235 posts
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Post by Jane Parfitt on Jan 16, 2022 9:12:41 GMT
Well I had to search quite far back, past Dear Evan Hansen whatever the f*** that is, to find the Phantom thread. I went back recently, hoping for the best, only to find the worst. The horse was good. In comparison to the rest. But I'd rather have had the proscenium angel, and the darkness. I made it to half-time, at least, but only through being drunk & not wanting to make a scene. Absolutely appalling singing. Orchestra might as well have been an 80s stereo. Probably better if it had been. I sincerely think that many cast members were holding back, so as to not embarrass the principles. Piangi was good, but that's it. Dire otherwise. Unspeakably so. Unbearably dreadful all round, an absolutely disgusting performance. Death on anyone who implies otherwise. A filthy disgrace. Judging by the time you posted this (3.51am) I'm guessing you were still drunk? |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2022 15:42:25 GMT
Well I had to search quite far back, past Dear Evan Hansen whatever the f*** that is, to find the Phantom thread. I went back recently, hoping for the best, only to find the worst. The horse was good. In comparison to the rest. But I'd rather have had the proscenium angel, and the darkness. I made it to half-time, at least, but only through being drunk & not wanting to make a scene. Absolutely appalling singing. Orchestra might as well have been an 80s stereo. Probably better if it had been. I sincerely think that many cast members were holding back, so as to not embarrass the principles. Piangi was good, but that's it. Dire otherwise. Unspeakably so. Unbearably dreadful all round, an absolutely disgusting performance. Death on anyone who implies otherwise. A filthy disgrace. Death to me, then, because I went again last night and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Killian Donnelly isn't the best Phantom I've ever seen, but I still thouroughly enjoyed his performance. Same for Lucy St. Louis (who has a lovely classical voice that suits the material and is closer to voices like Claire Moore and Rebecca Caine, even if she sounded a bit thin and off sometimes) and Rhys Whitfield. Hardly a "filthy disgrace" from my point of view, and I saw the original production six times between 2007 and 2019. I do miss the proscenium angel and the original chandelier, but I can live with those changes and the use of the horse is done very well. The lighting and staging feels new, fresh and cleaner where some (not all, before people feel the need to rip this apart) of the original felt clunky and dated, and I particularly love the lighting during the opera scenes, where some of the candelabra's on the balconies light up dimly to create the vibe of watching an opera. From my perspective, it's about 85% the original production still. My only criticisms are that I don't see the point or the need for the changes to some of the script and songs, like in Masquerade and the auction scene. The orchestra does sound thin at times - especially during the dance sequence in Masquerade - and I think that transition scene between the dressing room and the title song is a little unnessecary (Christine and the Phantom coming out of a trap door before reappearing on the bridge in seconds was one of my favourite parts of the original). But overall, still the show I know and love and I'm glad it's decided to embrace the need to evolve and renew itself as much as it can without becoming unrecognizable. |
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Post by cezbear on Jan 16, 2022 16:00:21 GMT
I haven't been since the changes and keep seeing references to a horse... What, exactly, is this horse please?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2022 16:08:32 GMT
I haven't been since the changes and keep seeing references to a horse... What, exactly, is this horse please? {Spoiler - click to view}
It's one of the bigger changes of the show. Instead of appearing from the angel to sing the reprise of All I Ask of You, the Phantom appears from behind a large horse statue situated on the stage during the rooftop scene. The design is meant to emulate the statues on the roof of the actual Paris Opera House, and be more in keeping with the book, where the Phantom hides behind a statue of Apollo's Lyre. |
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Post by scarpia on Jan 16, 2022 16:31:59 GMT
I haven't been since the changes and keep seeing references to a horse... What, exactly, is this horse please? {Spoiler - click to view} In respect of the spoiler, the change does not make the show any closer to the book than the original production, since...(will make this one a spoiler since what I'm responding to was one too): {Spoiler - click to view}
