25th Anniversary Press Release & Shop Link

I'm sometimes amazed over the people that stumble upon my blog.  I've been contacted by the advertising agency for the Phantom Broadway Production to come and review the show, and UK's Dress Circle website wanting to know where they could order copies of my book Lessons From the Phantom of the Opera to offer on their website for sale.  

Recently, I was contacted by the advertising agency representing the 25th anniversary celebration for the Phantom of the Opera (Taylor Herring).  Of course, I agreed that I would be more than happy to point my readers into the direction of Phantom news, so they shared with me the official press release on the show and the upcoming DVD sets available.  Below is the press release for your reading enjoyment, so you can save your pennies to buy all the new goodies they are offering.  A link to the "shop" is in the release.  Enjoy.  (PS...My apologizes for not getting this up sooner.  I've had it for a few weeks, but just have been far too busy with life.)

PRESS RELEASE 

“THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA”AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALLFOR THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION 

Spectacular event captured live and releasedon DVD, Blu-ray, Album and Download in November 

To mark its 25th Anniversary year, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh presented “The Phantom of the Opera” in a fully-staged, lavish production, set in the sumptuous Victorian splendour of the Royal Albert Hall with a cast and orchestra of over 200. Audiences around the world were invited to join the celebration on Sunday October 2nd when the event was beamed live via satellite to cinemas across the globe.

“The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall” was screened live in around 250 cinemas nationwide across the UK at 7pm on October 2nd. The event will also subsequently be released on November 14th on DVD, Blu-ray™, CD and Download as a must-have anniversary release for fans everywhere. The staged version has never been available before to own on DVD or Blu-ray, and “The Phantom of the Opera” original cast recording album remains one of the biggest selling music titles of all time. A limited edition 4CD and DVD Collectors’ box set will also be issued to celebrate 25 years of “The Phantom of the Opera.”

As well as the live album and DVD, the 25th anniversary will also be marked with the release of a special edition The Phantom of the Opera 25th Anniversary Celebration box set - a beautiful, 4-CD and 1 DVD set honouring the 25th anniversary of the show’s London opening in 1986. Containing the original recording of The Phantom of the Opera and its 2010 sequel, Love Never Dies, packaged in a collector’s once-only design, and with the added bonus of a captivating hour-long DVD including original music videos, rare interviews and performance footage, the collection tells the complete story of the world’s greatest entertainment phenomenon.

An accompanying 160-page fully illustrated hardback book details the compelling history of the show from page to stage and beyond. The box set comes numbered and with an exclusive medallion, as well as a replica of the 60-page opening night programme from Her Majesty’s Theatre. A strictly limited collector’s edition is also available with an exclusive hand numbered 200gsm silk print, celebrating a selection of key poster artwork from the show throughout its history. This special version is only available exclusively from The Universal Box Set Store (www.theboxsetstore.co.uk) or the Official RUG shop (http://shop.thephantomoftheopera.com).

“The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall” starred Ramin Karimloo as ‘The Phantom’ and Sierra Boggess as ‘Christine’. They were joined by Barry James as ‘Monsieur Firmin’, Gareth Snook as ‘Monsieur André’, Liz Robertson as ‘Madame Giry’ and Wynne Evans as ‘Piangi’, together with a cast and orchestra of over 200 and some special guest appearances from Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman in a memorable final curtain call.

“The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall” was directed by Laurence Connor with Musical Staging and Choreography by Gillian Lynne, based on the original London Production Directed by Hal Prince with Musical Staging and Choreography by Gillian Lynne. The Royal Albert Hall was transformed with a spectacular and unique design by Matt Kinley inspired by Maria Björnson’s original design. Lighting was by Patrick Woodroffe and Andrew Bridge and Sound by Mick Potter. The production was produced by Cameron Mackintosh.

Ramin Karimloo's theatre credits include, leading roles in “Love Never Dies” (2011 Olivier Award Nominee and Winner of the 2011 What’s On Stage Award, both for ‘Best Actor in a Musical’), “The Phantom of the Opera” (Theatre Goers' Choice Award Nomination) “Les Misérables”, “Miss Saigon”, “The Pirates of Penzance” and “Sunset Boulevard”. Ramin had the privilege of performing as ‘Enjolras’ in “Les Misérables – A Special Concert at Windsor Castle” to celebrate the centenary of the Entente Cordiale, in front of Her Majesty The Queen and also reprised the role for the 25th Anniversary celebration of “Les Misérables at The 02”. Recordings include: his own album “Within the Six Square Inch” and the première symphonic recording of “Love Never Dies”. Ramin has signed with a major label and is currently recording his first solo album.

