The Phantom of the Opera - His Majesty's Theatre

I wouldn't be surprised if ALW makes a statement on twitter about the show's closure tomorrow, or maybe even today.



Fans did the same thing when it was announced that he was making changes to Les Mis, with even a former cast member (I don't recall how) being vocal about the changes. But this didn't stop Mackintosh from replacing the original, so who says that the Phantom petition will stop him from doing the same? I know the Phantom petition has more signatures than the Les Mis one, but I digress.

Well, it helps that ALW wants to retain the original production also, I guess. Not sure what Schönberg's view on Les Mis was, though.

This is not an announcement about the future of the Phantom of the Opera. It is an ego-driven attempt by CM to put himself at the centre of the story and, I suspect, largely prompted by the positive coverage which ALW received last week. In the article he spins ALW's efforts into an example of what can't happen rather than being about finding solutions; he disses all other theatre owners, producers and arguably SOLT by saying that DMT has treated its customers well by making early decisions and keeping them realistically informed (ah yes - what happened to working alongside other SOLT members rather than going it alone - bet those working on Mormon and DEH love the information flow); and he seems to suggest that any productions already taking bookings for April are making a terrible mistake (tell that to Frozen and Cinderella - but then maybe that's the point - new shows which aren't in his theatres or produced by him). Compare how many times he uses "I", "me" and "mine" - to similar editorials by Sonia Friedman, James Graham, Julian Bird et al.

Make no mistake Phantom of the Opera will be back when theatres reopen - in a version which Cameron Mackintosh wants - and he will already have decided what that is - no amount of petitions will change his view. This is all about fuelling the monster - and making sure that people don't forget that he's very important - nay the most important.

The 1986 version has permanently closed. We knew that. We saw the set being removed from the building last week. What will be returning is the 2021 rebuild which will I’m sure be just as good if not better, and fit to run for the next 20 years. 

I believe it's a way for Mackintosh to avoid giving any royalties to the original creatives.

Someone responded to this tweet asking whether or not it will be the 2012 version or the 2020 version, best click on the tweet link to see the response

The Laurence Connor production was touring in the US but I suspect it'll be replaced by the tour that debuted earlier in the year in the UK when things reopen. 

The Connor tour in the US had closed before the coronavirus shutdown. Think its last performance was in February.

It’s Just been on Sky News about the closure

When Phantom opened there was an error in the musicians' contracts which meant it's been pretty much impossible to fire anyone for the last 30 years. And as technology has progressed, a lot of backstage jobs are pretty redundant, but Cameron kept having to pay people to do the, and their pension contributions.

This is the perfect opportunity to stream line the show, and call time on a few people who have been earning a lot of money for very little work. 30 years of productions around the world has shown them how to do it in a more streamlined cost-effective way. In theatre, jobs come to and end... and people move on. I'm sure Phantom will be back, with all the same songs, and all the bits we love. It'll just be the die-hard fans who'll moan about tiny little changes here and there. And let's face it, they never pay full price anyway.

Reading the actual article in the Evening Standard it does't come across as "It's gone forever". To me it reads as more of a legal repositioning to put everything in a known state rather than have it all suspended in uncertainty.

But he doesn't half come across as petulant. What does he expect the government to do? Take away the virus and replace it with a more convenient one that's better suited to the needs of his business?

It's almost as if he's trying to take the heat off himself. Sure there are plenty of things that the government should be taken into account for their handling of the pandemic, but it's not their fault that there has to be social distancing in theatres.

This is how I read the article;
"Oh no, socially distanced audiences won't bring me millions of pounds. I'll just close down Phantom to save myself some cash"