...the roof of the Paris Opéra also has golden angels on the corners that don't have the Pegasus. The change sadly destroys the metaphor of Maria's designs, though, which always previously worked on both abstract and literal levels. |
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Post by scarpia on Jan 16, 2022 16:35:22 GMT
Well I had to search quite far back, past Dear Evan Hansen whatever the f*** that is, to find the Phantom thread. I went back recently, hoping for the best, only to find the worst. The horse was good. In comparison to the rest. But I'd rather have had the proscenium angel, and the darkness. I made it to half-time, at least, but only through being drunk & not wanting to make a scene. Absolutely appalling singing. Orchestra might as well have been an 80s stereo. Probably better if it had been. I sincerely think that many cast members were holding back, so as to not embarrass the principles. Piangi was good, but that's it. Dire otherwise. Unspeakably so. Unbearably dreadful all round, an absolutely disgusting performance. Death on anyone who implies otherwise. A filthy disgrace. The lighting and staging feels new, fresh and cleaner where some (not all, before people feel the need to rip this apart) of the original felt clunky and dated, and I particularly love the lighting during the opera scenes, where some of the candelabra's on the balconies light up dimly to create the vibe of watching an opera. From my perspective, it's about 85% the original production still. I understand what you mean about the lighting (although I prefer the gloomier, less saturated tones of the original; and while dimming the balconies' lighting during the opera scenes is a nice effect, it's anachronistic since they would never have done that in the time the story is set), but I'm curious as to what you mean about the staging having been improved. What difference did you find improved that you previously considered clunky in relation to the staging? |
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2,264 posts
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Post by richey on Jan 29, 2022 23:19:06 GMT
So I managed to grab a last minute ticket for tonight's show after arriving in London at 5.30 this evening and I loved it. Yes there are one or two changes I found particularly jarring namely the extra lighting, particularly the flashes during the overture and in Masquerade which is way too bright. Whilst the reduction of the orchestra is very apparent in certain points (Overture and Masquerade again) I got used to it in the rest of the show.
I think the changes in staging work. The show will always be special for me as it was my first West End trip way back in the 80s and the one that started my love of theatre so I was worried that the changes would be detrimental but I was pleasantly surprised and at least it's not been butchered to the extent Les Mis has.
All the cast were excellent. Loved Lucy as Christine, her WYWSHA was gorgeous. James Gant was on as Phantom which was a little disappointing as I wanted to see Killian but he gave a great performance nevertheless.
All in all a great night out. The theatre looked stunning from up in the circle.
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Post by scarpia on Jan 30, 2022 9:20:28 GMT
So I managed to grab a last minute ticket for tonight's show after arriving in London at 5.30 this evening and I loved it. Yes there are one or two changes I found particularly jarring namely the extra lighting, particularly the flashes during the overture and in Masquerade which is way too bright. Whilst the reduction of the orchestra is very apparent in certain points (Overture and Masquerade again) I got used to it in the rest of the show. I think the changes in staging work. The show will always be special for me as it was my first West End trip way back in the 80s and the one that started my love of theatre so I was worried that the changes would be detrimental but I was pleasantly surprised and at least it's not been butchered to the extent Les Mis has. All the cast were excellent. Loved Lucy as Christine, her WYWSHA was gorgeous. James Gant was on as Phantom which was a little disappointing as I wanted to see Killian but he gave a great performance nevertheless. All in all a great night out. The theatre looked stunning from up in the circle. That's reassuring. From what I understand you will have got a better performance from Gant than from Donnelly in any case (though I've seen neither). I believe that they've finally reintroduced the pyro when the chandelier is first unveiled at the beginning that was missing and the lake finally has the right amount of fog etc after having barely anything for the past year. Now if