Phantom Tour (mini-review added 7/4/10)

[SweeneyPhanatic]

Posted: 7/2/10 at 2:24am

I'm seeing the touring production of The Phantom of the Opera this Sunday, and I was wondering who it is I am most likely to see at the matinee performance as Christine. The website doesn't seem to list the specifics of when the alternate performs, so I thought (am hoping) someone here might know.

Thanks!

*review below*

Updated On: 7/4/10 at 02:24 AM

[ravnquest1]

Posted: 7/2/10 at 2:41am

that's because the alternate assignments vary city to city and sometimes even week to week, and the official website isn't updated anywhere near that often. Your best bet is probably just to call the box office or see if you can google a review from that city- sometimes they mention when the alternate will perform.

[SweeneyPhanatic]

Posted: 7/2/10 at 3:50am

I had no idea the schedule would chage so often! Thanks for telling me. If I can't dig up a review (the show only opened in Atlanta on Wednesay) I'll just call the theatre.

Thanks again!

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 7/2/10 at 10:03am

It used to not be that way. The alternate on tour used to perform all Saturday matinees and Sunday evening performances (but when the tour arrived in a city, it shifted because the tour never started on Tuesday nights because of the time it took to load in and out).

[SweeneyPhanatic]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 1:14am

Okay, one more question, and then I'll shut up: Has the souvenier program changed since 2005, and how much does it cost?

Thanks again!

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 1:27am

I saw the tour last year and it was incredible. They have put the new sound system in for the tour that they put into the Broadway production.

I wrote this article on the tour in case you are interested:

https://denver.broadwayworld.com/article/the_technical_side_of_the_phantom_of_the_operas_north_american_tour_20090422

Updated On: 7/4/10 at 01:27 AM

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 3:15am

The souvenir program is the same, although the insert featuring production photos of the current cast is kept relatively up to date.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 3:24am

I saw the tour back in November of 2009. If the cast is still the same, Trista Moldovan is the main Christine and Kelly James Grant is her standby. Kelly James Grant went on for the Saturday matinees and the Sunday eventing shows and Trista Moldovan did all the others. I got to see both of them perform and I was thoroughly impressed by both of them, however I enjoyed Kelly Jeanne Grant a lot more. The schedule for them ma have changed since November, but I am guessing both of the are still with the show. I hope you enjoy the show!

Updated On: 7/5/10 at 03:24 AM

[My Oh My]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 4:02am

I saw the tour last year and it was incredible. They have put the new sound system in for the tour that they put into the Broadway production.

I wrote this article on the tour in case you are interested:

https://denver.broadwayworld.com/article/the_technical_side_of_the_phantom_of_the_operas_north_american_tour_20090422

Wow, that was very interesting. Thanks!

I've always been fascinated with national tours and how they're set up. I've seen all three U.S. national tours and the Broadway production and I was pleasantly surprised to see that all 4 productions are practically indistinguishable from each other. This tour, the 3rd national tour (or the "Music Box Tour," as they nickname it) is just as grand and opulent as the production at the Majestic. There are differences but they are negligible.

The biggest differences are the casts, which obviously vary but are usually comparable to what's on Broadway (sometimes even better!) and the orchestra may be larger in one city than another. But other than that, it's the same exact show. It's amazing how they can replicate the Broadway experience for the road.

I'd have been thrilled to have read an article like this about the Les Mis 3rd national tour. All I know is that, compared to Phantom, it was a lot more portable, traveling in only 8 trucks without an advance package. And having also seen all three Les Mis U.S. national tours as well as the original Broadway production and the revival, they also were indistinguishable from each other. The 3rd national tour (nicknamed the "Marius tour") only differed in that it did not have a smaller, center revolve like the Broadway production, which locked itself to the floor during "Lovely Ladies," keeping the whores stationary center stage as the outer revolve--forming a donut shape--continued turning (it was used only for that one scene). Other than that it was never cut down or cheapened for the road.

