The Phantom of the Opera - His Majesty's Theatre

Last show for the current cast 29th July, first show for the new cast 31st July.

Is Robyn’s leaving at cast change? He seems to have only just donned the mask

Agreed. I saw Holly in this when I went at the end of April and thought she was fantastic.

And Jon only began his run in this at the start of April so would assume he’s signed for another 9 months with option to extend.

Carefully timed return visit to Phantom last night so I could see Job Robyns, Paige Blankson and Connor Carson (and amazingly sod's law didn't strike and all three were on as scheduled :-))

The bad - the audience! No drunks (fortunately), but the talkers, oh my God! Four tourists behind me arrived late, then spent entire first half moving, searching through bags, rustling, dropping things and talking endlessly. I can normally only ever bear to do the passive 90 degree turn for talkers as can't face confrontation but last night did the full on 180 degrees and looked them in the eyes 4 times in first half. No difference. Gave up for second. Show was sold out which pleases me muchly but did mean I couldn't even move. Also there was pockets of talking all over the stalls - it is SO frustrating - why can't people just sit still and watch in silence?

The good - everything else. It looks and sounds glorious and you can really see it has a freshness (despite being so old!) and a resident team who are taking excellent care of the show. I personally found it rather tired with some questionable casting through the late noughties and tens but it's in great health again now.

Jon Robyns is a very masculine Phantom. His voice is very strong, probably the strongest I've seen since the re-opening so the songs sound fantastic. He has less of the Phantom's funny mannerisms and tics etc which I think may not be for some of the purists but I rather like it. He reminded me a bit of the redeemed more human Phantom that Ramin was when Love Never Dies opened before ALW asked Bill's opinion who said to evil him up again. But yeah, I rather liked the likeable tenor.

Paige Blankson I already knew had a beautiful soprano having seen her in Les Mis but Cosette isn't a role you can do a huge amount with acting wise. She was really absolutely charming as Christine though. Innocent, sweet, vulnerable, nuanced. A really lovely performance. She's probably not quite as strong as Holly who is totally effortless, but she does have significantly fewer shows under her belt. Do hope she's staying after cast change as would love to see her again sometime.

And Connor is a very cute Raoul. Less of a swagger than Matt and a slightly less powerful voice but pure musical theatre with lovely pitch and tone. More of a sweet sensitive Raoul.

Overall was a great combination.

The year after this re-opened sales were so sluggish and must confess I was concerned for it's future. It's wonderful to see it selling so well now and in such good shape. And whilst I mourn the lack of traction for anything new in London sung through and romantic, at least on this side of the pond Les Mis and Phantom can still tick those boxes for me :-)

I very much hope not! As BVM has said above, sales seemed sluggish last year and it did feel at risk for a while, but more recently it’s been playing to full houses and garnering praise for a strong cast so I’m confident there’s plenty of life left in it yet 🤞🏻

Yeah you're right, I’ve also heard these ever since re-opening and they came round again when Broadway closure was announced.

But it really does seem to be selling very well now so hopefully it’s fine.....

Given that cast change is at the end of the month, I'd be surprised if the rumours were true. The show's been selling well, and it is at a LW theatre, so I feel like things would have to be dire for ALW to let it go

ALW has shown time and again he doesn't care about new casts who have just signed on. 

Only thing that adds some validity to the rumours is that they stem from the same person who broke Phantom and Cinderella Broadway closing before the official announcement...

Why does Cameron have ultimate control? Really Useful own 55% of the production company, while CM owns 45%, with a co-production agreement stating there is no single ultimate controlling party. Do you mean that when they jointly make an unpopular decision ALW blames it all on CM? That sounds more plausible.

www.whatsonstage.com/news/the-phantom-of-the-opera-announces-new-west-end-cast_1509556/

Lily Kerhoas as Christine! Another one that was wonderful in Les Miserables (the path from Cosette to Christine really is a well trodden one).

Not seen Joe Griffiths-Brown before, but look forward to seeing him in this in due course :-)

Glad Jon is staying, really enjoyed his performance.

Considering it's the ONLY sitting production of Phantom anywhere, I'd be surprised if they closed it despite full houses. Tourism is back, so hopefully the audience spreads out and shares the wealth with all the West End musicals.