at 10:32 AM
#1107
Posted: 4/16/23 at 10:56am
The man seated to my right flew in from LA for this - his very first Broadway show! He told me that he thought it would be a special, historic evening and he spent a fortune to be in the theater for it. He loves listening to Phantom, and it was always his dream to see it. He said this Broadway evening was likely his first and last all rolled into one. And he was so excited about his ability to be there!
The couple to my left were the ones who got engaged in the aisle near the orchestra! They drove from Michigan for the night - their first time to NYC and first Broadway show - because they knew it would be a special performance and experience. He told me that Phantom is his (now) fiancé’s favorite show (which opened before she was born) and when he heard it was closing he moved heaven and earth to plan the proposal around it. He bought - and upgraded - tickets. He planned every element of the surprise. And planned to drive back to Michigan that very night after the show because they could only afford to be there for the performance and special experience of getting engaged.
My point? The audience was filled with people who knew how special this performance was. It was filled with people who spent time and great sums of money to be there. It was filled with people who dearly wanted to be there for the final public performance - who had very special reasons for wanting to celebrate a beloved show.
The audience knew it was a special performance. What a missed opportunity for the producers to let the audience know they thought it was special, too.
"Two drifters off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see. . ."
#1108
Posted: 4/16/23 at 11:09am
I didn’t attend yesterday, but was waiting outside the theater for my friend who did. Considering they didn’t do anything special, I thought it was laughable that there were Bad Cinderella reps stationed outside the doors handing out flyers to people as they exited.
#1109
Posted: 4/16/23 at 11:53am
I want to celebrate how fabulous it was to see Kristen Blodgette conduct the performance last night!
Brava!!
"Two drifters off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see. . ."
#1110
Posted: 4/16/23 at 12:21pm
Do we know who is playing the Phantom today?
"Y'all have a GRAND day now"
#1111
Posted: 4/16/23 at 1:12pm
Cameron Mackintosh is laughing all the way to the bank and will do it again when he opens a budget version of Phantom in a year or two. And I’m sure there will be folks here still willing to hand him their money.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#1112
Posted: 4/16/23 at 1:17pm
Kad said: "Cameron Mackintosh is laughing all the way to the bank and will do it again when he opens a budget version of Phantom in a year or two. And I’m sure there will be folks here still willing to hand him their money."
Sadly, you're right. I cringe at how many times the words 'reimagined', 'enhanced', 'updated', 'for the 21st century', 'contemporary', 'refreshed', 'revamped', and - Cameron's fave - 'SPECTACULAR' will be used again and again and again ad nauseum in the rebranding for the downgrade.
#1114
Posted: 4/16/23 at 1:20pm
Laird Mackintosh will close the show:
https://playbill.com/article/laird-mackintosh-will-play-phantom-of-the-operas-final-broadway-performance-principal-ben-crawford-sidelined
According to a representative from the show: “Due to a bacterial infection, Ben Crawford has been on vocal rest, per doctor’s orders. As a full recovery is expected in the coming days, Ben and The Phantom Company had hoped he’d be able to return for the closing performance. To our regret, he’s required to take a little more time."
Updated On: 4/16/23 at 01:20 PM
#1115
Posted: 4/16/23 at 1:26pm
Kad, you’re right.
I, for one, will not be among them. I said my good-bye last night.
There will be no more from me.
"Two drifters off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see. . ."
#1116
Posted: 4/16/23 at 1:27pm
ALW said in his interview with Lester Holt that it takes about 1 million to run the show a week. Which is crazy. Broadway will sadly never see a show of this scale again after today.
#1117
Posted: 4/16/23 at 1:31pm
I know it's an unpopular opinion, especially with the die-hard fanbase of this show (and others), but I don't mind switching it up after decades. If it was any other show, it would be on it's 3rd revival, looking COMPLETELY different than it did in 1986 (the OLC). And don't get me wrong, I love this show but it does feel like a show from the 80's.
When they redid "Les Mis" in London last year, people were furious but I went to see the new one and..I kinda love it. It looks fresh and new and I think does breath some new life into it. I've seen the dark drab "Les Mis" (and I'm NOT knocking the original design) so many times that seeing it bigger with pretty awesome use of colorful projections made it exciting again for me to watch. Did they save money by doing that? Probably - but it honestly doesn't look cheap at all. So maybe that's what a new "Phantom" will be, too.
#1119
Posted: 4/16/23 at 1:33pm
I'm sorry, I missed something (and I'm sure it's been covered here more than once, I just can't seem to find it!). If last night was the final performance for the paying public, who is tonight's performance for? Invited guests only or something?
#1120
Posted: 4/16/23 at 1:35pm
Yeah, besides the lottery winners, it’s invite-only today.
#1123
Posted: 4/16/23 at 1:45pm
Robbie516 said: "Is there a special playbill for tonight?"
Yes.
#1124
Posted: 4/16/23 at 1:47pm
Are they the same Playbills you can buy at playbill.com?
#1125
Posted: 4/16/23 at 1:53pm
Laird will be on for the final performance. Ben is sidelined with a bacterial infection. https://playbill.com/article/laird-mackintosh-will-play-phantom-of-the-operas-final-broadway-performance-principal-ben-crawford-sidelined
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