Anyway, sorry for the babble. I love the behind-the-scenes tech stuff, can you tell? hehe.

Have fun at the show!

Updated On: 7/4/10 at 04:02 AM

[SweeneyPhanatic]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 11:34am

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I have my "Company" Playbill with me just in case Kelly Grant is performing (my whole reason for wanting to know the alternate schedule). I'll definitely read that article on the way home, after the show. I always love the behind-the-scenes stories!

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 12:48pm

My Oh My...It was a really fun 2 days spent behind the scenes at the show. Then we got to attend the opening night. It was really cool to be able to touch the chandelier and stand next to it. The crew was also very nice and extremely accomodating.

[secondarycharacter2]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 1:27pm

i just saw it in atl, and the souviner program has changed. i think it was 20$. BTW, Tim Gleason, who plays the phantom, is a family friend and he's AMAZING!!!!!

[SweeneyPhanatic]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 9:31pm

uncageg: That article was very interesting! Thank you for linking to it.

I ended up getting a program and a pin for $15 ($10 program, $5 pin). The new program is a big improvement over the old one, though I do miss that blurry photo of the ballerinas split into three different pages. The new insert is very nice, too, and more eco-friendly than printing two inserts. The pin is shiny, and I love it.

So, mini-review:

Keep in mind: my memories of the first time I saw the show are fuzzy, at best. I remember the stage door more vividly than anything else. That being said, I remember enjoying the show very much. What I saw today, I will never forget.

First, the sound. WOW. None of the cast recordings even sound as good as what I heard ths afternoon! As soon as the Overture started, I knew I was going to hear things I had never heard before, and I was right. Some lyrics seemed clearer, and the orchestrations sounded totally new! Any "audio problems" were either to blame on an actor not projecting enough, or on a mic that was turned on late.

Second, the cast. Overall, this is one of the strongest casts I have ever seen in any show. Everyone seemed to be relishing their time on stage, and making the very most of every second given to them. Even though I know the show's story better than I know my own life's story, I found myself just relaxing into my chair, and focusing entirely on what I was seeing unfold before my eyes.

Third, Tim Martin Gleason. Oh. My. God. I never expected to see an actor do with the Phantom what he did with the role! He brought a childlike innocence to the character, and as hot as "The Music of the Night" was, there was still that element of social awkwardness to make the whole thing (especially the end) a bit unsettling to watch. From what I could tell, his Phantom was not really capable of loving Christine, but did he have a major crush/infatuation? Oh, yes! I teared-up during "Stranger Than You Dreamt It" and "All I Ask of You (reprise)", and only because of what Mr. Gleason was doing with the role. By the end, however (from the kiss to the end), I was a sobbing mess. It takes a LOT for me to cry over anything, and Mr. Gleason's performance was so much more than "a LOT".

I'd also like to give a shout-out to Sean MacLaughlin, who played Raoul. He crafted a wonderfully heroic character out of a very under-written role. When he held Christine, you knew he would do anything to protect her; that was felt all the way up to the loge!

The Fox Theatre complements the show so nicely, even with its inside-outside design. it was nice to see the everything up close this time (in 2005, I sat in the "nosebleed" of the Fox, and the whole show looked very compact from up there).

KUDOS to the crew! A cloth got caught on one of the proscenium statues during the Overture. From where I was sitting, I could see where it had caught the finger of one of the figures on the proscenium). Luckily, the assistance of another techie, who seemed to have crawled up inside the proscenium arch, forced the cloth slip loose about 30 seconds before Carlotta's entrance. I kept expecting to see the figures snap, or fall loose, but I was lucky, and had an uninterrupted performance!

