Sad News

Greetings, all.

Some really sad news came out last night... According to their official Facebook page, Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular will be closing down this September. The final performance will be on September 2nd. Words can't express how shocked I was to hear this or how sorry I am to see this magnificent production go. I'll definitely try to see it at least one more time before it closes. In any case, I hope all the performers in the Las Vegas company will be able to find work with other shows before too long, and that some of them might wind up getting to be in a new touring production or the Broadway cast somewhere down the road.

If you haven't gotten to read my review from when I saw the show in Vegas last summer, check it out here:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Also, here's a video clip of Anthony Crivello (Phantom) and Kristen Hertzenberg (Christine alternate) performing a shortened version of "Music of the Night" (and also doing a short interview) on Good Day LA. It was filmed and broadcast the morning of June 27, 2011 -- the same day I saw Tony in the Vegas show for the first time -- and was uploaded to YouTube by a close friend who saw the show with me that night and the next.

If you haven't seen the show in Vegas yet (or even if you have), catch it before it disappears! I promise you'll be amazed.


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

These are My Confessions...

Greetings once again, and Happy New Year! I hope 2012 will be a wonderful year for all of you.

To celebrate the new year and my third Phanniversary (having first seen the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical on this date in 2009), I thought I'd share some of my confessions, courtesy of a Tumblr page I discovered called Phantom of the Opera Confessions. Enjoy, and feel free to contribute some of your own if you wish. I should note that none of these images were created or posted by me; they were put up by various Tumblr users who follow the page, but I found myself agreeing with them as well.

Studying the Phantom: Some Resources, and a Search for More

Hey again!

I recently discovered a review of a Phantom-related book that, until recently, I wasn't really interested in getting (mainly due to its cover price -- a new copy is $110 on Amazon.com). This review, though, made me want to get the book.

The book's title is a bit long and ungainly, but sounds fascinating all on its own -- The Undergrounds of the Phantom of the Opera: Sublimation and the Gothic in Leroux's Novel and its Progeny, by Jerrold E. Hogle, published in 2002. The review was one of many (and I do mean many) posted on The Phantom Project, a website by Anne Myers that was itself started as an academic project. Ms. Myers' self-made project is to review every version of POTO she can, ranging from the original novel to the various film and stage versions, and even down to things like video games, radio shows, and self-published spinoffs and sequels created by Phans. It seems like a monumental task, but I admire Ms. Myers' gusto in taking it on, and it seems that getting to read superb works like Hogle's book would make the whole thing worthwhile.

POTO at Palikū Theatre -- Take Two!

Greetings, everyone! I hope you all had a great holiday season!

About two months ago, I got to see the Palikū Theatre production of the musical once again. That turned out to be the penultimate performance; their final one was the next day. As we'll see, the experience turned out to be an extremely special one for me.

The Phantom of the Opera - Community Theatre Edition
Palikū Community Theatre, Hawaii
Saturday, October 22, 2011 - 7:30 PM
Directed by Ron Bright

The Phantom: Miles Wesley
Christine Daaé: Lydia Pusateri
Raoul de Chagny: Kyle Malis
Carlotta Giudicelli: Jaime Craycroft
Ubaldo Piangi: Johnny Reed
Richard Firmin: Douglas Scheer
Gilles Andre: Leonard Villanueva
Madame Giry: Marlise Ahuna
Meg Giry: Madison Eror

A New and Different Kind of Production

Hey, all!

I have exciting news -- I have been cast in a production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera! I will mainly be playing Ubaldo Piangi, and also understudying Raoul if the principal Raoul is unavailable for any performances. But there's a twist; this is no ordinary production of the show. Instead, it will be taking place on the popular online community known as Second Life.

For those who don't know, Second Life is a program that's something between a game and a social networking site, where users can create their own character avatars, chat with friends using either text or voice, and create all sorts of things from clothes and vehicles to buildings that they can either use themselves, give away, loan out, or sell to other users. A good friend of mine started a group called Ravenswood Theatricals on Second Life, and built a theater to host performances of musicals. We have been rehearsing POTO for the past few months, and we had a preview performance a couple weeks ago. Our first public performance will take place next week Wednesday and begins promptly at 6:30 PM, Second Life time (which is also 6:30 PM Pacific Time in the US).

It's really interesting to be doing the show in this format. The most unique thing about it is that our characters are all furry avatars -- virtual animals play the parts rather than virtual humans. For example, the Phantom is a lion, Christine and Raoul are two different kinds of cats, Carlotta is a parrot, and Piangi (played by yours truly) is a peacock. Due to it being virtual, we can pull off special effects that would be far too expensive or dangerous to be usable in a live performance setting. In addition, all the performers are controlling their characters from a distance, so it's a bit like a 21st-century version of puppet theatre. There have been technical difficulties to work around at rehearsals, but I think we have plans for how to deal with any potential problems that may surface. *knocks on wood*

If any of you who have accounts on Second Life (or are thinking of getting started there) are interested in seeing the show, please e-mail me at iamerik771@gmail.com with your Second Life username. Photos from the production will find their way here soon!

For more information on the production, check out this fantastic article from Metaverse Tribune. Again, here's the vital info.

What:
Debut of The Phantom of the Opera
Presented by Ravenswood Theatricals on Second Life

When:
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 6:30 PM, Pacific/SL Time.

Where:
Second Life; e-mail me with your SL name for location info.

And yes, I'm still working on a review of the October 22nd performance I attended at Palikū Theatre. Hopefully, I'll get that posted sometime over the long weekend. By the way, happy Veterans' Day / Remembrance Day to all who serve or have served in the military as well as their families. And have fun celebrating 11/11/11, as well!


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