Phantom Tour Cast- Page 3

[Lot666]

Posted: 11/16/25 at 10:30am

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Updated On: 11/16/25 at 10:30 AM

[Lot666]

Posted: 11/16/25 at 10:34am

Smaxie said: "It's pretty much a complete facsimile of what's playing in the West End"

I'm not trying to be contentious, but I don't understand what you mean by this. In the current London version, the chandelier (albeit a new, round one) rises from the stage during the overture and crashes to the stage at the end of Act 1, just like it did in the original production. The reports posted here indicate that the chandelier does neither of those things in the current North American Tour version.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 11/16/25 at 12:17pm

To be even more clear: the chandelier does not start from the stage and does not hit the stage in this tour version. It rises and drops over the audience. In all other ways, the current North American tour is a facsimile of the West End production. 

 

[ColdClimateDude]

Posted: 12/5/25 at 10:32am

I caught the tour this past weekend in Minneapolis, and I found it to be one of the best companies I’ve seen. Perhaps because the tour is still so fresh, the ensemble’s energy was high, and the leads still have a curiosity in their acting that makes it interesting to watch—even for those of us who have seen the show numerous times.

As someone who didn’t mind the revised production, I was still glad to see it return (mostly) to the original, more haunting staging. We’ve already discussed the chandelier at length, so I won’t go into it too much—only to say that they’ve lit it beautifully for the overture (and placed lights around the theater nicely), making you feel immersed in traveling back to the past.

Isaiah Bailey is a wonderful Phantom—more wistful than most I’ve seen. I love seeing a Christine with only opera credits to her name, and Jordan Lee Gilbert had a glorious voice—and she can act. I wasn’t crazy about Raoul, so I won’t drop his name. But former Christine Lisa Vroman plays Mme. Giry, and I loved that she wasn’t as grim and ghoulish as some have portrayed her. Midori March’s Carlotta is truly thrilling—effortless, crystal-clear high notes and, again, stellar acting that doesn’t brush aside the comedic elements. Also, it’s so nice to have a Meg who can hold a tune.

At our performance, the show was stopped before Raoul jumped into the lake—it looked like the cantilevered bridge had an error. There was a hold for about 10 minutes, and then Giry and Raoul came out onstage instead of the bridge. Raoul simply said goodbye to Giry and walked under the bridge. No one descended from the grate to enter the lair at the end; Meg just crawled through the bars.

I’m hoping to snag another ticket this weekend and maybe catch the Christine alternate. They have a QR code in the program listing the day’s cast, and because I’m a huge nerd, I’ve been checking it every day since I saw the show. It doesn’t look like Bailey has missed a performance; the Christines seem to alternate every show, and March has been out the last few days. Other than that, when I saw it on Saturday, it was the entire cast—no understudies—which I don’t think I’ve seen on tour for some time.

[Phantour]

Posted: 12/5/25 at 11:26am

ColdClimateDude said: 

"I’m hoping to snag another ticket this weekend and maybe catch the Christine alternate. They have a QR code in the program listing the day’s cast, and because I’m a huge nerd, I’ve been checking it every day since I saw the show. It doesn’t look like Bailey has missed a performance; the Christines seem to alternate every show, and March has been out the last few days. Other than that, when I saw it on Saturday, it was the entire cast—no understudies—which I don’t think I’ve seen on tour for some time."

Alexa X. Moster, the alternate Christine, went on yesterday for the Thursday matinee. I was going to suggest she will probably go on for the Saturday matinee as well. However, because they are closing on a Sunday, I think Jordan Lee Gilbert will do that Sunday performance and Alexa will do Saturday night (I feel like this happened a previous weekend recently). 

I wanted to add that this cast made history last night with four black performers on in the principal roles. Isaiah Bailey as the Phantom, Matthew Griffin filled in for Raoul, Olivia McMillan continued to fill in for Carlotta, and Donovan Elliot Smith debuted/filled in for Piangi. 

 

[ColdClimateDude]

Posted: 12/5/25 at 5:51pm

Yes, JLG was on Saturday matinee and Sunday evening while Alexa was on Sat night and Sun Matinee.

And that is amazing about the four leads.  I managed to get a ticket for tonight and I hope for u/s so I can get a different experience -- I love an u/s :)

[ColdClimateDude]

Posted: 12/8/25 at 10:11am

I caught the four history-making leads last night, and it was another strong performance.

Matthew Griffin was in excellent voice as Raoul, and any shaky acting moments I chalked up to the understandable challenges of an understudy who may not go on often. He also bears a striking resemblance to Isaiah Bailey (who understudies the Phantom as well), which added an interesting layer to seeing Christine pursued by both men.

Olivia McMillan was a strong Carlotta and earned more laughs than March, though I still missed Midori’s soaring high notes. The full-time Piangi is such a small guy that he mined plenty of humor from his height—leaving the much taller Donovan Elliot Smith little choice but to let the role fade somewhat into the background.

I have to say again how truly excellent Jordan Lee Gilbert is—she’s definitely someone who will stay in the Phantom family if she chooses to.

Also worth noting: the moving bridge that broke on Saturday near the end of the matinee (causing a 10-minute pause) was removed completely for the remainder of the run. As in the matinee, at Friday evening’s show, when Giry leads Raoul to the lair, she brings him from stage left to center, points him stage right, and he exits—no bridge jump. At the end, Meg crawls out from under the bridge through the bars (and once again, the actress didn’t find the light, so the Phantom’s mask wasn’t visible for what should have been that final haunting shot).

All in all, this tour enjoyed a completely sold-out run here in Minneapolis—and we’ll welcome them back anytime they want!