Random: D.C. Anderson (Andre), Kim Stengel (Carlotts), and Joelle Gates (Dance Captain/Ballet Swing) all performed when I saw the show in 2005, with Gary Mauer and Elizabeth Southard as the Phantom and Christine. The only one who really surprised me was Joelle Gates. Who would've thought I'd see the same swing in performances almost 5 years apart? As much as I liked her choices and acting moments, I did not enjoy her shrill voice either time I saw the show, but her strong choices made up for it (I'll always take well-acted over beautifully sung).

Trista Moldovan was on as Chistine, and was wonderful. I would have liked to have seen Kelly Jeanne Grant, but I am not disapponted. Far from it, actually.

So, long-mini-review-short: PHANTOM on Tour = brilliant! One would have to be an idiot to miss Tim martin Gleason's performance as the Phanom! SEE IT if you can!!

Note: I'm sure this is full of little grammatical errors, but I'm very tired, and trying to write this while the memory is still as fresh as it is. I'll fix them later.

[Andante]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 9:39pm

Thanks for the review! Like you, I saw the NT in 2004, when Mauer and Southard were Phantom and Christine. The tour came back to Baltimore a few months ago, and I was lucky enough to see the show again; the exact same thing happened with the drape getting stuck on the proscenium at our shows too!

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 10:21pm

Fun! I actually saw Tim Gleason as the Phantom understudy about five years ago and I thought he was very good and would make a good full-time Phantom eventually. Not a fan of Trista Moldovan, though.

[SweeneyPhanatic]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 11:26pm

Not a fan of Trista Moldovan, though.

Like I said, I'll take the acting over the singing any day, and I felt Moldovan's acting choices made up for her lack of vocal "OOMPH" in certain numbers. Then again, I'm spoiled by Sarah Brightman's vocals on the OLC, so my perception of realistic "OOMPH" is probably warped because of that.

[wonderwaiter]

Posted: 7/4/10 at 11:43pm

Thanks for your review! I saw Phantom for the first time at the Fox so long ago that I can't remember the exact date - it would have been some time in the 90s... I remember dodging primordial ooze on Peachtree Street... and from the first note of the overture the entire show was a disappointment. I was in the Loge and everything seemed so quiet and muffled. Glad to hear they've fixed that issue.

[SweeneyPhanatic]

Posted: 7/5/10 at 12:16am

I remember being somewhere between 3 and 5 when my babysitter mentioned her daughter was seeing "The Phantom of the Opera" at the Fox, and that would have been between July 1, 1993, and July 1, 1995.

But yes, it is LOUD in 2010!

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/5/10 at 1:07am

I just thought Moldovan was too mature for the role (not just in looks but in the way she carried herself), and her voice had a rather dry quality to it.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/5/10 at 2:57am

Glad you loved the show! I remember being blown away when I saw it. The new sound system made it feel like I was seeing the show for the first time. I caught the tour four times when it was in my city. I saw Kelly Grant 3/4 times and she was incredible. It's too bad you were not able to see her.

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/5/10 at 5:07am

Sweeney, you are most welcome. I agree, the sound was great.

I first saw the show on Broadway in 1989/1990. Brightman and Crawford had left the show. All I can remember is that the show "dragged". The orchestra sounded like it was on valium and the chandelier "lurched" to the stage. At intermission we were outside talking about how slow we thought it was and a lady turned to us and said she had already seen the show a few times and agreed something was off at the performance we attended. The second half was no better. We were pretty disappointed. I have had several chances since to see it again but just wasn't interested. So glad I saw this tour. It made me like the show. We had John Cudia as the Phantom. He is now in the role on Broadway. I think Denver was his last stop with the tour. He was excellent.

[phantomcrazy14]

Posted: 7/5/10 at 10:06am

Sweeney, I'm gald you enjoyed it. I saw the tour in 2006 in Philly for my first Broadway show. Even though I was super high up in the balcony, it amazed me. John Cudia was my Phantom and Tim was my Raoul (marni Raab was Christine) I saw the show again in New York, and I actually won a contest and I'm seeing it again but this time they're taking me backstage! I can't wait!