only we could get a decent proscenium (even if it's without the Angel) rather than the cheap thing they've got now and get rid of that horrid flat cloth, and maybe one or two extra musicians, and I think it wouldn't be too bad (and if they can reintroduce one or two of the old effects that added that extra something, such as the candelabra moving out, then so much the better). At least with Miz they don't make a pretence that this production is the same one as before. Even now they're putting out adverts quoting reviews from the original production (the one that says 'best West End show'), which is characteristic of the whole dishonesty over this. The full production on Broadway is looking pretty amazing at the moment...they filmed their first trailer in years since they can't rely on the London one any more since they're no longer the same: |
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Post by newyorkcityboy on Jan 30, 2022 9:29:23 GMT
That trailer looks amazing - can we have an official pro-shot of the whole thing please?! Especially since this version no longer exists in the UK. (Neither the film nor the 25th Anniversary Performance quite managed to captured the magic for me…)
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Post by scarpia on Jan 30, 2022 9:31:15 GMT
That trailer looks amazing - can we have an official pro-shot of the whole thing please?! Especially since this version no longer exists in the UK. (Neither the film nor the 25th Anniversary Performance quite managed to captured the magic for me…) Totally agree. If any production would translate well, this is it. I never watch either the film or the 25th anniversary thing, neither are 'Phantom' for me. It seems bonkers to me that we have pro-shots of things like Diana but not this...! |
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Post by sukhavati on Jan 30, 2022 23:07:11 GMT
That trailer looks amazing - can we have an official pro-shot of the whole thing please?! Especially since this version no longer exists in the UK. (Neither the film nor the 25th Anniversary Performance quite managed to captured the magic for me…) Totally agree. If any production would translate well, this is it. I never watch either the film or the 25th anniversary thing, neither are 'Phantom' for me. It seems bonkers to me that we have pro-shots of things like Diana but not this...! Must admit, "Diana" was a painful experience - I think I only lasted about 20 minutes into act 1. Does anyone else find it ironic that the NY version is now the "legendary" edition? lol
Unfortunately, I see a few transfers from the "bigger and better" London edition in the NY trailer, including the generic silver mask on the Mirror Bride, the lack on doubles on the travelator, or coming from the dressing room set, which means that here too, Raoul encounters the ballerinas during the scene transition portion of the title song. From what Meghan Picerno said on her Instagram while she was recovering from Covid trying to get back into show-fit shape to return for her final scheduled weekend, she was going to have to climb ladders, so they've definitely taken the same economies with cast there are they did in London. Granted the show was originally staged with only the first set of doubles to go down into the trapdoor, and come back up again during Magical Lasso, but that one little flash of doubles added just the right amount of veracity to keep you believing in the illusion of being in the Phantom's liminal space.
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Post by longfellowdeeds on Feb 1, 2022 10:35:32 GMT
Hi all,
Quick random q that I have always wanted to know the answer to with Phantom and know someone here will know - but how did the Phantom get to the top of proscenium in the old design? I always thought it was something backstage but when you watch the newer videos of the old set stripped out - there really isn’t any access to it!
Stumbled across Micheal Crawford telling a story in ALW’s This is your life episode about going through the front of house to get to the top - so must have been though the top box or something on a ladder?
About 28 mins in.
Any stories of bumping into a phantom while nipping out to go to the toilet? 😁
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594 posts
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Post by og on Feb 1, 2022 11:44:48 GMT
Access was from the upper boxes of HMT, which were used for PA. In this image from the get out you can see handrail access on both sides from the top boxes up.  |
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149 posts
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Post by tonylony on Feb 10, 2022 15:54:59 GMT
Any idea how the view is from the new boxes they're now selling?
