Will Phantom Tour Land on Broadway?

The Phantom tour is spectacular in terms of its talent and it is also selling out at every stop its been on with wild ticket prices. Has anyone heard chatter if we think this production will have a final stop on Broadway a la Mamma Mia or Beetlejuice? Feels like it could be open ended and give them the reduced orchestra and modified design they always wanted.

EDSOSLO858 said: "That seems to have always been the plan — I’ve heard amazing things about the tour cast and the special effects despite being a downsized version of the OBC.



"

The downsizing is minimal comparatively speaking. The proscenium is certainly less ornate, and the descending angel has been cut and replaced with a statue that resembles the Pegasus on the roof of the Paris Garnier. The way the chandelier works has also bee altered so it can go into spaces it hasn't been able to play before, but it's still big and impressive. Other than that, this is largely the big, bombastic production you know and love. The cast is indeed very good. Isaiah Bailey's Phantom may be my new favorite. It would be great to see it play on Broadway.

jimmycurry01 said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "That seems to have always been the plan — I’ve heard amazing things about the tour cast and the special effects despite being a downsized version of the OBC.



"

The downsizing is minimal comparatively speaking. The proscenium is certainly less ornate, and the descending angel has been cut and replaced with a statue that resembles the Pegasus on the roof of the Paris Garnier. The way the chandelier works has also bee altered so it can go into spaces it hasn't been able to play before, but it's still big and impressive. Other than that, this is largely the big, bombastic production you know and love. The cast is indeed very good. Isaiah Bailey's Phantom may be my new favorite. It would be great to see it play on Broadway."

There are quite a few more changes than that. And the 3rd national tour of the original was able to fit in smaller markets. This new tour isn't about being big or impressive or fitting in smaller markets. It's about cheapening the show, tricking consumers into thinking its the Brilliant Original, and making sure it is changed enough to cut out the original and now deceased creative team from royalties.

Phantom4ever said: "making sure it is changed enough to cut out the original and now deceased creative team from royalties."

Is that a fact that none of the original creatives will receive any royalties now, or just your assumption?

Purely from a credits standpoint:

• Hal Prince is still credited with "original direction", with Seth Sklar-Heyn as Director
• Gillian Lynne has her original credit, with her former associate Chrissie Cartwright billed as Adapted Staging & Choreography
• Maria Bjornson is still billed as the Production Designer and Andrew Bridge as Lighting Designer (plus new credits for others like "Set Design Adaptor", Video Designer, Hair & Makeup Designer, and various associates)

These types of changes are customary for a long-running show and I doubt the vast majority of audiences will notice much of a difference.

Honestly, the slimming-down of the orchestra might bother me more than what's visually on stage, since the album orchestrations are so rich and dense. But I haven't seen the current tour.

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Phantom4ever said: "making sure it is changed enough to cut out the original and now deceased creative team from royalties."

Is that a fact that none of the original creatives will receive any royalties now, or just your assumption?

Purely from a credits standpoint:

• Hal Prince is still credited with "original direction", withSeth Sklar-Heynas Director
• Gillian Lynne has her original credit, with her former associate Chrissie Cartwright billed asAdapted Staging & Choreography
• Maria Bjornson is still billed as the Production Designer and Andrew Bridge as Lighting Designer (plus new credits for others like"Set Design Adaptor", Video Designer, Hair & Makeup Designer, and various associates)

These types of changes are customary for a long-running show and I doubt the vast majority of audiences will notice much of a difference.

Honestly, the slimming-down of the orchestra might bother me more than what's visually on stage, since the album orchestrations are so rich and dense. But I haven't seen the current tour."



There is no "customary" about a show like Phantom (or Les Miz) since no West End/Broadway show has ever run this long, and outlived its creative team. Yes of course the originals are still credited in the program/website along with the modern replacements. Do you REALLY think CM made all of these changes just to make the show FRESH and ready for the 21st century? Or.....or....do you think that he replaced the original productions of Les Miz and Phantom with new direction, new scenic design for ANOTHER reason? Hmmm.. HMMMMMMM.

