Phantom to change to "re-staged" production in flagship productions? — Page 13

joevitus said: "KFC1991 said: "joevitus said: "Pushing "African American Christine"or "Indigenous Christine" or "Asian Christine," whatever,are all instances of the sort of raced-obsessed casting notions we were supposed be getting past. I suspect the emphasis on the race instead of the performer and the use of the highly p.c. term "Indigenous"(plenty of the people who belong to this race are quite satisfied withthe term"Native American" and even "Indian" is what makes him find it so funny."

I don't understand what you mean by " race obsessed casting notions we were supposed to be getting past?" I thought casting notices generally included the "types"(racial or otherwise) that were being considered."

They sure don't, as multiple threads on this board suggest, and as people here argue passionately fairly continuously. To turn around and say it isn't a given person oftalent, but just someone on the basis of their race we should be considering when imagining casting for a part, that whole argument is upended."

This is a pretty incoherent pair of sentences, but if you are suggesting that it is unusual for casting notices to inclusively list ethnicities of all types so that actors of color know that it is worth their time to come out, you are simply incorrect. It is common today. It also seems that you have not actually read the full casting notice.

I finally got to visit the city again for the first time since February 2020. It was sad to see Times Square so empty but I tried to go around and spend money at as many local businesses as I could in the short time i was there. I don't think I'll be returning until Broadway is reopened though.

Late last night, I decided to take a longer stroll through Times Sq, and as I peered west down 44th St, I thought it was odd that I could see the marquees for the Broadhurst, Shubert, St. James, and the Hayes but curiously.........not the Majestic?

I thought perhaps they turned the sign off since it was around 11:30pm. But even with the signs off I should have been able to see something. I walked down to see. The Shubert Organization had a nice video titled "Broadway will be back" playing on the screens above the Broadhurst and between the Broadhurst and Majestic. And then I saw it. The Majestic is COVERED in scaffolding! I thought everybody on this board reassured a Phanatic like me that no work was being done on the building! Then I saw that all of the artwork/advertising along 44th was still in place, including the Angel picture on the 44th St auditorium door. Ominously, the lobby windows have been covered up in paper, and there are work permits on the doors. I read through the work permits and they were all for terra cotta work on the exterior, and nothing was mentioned about the interior, so that's a good sign so far at least. And I suppose this is a good time to renovate the front of the theater which I'm sure needed some TLC after all these years, and since the work does have to complete shroud the marquee, this is a good time to do it. I have a few more pictures but BWW seems to replace each picture I post with the new picture instead of posting them all.

Updated On: 4/10/21 at 07:58 PM

Jordan Catalano said: "Orchestra to be cut in half when the show reopens on the West End"

"These orchestrations are just as thrilling and rich as the original but would not have been possible with the technology available in 1986," said Cameron Mackintosh Ltd and the Really Useful Group in a join statement. "The new Phantom orchestra will remain one of the largest in the West End - the orchestration featuring a contemporary line-up of top-flight soloists with modern instrumentation which will give this timeless score the freshness of a new musical to ensure that the music of the night will soar for decades more."

In other words, synthesizers galore.

Re the orchestra getting cut in half...what I don't get is why those on the bottom rung of the corporate ladder have to take this hit, as usual. Why the F can't those on the top take it? Am I aware that Mac and ALW absolutely lost money during this time and probably are among the very few 1%ers to do so? Yes, but they are still rolling in it...so why can't the hits be taken where it can be afforded rather than making the bottom suffer yet again? It's like we learned nothing about inequity over the past year.

This has gotten to the point where they honestly should have just closed the entire show and said forget it. All of these cuts and changes are ridiculous and an embarrassment.

FANtomFollies said: "This has gotten to the point where they honestly should have just closed the entire show and said forget it. All of these cuts and changes are ridiculous and an embarrassment."

I never thought I'd advocate the closing of this show, but I think I agree with you.

I abhor Cameron Mackintosh. How much money does one person need?

Fixing up the exterior of The Majestic is great, but if Mackintosh gets inside...

Macintosh is not involved with the exterior work at The Majestic. He has no control over the building.

I think Cameron wants to make the show as lean as possible and if that means cutting musicians, IATSE members, whatever the case is, he will look into it and do it just to keep costs down, even at the expense or the creatives' original vision.

I think the reason that so many people have a problem with this is pretty simple. Had this show opened in 1986 and had a healthy run of four or five years it would have been a different story. The show would've closed and those of us lucky enough to see the original production would forever have fond memories of it.

Then, maybe a revival would've been mounted 20 or 25 years later. A whole new generation of theatergoers would experience it for the first time. Potentially, the producers could've completely reimagined the show and new audiences probably would've embraced it. Chances are, it would've been not nearly as opulent as the original production...but to a new generation of audience, this probably would not have mattered. I say this because pared down revivals have been loved by people who never saw the original production (and some who have).

If you saw the original productions of FOLLIES, SWEENEY TODD, ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, SUNSET BLVD and more, you would understand how scaled back some of these newer revivals have been. If you didn't see the original productions, these shows were fairly "new" to you by the time the revivals came along.

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has been running for 35 years. Most of us that have seen the show, saw an iteration of it that's comparable to the original production...for the most part. That is why when drastic changes are announced for a show that is still running, or fresh in all of our minds, it is met with such aversion. We've had a year of lockdown and now this PHANTOM, which we're ALL familiar with (or the overwhelming majority of us are) is being tampered with. It's done ALL the time...but usually after a show has been out of the public conscience for enough time.

Some of us on this board feel like a lot of you are feeling about POTO...but we felt that way about the revivals of FOLLIES, SWEENEY TODD, ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, SUNSET BLVD and more.

Thread from Matt Dickinson, a now out-of-work West End musician:

https://twitter.com/mcdperc_matt/status/1381883920396992512

Looks like the Broadway production is safe...



West End The Phantom of the Opera to Reduce Orchestra by Half; Broadway Production Commits to Return With Full Pit

Phantom4ever said: "But according to that same article, producers "confirmed" that the set and technology updates being done in London will also be done on Broadway. BUT, the link inside that article does not actually confirm that the same work will be done in New York. So again, we get to sit here and wait while trying to interpret all these rumors, gossip, and worst of all, misleading PR statements from ALW and CW abotut exactly what is happening.https://playbill.com/article/londons-the-phantom-of-the-opera-has-not-necessarily-closed-permanently"

"BroadwayWorld has confirmed from a representative for the Broadway production that the New York version of the show will re-open with full orchestrations and with the same set. 'Independent of the London production, it's to be determined what tech and safety upgrades might be necessary for New York's physical production, having been dormant a year'"

This sounds like they're only assessing technical safety issues that may arise due to lengthy dormancy. Fingers crossed.

Updated On: 4/13/21 at 01:35 PM