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8,162 posts
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Post by alece10 on Feb 18, 2022 10:30:01 GMT
So I have booked to see Phantom next month. The last time I saw Phantom was when Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman were in it - so will be nice to return after such a long time
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879 posts
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Post by daisy24601 on Feb 19, 2022 2:32:17 GMT
So I have booked to see Phantom next month. The last time I saw Phantom was when Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman were in it - so will be nice to return after such a long time Sounds like you're due a revisit! |
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Post by raoul on Feb 19, 2022 10:27:34 GMT
Any idea how the view is from the new boxes they're now selling? Sat in Box 3 last weekend however it appears only Boxes 2 & 4 are on sale now. They offer a good view for the money, but having sat on the right hand side in Box 3, I would definitely say the view would be better from the other side in Box 2 or 4. Many scenes happen on stage left so you're looking directly over to them from Box 2 & 4. Great experience though seeing the cast so close up. The boxes are huge and the seats are comfortable and you can easily move them to get the best view. They also have a small table for drinks. Great value and I thoroughly enjoyed the show. |
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Post by alwfan on Feb 19, 2022 17:00:22 GMT
So I have booked to see Phantom next month. The last time I saw Phantom was when Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman were in it - so will be nice to return after such a long time Would you please share your memories of them in the roles if possible? All I have heard is that they were both wonderful, and Sarah in particular was one of the best dancers as Christine that there has been. |
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Post by tonylony on Feb 19, 2022 17:56:52 GMT
Any idea how the view is from the new boxes they're now selling? Sat in Box 3 last weekend however it appears only Boxes 2 & 4 are on sale now. They offer a good view for the money, but having sat on the right hand side in Box 3, I would definitely say the view would be better from the other side in Box 2 or 4. Many scenes happen on stage left so you're looking directly over to them from Box 2 & 4. Great experience though seeing the cast so close up. The boxes are huge and the seats are comfortable and you can easily move them to get the best view. They also have a small table for drinks. Great value and I thoroughly enjoyed the show. Thank you for that! Would you book a Stalls box or a circle one? |
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Post by alece10 on Feb 19, 2022 18:41:05 GMT
So I have booked to see Phantom next month. The last time I saw Phantom was when Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman were in it - so will be nice to return after such a long time Would you please share your memories of them in the roles if possible? All I have heard is that they were both wonderful, and Sarah in particular was one of the best dancers as Christine that there has been. Well it was 36 years ago but I still remember it. Back in those days I didn't have a lot of money so sat up in the balcony. Still remember the spectacle of the chandelier and the sets and costumes. Everyone knew Michael Crawford could sing but had no idea that he had that operatic voice in him. He was amazing and Sarah Brightman had such a beautiful voice. She was really a dancer and used to be in a dance group called Hot Gossip which was a bit raunchy in those days. Tickets were like gold dust when it first opened and it was a real "event". Ticket touts were selling tickets for a fortune. Can't believe it's been 36 years since I've last seen it. |
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Post by raoul on Feb 19, 2022 18:43:56 GMT
You get a slightly better view from the Stalls Box, but the Royal Circle box feels more special. I took some photos before the show started but have no idea how you put them on here.
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19,793 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Feb 19, 2022 20:34:18 GMT
My YouTube algorithm just threw this at me.
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879 posts
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Post by daisy24601 on Feb 19, 2022 22:09:01 GMT
Would you please share your memories of them in the roles if possible? All I have heard is that they were both wonderful, and Sarah in particular was one of the best dancers as Christine that there has been. Well it was 36 years ago but I still remember it. Back in those days I didn't have a lot of money so sat up in the balcony. Still remember the spectacle of the chandelier and the sets and costumes. Everyone knew Michael Crawford could sing but had no idea that he had that operatic voice in him. He was amazing and Sarah Brightman had such a beautiful voice. She was really a dancer and used to be in a dance group called Hot Gossip which was a bit raunchy in those days. Tickets were like gold dust when it first opened and it was a real "event". Ticket touts were selling tickets for a fortune. Can't believe it's been 36 years since I've last seen it. I watched a few episodes of Some Mothers Do Ave Em recently and still can't compute that that's the same person I listen to singing POTO. |
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Post by inthenose on Feb 20, 2022 0:44:14 GMT
My YouTube algorithm just threw this at me. State of it 🤣 |
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Post by anthony on Feb 20, 2022 23:01:37 GMT
To be honest, I'd probably only ever book for Phantom through the day seats website now. They rarely sell out and the seats are pretty great - saw stalls row D up recently!
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