Phantom4ever said: "Do you REALLY think CM made all of these changes just to make the show FRESH and ready for the 21st century? Or.....or....do you think that he replaced the original productions of Les Miz and Phantom with new direction, new scenic design for ANOTHER reason? Hmmm.. HMMMMMMM."

I think creative and financial reasons can both be true at the same time. I'm not disputing that he wanted to make the productions less expensive to mount, but your assertion that the dead creatives (Prince, Lynne, Bjornson) are making zero royalties from this tour anymore is a little dubious...

Updated On: 9/22/26 at 04:30 PM

The costumes really do look cheaper. Some of those costumes now look mass produced, cheaper and easier to make. There was so much detail and beading that went into those original costumes.

kdogg36 said: "Phantom4ever said: "I never said zero. I'm sure CM is giving them 5 bucks. But I'm just glad I'm not defending him."

Out of curiosity, would you object to an entirely original staging by a new generation of creators?

(It's agenuine question; I understand your objections to the current production.)"

That exists already as the 25th anniversary version - currently still playing in 5 cities worldwide.
It uses Maria's original costume design (or an adaptation of it), but is otherwise a reimagined production.

Tag said: "Anyone heard rumours of a Toronto production? That's been going around too."

Wow just trying to think when the Phantom last played Toronto and it is not coming to me! lol. I know Phantom had a 10 year sit down there, but has a tour came into Toronto ever?

I wonder with this new production if Michael Crawford still receives a percentage of the box office? That is the sole reason why Michael hasn’t had to do much work since Phantom.

I saw the tour in Tempe on Sunday. The original Broadway production, which I saw on its closing weekend in 2023, for Ted Keegan and Julia Udine’s final performances, is still very fresh in my mind, so here are the most noticeable differences:

The chandelier. While “Gillian” is said to be larger and faster than “Ruthie II,” this was my least favorite part of the show. It is round rather than oblong, and while closer to the real chandelier at the Palais Garnier in Paris, it just doesn’t have the same iconic look as the original. The bluish LED lights that turn on inside at certain points also ruin the illusion of it being a Victorian fixture as well. While a concession for the tour, this chandelier doesn’t ever sit or crash on the stage, which is a shame, as the jostling and swinging as the chandelier shook to life was one of the highlights of the Overture on Broadway for me. Instead, it starts at the ceiling covered in a cloth. It lowers a little during the auction scene, then the cloth is sucked into the chandelier as the overture starts, and then it raises to the ceiling. For the crash at the end of Act I, it drops straight down rather than swinging into the stage, which also felt a bit anticlimactic.

The orchestra. While there are 14 musicians down in the pit, the missing 14 make all the difference. For someone new to the show and the music, they probably won’t notice. But for an old Phantom veteran like me, there are definitely spots where the orchestra sounds too thin, too synthesized, or too fast of a tempo due to being pre-recorded or presented via electronic means. I know a huge portion of Phantom’s score is pre-recorded, but I definitely prefer the full 28-piece orchestra.

That being said, the singers were phenomenal, and Isaiah Bailey and Jordan Lee Gilbert are not only incredibly gifted singers but also very expressive actors, so their rich vocals more than make up for the thinner orchestra. Daniel Lopez plays Raoul more pompously than typical, so I can’t say I enjoy his take as well as say John Riddle’s more sincere hero, but his voice is wonderful. Jordan is a legitimate opera singer, and while I didn’t enjoy her voice quite as much as Julia’s, her top notes are truly gorgeous. While young, Isaiah has a mature, beautiful, and clearly classically-trained voice. He plays the Phantom very much in the same vein as Michael Crawford, vulnerable and sincere rather than shouty and petulant, and he actually sings rather than shouts Lloyd Webber’s music. His “Music of the Night” is breathy and tender, and his top notes just soar. And as a bit of an Easter egg, longtime Phantom veteran Carrington Vilmont, who I saw as the Auctioneer on Broadway in 2023, is playing Monsieur Andre, the one role he never did in 22 years with the Broadway production.

