Phantom Closing?- Page 52

[Lot666]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 8:46am

poto19882023 said: "Paul and Greg don't want to go on again."

What do you mean by "don't want to go on again"? I cannot imagine either of them saying that.

 

[labellaragazza1]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 9:35am

Greg mentioned that he was happy with his final official performance and didn't want to go on again in the final week

[123musicalfan]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 3:37pm

MannPhan24601 said: "Went through that whole reddit thread. Yikes. Especially the one making fun of the OBC and Sarah Brightman . Horrible though on how his later days were mistreated"

 

I read the whole thread but didn't see this. Very curious to know what he said. Do you mind paraphrasing (realized it might have gotten deleted) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MSecaur]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 5:43pm

poto19882023 said:

I didn't mean at all to imply Ted was acting that way. He just genuinely wants to play the role whenever he can. He was really keen to go on during Jeremy's week according to a cast member at stage door (fuzzy on whom, I 85% sure it was Greg Mills) and had initially thought he might be getting one that week, which was from Ted himself after seeing Jeremy on April 5.

Those sentiments come from Paul and Greg themselves. Greg is satisfied with the final performance he gave on March 27th, and he also said the other day he knows it means a lot to Ted so he'd rather do his swing track and let Ted go on. I do think its sweet that the cast can see just how much love he has for the role. Apparently whenever he is on a ton of the cast members are watching him from the wings.

poto19882023 Thanks for the information about Ted Keegan. I was honored to see his last performance, the matinee on 4/15 with Julia Udine, and he definitely put his heart and soul into it. I'm glad he was the one to be my first and last Phantom on Broadway.

When I met him at the stage door afterwards, I was amazed to see how much energy he still appeared to have after a very emotional and intense performance. He clearly loves the part, and I hope that when Phantom does return, they won't repeat one of the many mistakes of the London revival and fail to hire back the veteran performers who worked with the original creatives. Honestly, the chance to see Ted and the other incredible people in the final company again would be the only thing to entice me to return to a watered-down, non-Hal Prince production.

[nativenewyorker2]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 6:34pm

123musicalfan said: "MannPhan24601 said: "Went through that whole reddit thread. Yikes. Especially the one making fun of the OBC and Sarah Brightman . Horrible though on how his later days were mistreated"



I read the whole thread but didn't see this. Very curious to know what he said. Do you mind paraphrasing (realized it might have gotten deleted)

If I remember correctly and I’m paraphrasing:

he wasn’t going to attend the final performance but the staff told him to come and they would honor him on stage. But when he got on stage, they barely acknowledged him and Sarah Brightman-who he referred to as something like “an old lady who wrongly thought she was responsible for the shows 35 year run”- pushed him to the back of the stage. He also said something like the stage was being at a geriatric convention.












"

 

Updated On: 4/21/23 at 06:34 PM

[Piparoo]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 6:40pm

Are we absolutely sure that this was Ben posting on Reddit? I don’t know the guy, but those takes are smokin hot and not the stuff that I would expect most Broadway actors to share publicly.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 6:51pm

He posted an announcement about the AMA on his verified Instagram account, so, yes, it was him:

Updated On: 4/21/23 at 06:51 PM

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 7:55pm

Here's one comment discussing the AMA that says he wasn't talking about Brightman, but people thinking he was and freaking out is what shut down the AMA:

https://www.tumblr.com/ifyouhappentoremember/715174592116932608/not-to-be-nosy-on-main-but-what-happened-with-the

or maybe it was this one:

https://www.tumblr.com/ifyouhappentoremember/715172202499227648/14-in-a-deleted-comment-on-the-ama-ben-said-that

I'm glad someone got a screenshot of the second story here because I thought it was fascinating(ly bitchy?).

https://www.tumblr.com/ifyouhappentoremember/715086529900560384/ifyouhappentoremember-i-never-wanted-footage-of

Updated On: 4/21/23 at 07:55 PM

[AngelofMusic5]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 8:04pm

Someone managed to screencapture his response before he deleted it.