Sierra Boggess is currently starring opposite Tyne Daly in the Broadway revival of Terrence McNally's “Master Class”. Prior to that, she starred in Andrew Lloyd Webber's “Love Never Dies” in the West End. For her performance as 'Christine Daae,' Sierra received a 2011 Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. Sierra's other NY theatre credits include starring as the title character in the Broadway production of Disney's “The Little Mermaid” (Drama Desk and Drama League nominations and Broadway.com award for Favourite Breakthrough Performance) and in the City Centre Encores! production of “Music in the Air”. She starred as 'Christine' in “Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular” and has been seen in the national tours of “Les Misérables” and “West Side Story”. Recordings include the Symphonic Recording of “Love Never Dies” and the Original Cast Album for Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”.

“The Phantom of the Opera” became the longest running show in Broadway history on 9 January 2006 when it celebrated its 7,486th performance, surpassing the previous record holder “Cats”. This coincided with the Broadway and the US national touring company celebrating an unprecedented 20,000 performances in the United States. In October 2010 the London production celebrated its 10,000th performance.“The Phantom of the Opera” has won over 60 major theatre awards, including seven Tony Awards on Broadway and three Olivier Awards in the West End. It won the ‘Most Popular Musical Audience Award’, voted by the public, in the 2002 Laurence Olivier Awards. “The Phantom of the Opera”, which opened at Her Majesty's Theatre on 9 October 1986 starred Michael Crawford as 'The Phantom' and Sarah Brightman as 'Christine.' It is produced by Cameron Mackintosh and The Really Useful Theatre Company Limited.

Worldwide, “The Phantom of the Opera” has grossed over $5.6 billion. The box office revenues are higher than any film or stage play in history, including “Avatar”, "Titanic", "ET" and "Star Wars". It has been seen in 145 cities in 27 countries and played to over 130 million people. “The Phantom of the Opera” is currently showing in London, New York, Budapest, Las Vegas, and Kyoto. Ends For further press information please contact Justin Jeffreys or Nikki Murray on Justin.jeffreys@taylorherring.com/nikki.murray@taylorherring.com or 020 8206 5151

Phantom to tour the UK from March 2012 | The Phantom of the Opera

Phantom to tour the UK from March 2012 | The Phantom of the Opera

Read all about it at link above! 

Phantom UK tour, "Cameron Mackintosh’s spectacular new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom Of The Opera unveiled at the Theatre Royal Plymouth March 2012 John Owen-Jones and Earl Carpenter to share the role of ‘The Phantom’ and Katie Hall to play ‘Christine’ in new UK tour."

Question is . . . what's the all new production going to look like with new costumes and sets? It will be interesting to see the lair's reaction.

The Phantom's Student aka Vicki

Dracula in Concert - FREE!

DRACULA LIVE!  

(Kinda makes me laugh since he's undead)

We are doing a concert of the Dracula music at Barnes and Noble in NYC (E. 87th Street) 

October 27th - 7PM

It's Free and it's LIVE!

Frank Wildhorn and Don Black will be there.

Kate Shindle, Rob Evan, Norm Lewis and I will be singing.  

It's going to be an absolute blast.

Here's a link to Jeremy's page with details.

CLICK ME

There will be a Q&A afterwards.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

It's a Celebration - Not a Condemnation

Yesterday at 11 a.m. Pacific Standard Time, I arrived at the Lloyd Center Regal Cinemas to take my seat for the 25th anniversary celebration. Thankfully, I bumped into Bonnie Anne Hudson Pinard aka Paisley Swan Stewart, the author of Chanson de l'Ange. Bonnie and I sat next to each other, along with a friend she brought, and my son and his friend on the other side of me. If it were not for Bonnie carrying an abundant amount of tissues in her purse, I would have been wiping my nose upon my sleeve or running to the ladies room to steal some toilet paper. How could I leave without tissues? Duh!

Whenever I see Phantom, I cry. Some shows I cry more than others, based upon the performance of the Phantom. Others have moved me to tears, but Ramin Karminloo moved me to uncontrolled weeping. Bonnie and I kept grabbing each other during various scenes, because they were so powerful.

I'm sure others have different opinions about the production, and I've read some already (not that the Phantom community ever complains or anything); but I can only reiterate yesterday was a celebration. I encourage the community not to turn it into a condemnation.