The horse versus the angel. I’ve always loved the angel and miss it dearly. Likewise, I miss seeing the Phantom creeping along the catwalk at the top of the proscenium. But the erotic statuary from the Broadway proscenium has been saved and attached along the upper sides of the proscenium and into an inner proscenium that extends above the theatre boxes on stage, the latter of which are revealed when the curtains fall during the Overture. While the horse is less impressive, it is very large, and the Phantom climbing it is a direct reference to Lon Chaney’s rooftop scene in the 1925/1929 film of “The Phantom the Opera,” which I love.

The candelabras. While they only move in from the wings and do not move out, there are a lot of them during the title song and Down Once More, not to mention a ton of dry ice smoke, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them are the same ones from the Broadway production. Other than the bed in Il Muto, which looks a little stripped down, all the set pieces we know and love make their appearances, including the Mirror Bride. Even the elephant from the Hannibal scene has been rescued from Broadway for use here.

Maria’s drapes. While there are some real fabric drapes in the Overture and between scenes, there are also many between scenes that are projections instead. I will be the first to tell you that I loathe the ubiquity of projections in today’s Broadway shows with a vengeance, and I was not looking forward to their use here. However, I was impressed with how subtly they are integrated into this production. Even looking right at them, there was only one moment where I could tell I was seeing a projection (some lightning and moving storm clouds behind the Phantom as he finishes his “All I Ask of You” reprise). For the most part, the projections are used as either moving curtains, flats that replicate the fire curtain from the actual Palais Garnier, or as a final background flat in some scenes, like a matte painting. They don’t have that shiny, artificial, AI look, but kind of dissolve into the background to add some more depth. There are more layers of stairs behind the travelators in the title song, some lighting effects on the ground and some more tombstones during “Wishing,” and of course the “Don Juan Triumphant” set. If I hadn’t read about them beforehand, I doubt if I would have even noticed that there were projections being used at all.

While the costumes are a blend of pieces from various tours and productions, and some (Christine’s Masquerade costume included) look a bit cheap compared to the originals, overall, the show is changed very little. All the dialogue, the songs, the moments that we all know and love so well are there. The Phantom’s voice still echoes around the theatre during “Notes.” The on-stage magic, including the Phantom’s instantaneous reappearance on the top of the stairs at the end of “Why So Silent” still happens. He still shoots fireballs during “Wandering Child”, maybe even more than on Broadway. Flames still erupt from the stage. He still vanishes into his throne at the end of the finale. One addition I did love is that we finally get a real Rat-Catcher on the bridge to give Madame Giry something to actually scream about! The individual casts interpret their roles in different ways as they always do, but that’s the fun of seeing Phantom again and again. It’s a fresh experience every time.

While the 1988-2023 Broadway production is the definitive production for me, I am very glad to have been able to experience this tour and this wonderful cast. If it does indeed come to rest on Broadway, I can’t imagine it would be too hard to have the chandelier start and crash to the stage as it does in London, or to add a few orchestra-members.

Updated On: 9/23/26 at 02:03 AM

Thanks for the detailed breakdown, MSecaur.

From a numbers standpoint: It looks like the current tour cast is comparable in size to the Broadway closing cast size (~40 including swings/US). If the show plays a Broadway house with 1400+ seats, the orchestra minimum will probably be 18-19, so the tour would have to add 4-5 players. Still 10 smaller than the original, but might help flesh out the sound.

So what I’m curious about is aside from the 10 musicians (a 20-30K per week savings, roughly) and maybe 2-4 dropped stagehands or wardrobe people, I really don’t see how this is going to cost considerably less than the version that closed in 2023. It would probably still be one of THE most expensive running costs on Broadway.



also, does the OG Chandalier still exist, if they wanted to reinstate it (or a similar contraption) for a Broadway run?

Re the Rat Catcher, I think the difference is down to the staging on the tour versus other productions I’ve seen. While I always knew of his existence from the original novel and libretto, he’s really visible now. The lighting on the bridge is much better now, and for the show I saw in Tempe, he REALLY made his presence known, with at least two really hard slaps down as he crossed right in front of Madame Giry and Raoul. In the past, he kind of slipped past them in the shadows.

Updated On: 9/23/26 at 01:02 PM