New Stuff, Ahoy!

Hey, all!

So it's been a while since my latest update... Sadly, the Las Vegas production is still slated to close. I'm hoping to get a chance to see it again before then. But there has been no shortage of other Phantom news lately.

A couple weeks ago, the 25th anniversary concert was released on Blu-Ray, DVD, and CD, and you can find it at pretty much any store that sells music or movies, including the iTunes store. For my money, though, the best deal is at Barnes & Noble, where buying the Blu-Ray edition will also get you a miniature replica of the souvenir program that was given to everyone who attended the live performances. It's small enough to fit in the movie case, but still, I'd say it's worth it.

The Broadway production reached a couple of milestones in the past month -- they had their 24th anniversary performance, followed shortly afterward by their 10,000th performance (which was accompanied by performances on CBS's "This Morning" by stars Hugh Panaro, Trista Moldovan, and Kyle Barisich). Andrew Lloyd Webber also appeared on "This Morning" as well as ABC's "The View" to talk about POTO and other career highlights.

ALW's sequel, "Love Never Dies," will apparently be shown in movie theaters around the world this coming Tuesday, followed eventually by a Blu-Ray and DVD release of its own for anyone who does care to see it. As for myself, I might rent it on Netflix eventually... In the meantime, YouTube can satisfy any morbid curiosity I might have (which hasn't been much, really).

The big news in a lot of Phan communities, though, is that also this coming week, the new UK touring production of POTO will begin. It'll star John Owen-Jones as the Phantom, Katie Hall as Christine, and Simon Bailey as Raoul, and will feature new set designs and direction that will theoretically enable it to be performed in smaller theaters and make it easier to transport from one city to the next. Some Phans have been skeptical about the need to redesign the sets and worry that the new staging will rely too much on projections. Some have also expressed worries that the new version might be geared towards justifying the sequel by portraying Raoul as less sympathetic or making the Phantom less mysterious. I haven't really done much speculating of my own, though; my attitude is that we'll see what happens, and I doubt the story, characters, and music will be weakened no matter what the new sets are like. But certainly, once photos or videos from the new production come out, I'll offer my views on the new things they've tried.

To me, the beauty of theater is that unlike film, productions are always changing. Even seeing the same show twice with the same cast, you'll be seeing two completely different performances. In addition, plays, musicals, and operas are constantly evolving. I find new, redesigned productions of classic shows to be fascinating -- I've marveled at modern, reinterpreted visions of Shakespeare's plays and avant-garde productions of well-known operas, and I appreciated the creativity brought to them even if I wasn't fond of every aspect of their design. While I understand the reasons why Cameron Mackintosh has, in the past, tried to make sure that all his productions of musicals looked the same, I think it's limited the shows' potential as far as creativity and ability to reach new audiences. I once told a couple of my Phan friends that I would even be willing to watch a performance of POTO with no sets and with all the performers wearing t-shirts and jeans, as long as the music, story, and characters were communicated well. I stand by that view, although I certainly don't think the new touring production will be stripped down to that extent. People are certainly free to disagree, but I'd rather see the show able to continue performing well into the future and touching the hearts of millions rather than ending because nobody wanted to risk trying something new. I want more people to discover the joys of Phantom as I did -- randomly hearing about a production going on, being exposed to the story and music, and then getting to discover each version and imagine the possibilities of what could be done with such a brilliant and universal concept.


I remain your obedient servant,
I.A.E.