Those who were privileged to be in London and see the show live were surely blessed. The energy in the Albert Hall had to be electrifying. However, seeing it on the big screen in a theater was nothing less than mind blowing. The cinematography was fantastic! I thought we'd just be plugged into one camera during performance showing the stage as a whole, as if we were some person plunked in a seat in the auditorium with a cheap ticket. On the contrary, we were given a visual feast of various angles, closeups, and actually saw tears rolling down the faces of Ramin and Sierra.

As far as the staging and sets, it was somewhat different no doubt due to the change in venue. Some of the familiar items such as the dressing room were missing, the elephant for Piangi, and a few other nuances. No doubt that had much to do with the setting of the production, but frankly it did not deter the enjoyment of the show for me. The visuals were wonderful too on the big screen as far as the backdrops that showed such great views like the Phantom penning his notes.

The costumes were to die for! Have you ever been close enough to see the lines of the feathers in the Phantom's fedora or the bead work on his cape? How about Christine's wedding dress and all the intricate detail the eye can behold? The colorful costumes were breathtaking, and a fitting recognition was given to the designer, who passed away some years ago - Maria Bjornson.

The performances, as far as I'm concerned, were nothing close to mediocre. There were frankly brilliant in every possible way. Each Phantom, of course, brings their own interpretation of the role, and each fan has their preferences. However, after looking into Ramin Karimloo's eyes during some of the close-up scenes, I can honestly say the man embodied the Phantom perfectly. This was my first time seeing Karimloo play the original role. I have an extremely high regard for Ramin as a man of character, too, which was clearly demonstrated at the end of the show when he bowed to Crawford and held his hand to show him the respect he deserved.

As far as his overall portrayal and vocals, they were sublime. Frankly, I was a tad worried having heard reports that his voice wasn't up to par on the first performance, and he even tweeted he was aware of the problem. However, Sunday's performance he was at the top of his game. Ramin's portrayal moved me to tears. His hurt, longing, anger, and brokenness were palpable. He just didn't play a role; he became the character. If I could bow to him and kiss his hand, frankly I would. Well done indeed.

What can you say about Sierra Boggess? She is Christine Daae. Her performance was touching, conflicted, and filled with yearning -- frankly, I don't have enough words to express the depth of her portrayal or her wonderful vocals on stage. Her and Ramin were meant to play the part together. Their chemistry had already been forged in their roles in Love Never Dies, and that chemistry was brought to the 25th Anniversary celebration. Great casting choice, though some may disagree in my assessment and the reasons behind those choices.

I had never heard of Hadley Fraser until the 25th Anniversary cast was announced. Wonderful choice for Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny. He played it with just a tad bit of aristocratic arrogance, which was quite appropriate since he was a patron of the opera house, rich beyond belief, titled, and handsome to boot. I thought his endearment toward Christine quite touching, and his hatred toward his rival quite convincing. His vocals were superb.

As far as the remaining cast who played Meg, Madame Giry, Carlotta, Piangi, and the managers, they are all to be congratulated for their fantastic performances. They all deserve five star ratings, as well as the ensemble and chorus. Loved them all!

The onstage reprisals and celebration after the performance were fantastic. I get such joy seeing Andrew Lloyd Webber. (#1 bucket list for me - meet the guy personally). To top it off, we saw and heard Sarah Brightman, Anthony Warlow (former AU production), John Owen Jones (current Phantom in London), Colm Wilkinson (former Phantom Toronto), and Peter Joback (new Phantom for London effective March 2012). Michael Crawford came out on stage and the audience, of course, gave him the accolades due for being in the original cast. It was a very moving ending indeed.

Yes, it was a celebration of the 25th anniversary. Of course, other reviews contrary to my own are popping up making it more of a condemnation instead. And, yes, you are entitled to your opinions. I can only add that the joy of Phantom is a universal gift that has been bestowed upon us by Andrew Lloyd Webber and the many others responsible for the creation of this wonderful production. As for me, I will not and cannot condemn and nitpick to death the beauty of yesterday's production. Why? Because it's not about me, folks, nor shockingly is it about you. It's about the continued existence of this wonderful show and story and the success of 25 years rolled into a program of celebration.

In conclusion, all I can say is that it will be forever etched in my mind as a fantastic presentation of the story I so dearly love. I hope to own it on DVD one day and play it until I have to buy another copy because I've worn it out.

If you haven't had the opportunity to see it yet, it's replaying encore performances at selected theaters this week. CLICK HERE for information and tickets. Go! Go and enjoy it and glory in the celebration of The Phantom of the Opera.

The Phantom's Student aka Vicki

P.S. Read a great article of accolades BROADWAY WORLD