Phantom's 10,000th performance

[bwaylyric]

Posted: 2/11/12 at 11:59pm

Anyone else there? I got to attend today's matinee of Phantom which was not only an Actor's Fund benefit but the 10,000th perf. I've seen the show many times before - last was about three years ago. I have to say that today's show was amazing. It gave me chills, the company was in top form, and the music continues to soar.
After the final bows, the only ALW sighting was via a very short video message. Gillian Lynne was present, though, and said her thank yous and talked about the early rehearsals. They even brought out a "10,000" cake.
The audience was well-behaved. As everyone was filing out, it was funny to see many looking around the floor for any leftover playbills, particularly the special "10,000 perf" limited editions. It was like a scavenger hunt.

[defygravity24]

Posted: 2/12/12 at 12:21am

I was part of that scavenger hunt!

[rarefizz]

Posted: 2/12/12 at 12:22am

Me too, I came home with four :)

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 2/12/12 at 3:33am

I was there today as well. The show was wonderful as always, however theee were three glaring errors:.
The dry ice machines never got going. This made the boat glide across the stage instead of a lake. Also, the shock of Raoul jumping into the trap door in Act II was lost as the trap door was exposed due to the lack of dry ice.

During the Don Juan opera and the final scene, the chandelier turn on, then off, then on, then of, then partially on them other parts of it came on. It went on and on like this. It looked as if a child was at the lightboard playing with the switches.

The final error was Gillians mic. It wasnt working properly and you could see the phantom scowlin and complaining that they couldnt fix her mic. I did get fixed though.



I loved the videos, especially the one from the london cast. Gillians stories were fascinating and funny. Alw's video was shamefully short, something like "congrats on 10,000 shows. Sorry I cant be there but I will be there for the 10,014th". Lame.
Someone mentioned good audiences members. The woman next to me managed to scold the woman in front of her 3 times!

[bwaylyric]

Posted: 2/12/12 at 3:43am

Yes, I noticed the dry ice (lack thereof), too. I wondered if they were just skimping on it. Hopefully it was a one-time technical issue, but it was not the right performance to experience it.

Updated On: 2/12/12 at 03:43 AM

[Pammylicious]

Posted: 2/12/12 at 11:56am

I was there also and when I went to the bathroom during intermission my playbill mysteriously disappeared. I was pissed but hubby still had his.

The performance was electric to say the least. I was in the last row orchestra and all the standing room places behind me were filled.

[broadwayriff]

Posted: 2/12/12 at 12:22pm

I was there and it was wonderful. Hugh and Trista are wonderful together. The whole cast was great, but Kevin Ligon needs to understand that he's playing the stern manager. He seemed to cocky.

Gillian Lynne is the best! I would rather her ramble about the creation of the show than have ALW plug one of his upcoming shows. Hal was missed, but a truly sincere letter. Cameron and the London company was a great conclusion and very sweet. I sat in the fourth row so didn't notice the dry ice.

Glad I didn't miss it!

[sbflyfan]

Posted: 2/12/12 at 12:36pm

Not to start gossip, but does anyone know why Gillian Lynne has a bandage on her face? I hope it's nothing serious.

Updated On: 2/12/12 at 12:36 PM

[defygravity24]

Posted: 2/12/12 at 6:19pm

I didn't notice the band aid (but I was in the second to last row) and i did notice the chandelier going on and off too.

[nealb1]

Posted: 2/12/12 at 11:51pm

I was there yesterday afternoon and it was great performance. From where I was sitting in the center Orch, when Raoul jumped in Act 2, he got quite a lot of gasps.

Yes, that was rather odd that the chandelier kept going off and on during that 1 part of the show.

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 2/13/12 at 1:31am

I guess in the mezz where you can see the stage floor and the large trapdoor that was open, it wasn't a surprise when Raoul jumped into it. As someone whose seen in 41 times, that's one of my most enjoyable parts of the show is hearing the audience gasp and whisper to each other when Raoul jumps through the fog.

And it wasn't so much that the chandelier flickered on and off, it was that parts of it turned on and off, then other parts, then all of it, then other parts again, it seemed to have stopped, then started again. Then stopped and started again. I've seen many, many mistakes in Phantom over the years (to be expected in live theater) but it was really astonishing that it took them such a long time to get it under control. However, my friend, who is a Phantom newbie, said that he assumed it was just part of the show. Like I said it was as if a stagehand brought his child to work that day and he was playing with the controls, or it seemed as if someone's butt was leaning on the lightboard unknowingly messing with the chandelier's lights.

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Posted: 2/13/12 at 1:41am

I was at a performance of Phantom back in 2005 when the same things happened with the chandelier turning on and off at random points. I was told afterwards that it happened because the secret service were in the area and their radio signals caused an interference. I don't know if something like that was the cause again yesterday, but I heard it commented on by several people at the champagne reception after the performance.

[nealb1]

Posted: 2/13/12 at 2:15pm

41 times? Wow...that's a lot!

This was my 2nd time seeing it in NYC with Hugh Panaro. Saw it quite a few times when it first opened here in LA in May of 1989 with Michael Crawford. His performance was breathtaking - he was the best.