Phantom to change to "re-staged" production in flagship productions? — Page 11

TheatreFan4 said: ">>So they would clearly lose the title of longest running production on Broadway if they did what you're claiming. Don't CM and ALW care about that?

Why would they? They'll just continue to use the line and lie about it just like they've lied about every step of this process for the last year. Why stop now?"

To put this in a little bit of context, we don't have "titles" in America. What a show calls itself is up to its own marketing people, and unless the "lie" is material, it is not actionable. The League does not have a list of titles to bestow, aside for the Tonys. There are no rules.

Call it a hunch, but I think the Broadway community plays by more "official" rules for this sort of thing than the West End.

And I would not be terribly surprised if "spruced up" still resulted in some replacements if accomplished quickly and quietly.

HogansHero said: "To put this in a little bit of context, we don't have "titles" in America. What a show calls itself is up to its own marketing people, and unless the "lie" is material, it is not actionable. The League does not have a list of titles to bestow, aside for the Tonys. There are no rules."

And similarly, when revival of The Fantasticks opened at they marketed it as the longest running musical in the world. I guess it can technically be argued as true...this particular production may not be, but the show itself was.

They will implement cost cutting measures across the board though, and the main thing is the orchestra will be reduced significantly and the tour orchestrations put in.

I wouldn't be surprised if this happens. I wonder if the musicians union is being challenged by producers of other shows as well due to current conditions? Perhaps just temporarily?

g.d.e.l.g.i. said: Considering the "sprucing up" it got in the West End was initially planned for Broadway, it would not terribly surprise me. If the Broadway set's in better shape, really all they've got to do is take out the common elements from Her Majesty's and graft on the new stuff. Probably wouldn't even need a full loadout."

You hit the nail on the head. The issue is loadout/load in, which is significantly more expensive in NY than it is in London. When times were good they were inclined to do a full load out, now not so much. You're probably right that "spruce up" means grafting in what they can without doing a full union load out and then loading in. All of this "improvement" is/will be an exercise in cost cutting, but cost cutting in London vs NY mean different things.

I wouldn't be surprised if this happens. I wonder if the musicians union is being challenged by producers of other shows as well due to current conditions? Perhaps just temporarily?

I was told the orchestra will be reduced to around 13-14, which is certainly larger than the minimum the theatre requires under the musicians union. Just sad because Phantom had the largest orchestra on Broadway.

As much as I'd like to believe this, I don't think space in the wings will stop them. I'm confident that they could squeeze the horse in between the throne/mirror and the elephant on stage right.

True!

I cannot decide what I will miss the most....

Bjornson's original curtains and the way they kept peeling back at different speeds and heights to represent the turning back of the years.

The chandelier rising from and crashing to the stage

The chandelier being onstage when I walk into the theater

the Angel

the statues all over the proscenium

I think above all, knowing that I was seeing the show as Prince and Bjornson envisioned, not what Cameron paid a less talented designer and director to splice up into cheaper pieces.

Lot 666, that is the newest tour that was supposed to tour the UK in 2020 but only got to play one city. It was billed as a return to the Brilliant Original, as opposed to the Spectacular New tour that has been in the U.S. for many years now. As soon as these pictures came out, everyone could see that it was really a combination of the original and the new.

Cameron confirmed in the Telegraph that this touring production is what is going back into Her Majesty's, and rumors are that the same fate awaits New York. Still plenty of time left in this pandemic for them to load out the Majestic.

Check out these behind the scenes pictures from the World Tour:

PHANTOM was the first Broadway show my parents took me to see when I was 6 years old. It has remained such a huge part of my life over the years, and I've had the fortune to see it on Broadway countless times.

I understand that elements of the Broadway and West End productions were out of date, but the show has lasted 35 years on Broadway for a reason - and a large part of that is due to Hal Prince and Maria Bjornson's contributions to the piece. For me, the "Spectacular New Production" that toured the US for several years paled in comparison to Broadway in every way. I can see updating some small scenic elements that the average unsuspecting audience member might not notice. But why do away with the iconic chandelier, one of the highlights of the Broadway production? The new chandelier (from the US tour) has some nice modern updates, but I sorely missed the chandelier rising from the stage and crashing back to the stage at the end of Act I. Why change that?

If these changes make it into the Broadway production (which I'm sure they will), I'm afraid I won't be able to return to the Majestic.