He really said “… a bunch of old people push you aside who have had nothing to do with the shows current success…” “… a crazy lady pushes you aside because she did the show 35 years ago - like she’s the reason the show ran this long.” 

Updated On: 4/21/23 at 08:04 PM

[nativenewyorker2]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 8:44pm

I used to feel bad for him after he was in “the standbys” movie. Now he’s coming across as a jerk and throwing a temper tantrum. I also find it unprofessional that he’s admitting to eating popsicles and catching up on his phone when he’s in view of the audience in a scene. I will probably never be on Broadway so I certainly don’t know the entire situation, but like I said he’s doesn’t come across looking so great doing stuff like this.

Updated On: 4/21/23 at 08:44 PM

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 9:00pm

Thanks for sharing the screenshots. No wonder he wanted them gone.
What a jerk. There are hundreds of men who would do his job with gratitude.
Rarely call out because he needs to set an example to others? Don’t place blame on them. How about rarely calling out because you accepted the job and you wanna be a Broadway star and when you didn’t get offered Shrek you were down about it and now you have an amazing opportunity. An opportunity that he supposedly begged to have back after the pandemic.
Rip your soul out? Any more than the dozen who had played it before him?
Put butts in seats? It had been running for 30 years just fine without him. 
Oversinging due to not hearing yourself hurts voices in days or weeks at most. He played it for years. Not buying his story. Again, which other Phantom ever ruined their voice due to not being able to hear their own voice? 
I feel like the posts from other cast members on Instagram about “Ben is a really sweet guy” are a case of The Lady Doth Protest Too Much. And that he was only invited to the final curtain call because can you IMAGINE how mad he would have been if he wasn’t invited? They kept their enemy close here. 

Updated On: 4/21/23 at 09:00 PM

[Ensemble1682107720]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 9:15pm

Updated On: 4/22/23 at 09:15 PM

[MSecaur]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 9:31pm

Re: Ben Crawford, I understand that everyone in the cast is hyper-emotional right now and going through a lot of disappointment and anger with the show having just closed, but the closing night was supposed to be a celebration of everyone involved with the Broadway production for the last 35 years, not just him. And considering that the 35th anniversary curtain call wasn't much of anything, the fact that so many cast alumni showed up should be lauded, not derided.

If anyone named Crawford wants to feel slighted, it should be Michael Crawford, whose absence, at least in the videos I was able to find, wasn't mentioned aside from showing his picture on screen with the other Broadway Phantoms. Ben Crawford was called out by name and brought to stand on stage with his bouquet. If he's still recovering vocally, did he expect to make a speech or something?

Updated On: 4/21/23 at 09:31 PM

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 9:43pm

Apparently? One of his other deleted comments (because he bitched about it a lot) was "I gave my life to the show & when I had to miss the last two weeks because I’m always giving my all I got thrown out with the set." If being brought onstage, given flowers, and publicly acknowledged means being thrown out with the set, he would have likely considered nothing short of a parade acceptable, or a knighthood onstage.

[Ensemble1682107720]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 9:44pm

Updated On: 4/22/23 at 09:44 PM

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 9:51pm

It was definitely him. As Taffy shared above, he posted in his Instagram stories inviting people to the AMA.

Kind of interesting to contrast his response to the current cast members who were perfectly happy to post photos of themselves with the original cast members who played the same parts:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CrPAFcQrSJM/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CrOp_8fPKmq/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CrOX5DTua3W/

[Ensemble1682107720]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 10:09pm

 

Updated On: 4/22/23 at 10:09 PM

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 10:58pm

BorisTomashevsky said: "I feel like the posts from other cast members on Instagram about “Ben is a really sweet guy” are a case of The Lady Doth Protest Too Much."

To be fair, the only times he comes off well are when he's talking about his co-stars, and some former Phantoms. He has nothing but good things to say about them, so it's understandable that they'd like him.

"I’m friends with High and Norm and Howard. They’re fantastic. I also got to know Peter as I took over for him and he’s wonderful as well."

"Julia is ****in awesome; she’s a real one. So incredibly happy to be able to share the stage with her. She’s incredibly chill and has no ego. Always a pleasure with her."

(Emilie) "God she’s so good. I cannot wait to see what she does next."

"Yes I LOVE John & the guys who cover so it was always fun to be a dick to them and mock them when they say “compahhhhsion” "

"There’s essentially an outline of each scene and then you have to “be in the moment” to fine tune, etc. Emilie & Julia were great with this. I really love feeling those small changes and reacting to them."

[MSecaur]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 11:52pm

What really saddens me is that aside from not fully acknowledging the original cast and alumni present, at least in the circulated videos of the curtain call, nothing special musically was done except the truncated version of "Music of the Night" in which everyone joined in. With the number of Phantoms on stage, you think they could have done something more.

The 25th anniversary had the Phantom quintet with reprises of the title song with Sierra and "Music of the Night," and the 30th had the School of Rock kids and Sarah Brightman doing the title song. Apparently those must have been Hal's idea, as once he was no longer around, all of that celebration stopped.

[Chase Miller]

Posted: 4/22/23 at 12:08am

I guess I don't understand why he couldn't here the music? The entire audience can hear the orchestra so  why wasn't he able to? What do speakers do? Do Broadway casts usually have a hard time not hearing the orchestra and are forced to have speakers?

[Ensemble1682107720]

Posted: 4/22/23 at 12:21am

Updated On: 4/22/23 at 12:21 AM

[MSecaur]

Posted: 4/22/23 at 12:59am

Especially Michael, as he's still with us and it sounds like was planning to be there right up until the last minute! They should have at least read off his Twitter tribute to the show. It would have made a better speech than Cameron's.

Wishing the cast, crew, orchestra and alumni of The Phantom of the Opera an unforgettable closing night. Thank you for carrying on the legacy of this beautiful show for thirty-five years. Though I can't be there for the final performance due to ill-timed emergency dental surgery, my heart is full of love and gratitude for everyone involved in this production including all who are celebrating tonight at the Majestic Theatre, and those from the original and truly special creative team and Broadway company who are no longer with us.

What an amazing experience it was to work on such an extraordinary and magical piece of theatre.

It has given, I hope, audiences, for the last thirty-five years, an experience that will stay with them for years to come. I'm so grateful for the opportunity afforded me and I'm sad that I can't be there with you all for your last performance.

Much love to you all

Michael

https://www.playbill.com/article/michael-crawford-posts-tribute-to-phantom-of-the-opera

[Danny1984]

Posted: 4/22/23 at 5:11am

Ensemble1682107720 said: "they couldn't get out of there fast enough. bet Cameron and Andrew didn't even attend the after party. 35 years and 1 billion dollars later and all we got was a bootleg video of the curtain call speech and a veiled announcement of a reopening in the foreseeable future. shame on the lot of them. Gillian Maria, Steve, Michael and especially Hal deserved a proper tribute.

"

ALW's son has just died. His mind must be all over the place. Hardly an issue that he didn't feel as if he wanted to attend the party. 

[MannPhan24601]

Posted: 4/22/23 at 7:45am

I remember when Chris Mann on tour missed out on performing for ALW after he got his appendix out , he still went anyway in pain to support his friends and meet him. He would have been the complete opposite of Ben and showed sportsmanship . 

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Posted: 4/22/23 at 10:43am

Ensemble1682107720 said: "they couldn't get out of there fast enough. bet Cameron and Andrew didn't even attend the after party. 
"

Cameron was at the afterparty. ALW was not, but that wasn’t surprising considering his son had just died and I doubt he was in a party-going mind!