Great Moments in New York Theater - Phantom of the Opera
We were strolling North Park Mall, a pair of happy homos visiting our favourite shops – The Gap, The Disney Store, Macy’s, and that cute little snack shop that sold lemonade and vanilla ice cream bars dipped in freshly melted chocolate and rolled in peanuts. There was also the obligatory visit to the Sound Warehouse and Sam Goody. Pat and I had only been together a few months; in fact, we were still in college together in Denton and we would make these infrequent drives into Dallas for a weekend class at Dallas Repertory Theater or a shopping trip to see what the new releases were in the record stores. A theater major and a major show queen, I was always on the prowl for the newest cast recordings from the Broadway stage – and the local record store around the NTSU campus didn’t exactly get the newest releases. I loved these weekend trips into the big city to gather new treats into my growing collection of cast albums and soundtracks. As I wandered through the store, a most eyecatching album cover caught me eye. I happen to be one of those people who DOES judge a book by its’ cover… and album cover art has always been extremely important to me (one of the joys of record albums that has always been missing from cds is that huge square artwork).I had not heard that there was to be a musical version of the famed work of literature. Neat! I picked up the record and turned it over. Dang. No photos. It was a double album. Neat. Well, I could at least see who was involved. Andrew Lloyd Webber. Neat. I was a devotee of both Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita. Michael Crawford. I remembered him from the Hello, Dolly movie. Sarah Brightman. No idea. Steve Barton. Wait. What?! Steve Barton? Oh my gosh. That’s my friend. I knew Steve when I was a teenager living in Switzerland. He and his wife were members of the repertory company at the Stadttheater Berne and I would go see them in the plays there. I saw Steve play Gaby in On The Town, El Gallo in The Fantasticks, Jesus in Godspell, a muleteer in Man of LaMancha, Lancelot in Camelot and (most importantly) Riff in (my very first, my introduction to) West Side Story. Steve and his wife and friends were a MAJOR part of my musical theater education! And I had been lucky enough to become his friend. I sort of idolized him; but it is difficult to keep that idolatry going when you get to know somebody and find them to be a nice, sweet, normal kind of guy. I loved him, so; and it had only been a few short years since I had left Switzerland to come to America for college – my memories of our friendship was very fresh.
Suffice it to say, I bought the record.
I played it over and over (I could listen to Steve sing forever – what a smooth, mellifluous voice he had); I became obsessed with the show (at the time, playing in London). I became a Phantom-phile! I bought everything that even touched upon the show. I had quite a little collection going there, for awhile. It was one of the things for which I was known. So when the show opened on Broadway, it became my ambition to make it to New York to see it. I sent Steve a telegram on opening night and we were in touch over the months until, finally, in the spring of 1988, Pat and I made the trip to see my friend in his Broadway debut – mere days before the Tony awards; probably about ten. We had booked our tickets to see several shows through one of those expensive ticket brokers – but Phantom tickets were hard to come by. The seats we got were at the very rear mezzanine and Steve had told me, over the phone, that he could not help because the Tony voters got all the house seats. It was ok. I didn’t mind. I had tickets and that was all that mattered.
The day we arrived in New York from Dallas was a Monday. Few shows played on Monday and we wanted to see a show a night, so Pat got us tickets to see CATS at the Winter Garden Theater. The day before, CARRIE had closed, much to our dismay. We set about securing the rest of our theater tickets, let Steve know we were in town and waited the long week til Friday, the night we would see Phantom of the Opera. It was a glorious week for us – springtime in New York and trips to see Burn This, M Butterfly, Into the Woods, Speed the Plow (and, during the weekend, following Phantom, we would see Macbeth and Romance, Romance). On Thursday there was a call at our hotel from Steve. The voting had ended. The house seats were released. That day Andrew Lloyd Webber had returned to London. My friend, Steve Barton, had secured for us Andrew Lloyd Webber’s house seats. I was OVER. THE. MOON. We sold our tickets in the nosebleeds. I dressed all in white (a most ridiculous outfit, right out of the eighties, complete with huge shoulder pads, push up sleeves and a stand-up collar on my jacket) and we went to the theater, where Steve had us come back before the show for a quick visit… then to our seats: fifth row, on the aisle. My heart was simply racing, I was so excited.
You see, at the time, Phantom was THE THE THE show of the century. I suppose, in a way, it still is. Phantom completely changed musical theater forever. The way Show Boat changed it, more than half a century earlier. There are these few musicals that come along that set new standards – these important works of art that JUST push the artform a little further into the future. A year or so before Phantom came along, there was this freight train called Les Mis that started the change in musical theater, that began the trend of epic, gothic, literary work based musicals that made audiences rabid. Phantom finished the job. I’m not a theatrical historian, so I cannot deconstruct it – I only know that my perception is that Phantom of the Opera changed things, not just on the stage but in the audience, too. It seemed to be the first time that musical theater became like a rock concert, with audiences so desperate to see it that they would pay any price for a ticket, that fans would react to a character and a piece of theater the way they would to a rock star. It was an interesting phenomenon in which the show was the star and that audiences were there to see the production, that they weren’t being drawn to their seats by a name. I suppose that it is why it is still running, twenty three years later. Les Mis was not able to sustain its’ momentum. Cats and Miss Saigon closed. Even A Chorus Line closed. Phantom is still running.
Our experience that night at Phantom of the Opera remains one of the exciting nights I have spent in a theater, even though time has turned Phantom into a bit of a joke. I don’t joke about Phantom. It is true that I hardly ever listen to the cast album anymore. It is true that it has become a staple of the New York theater going community and, for that, suffers the slings and arrows of derisive members of the arts community. You won’t that kind of talk from me. We revisited Phantom in 2001 when, after the attacks on the World Trade Center, the theater community was hit hard by a complete lack of ticket sales; so producers sold very discounted tickets to members of Actor’s Equity. We bought those cheap seats and went with our friends Stephen and Will, to see, to support, to revel in the artistry. On that occasion, I remarked to Pat that I had forgotten what REALLY good theater Phantom is.
Yesterday, I went, once more, to see Broadway’s longest running musical. My friend, Brady, said to me he wanted to see Phantom again, that it had been a long time between visits and he wanted to refresh his memory. I was certainly game. I can always go to the theater…especially when there are 25 dollar seats available. I don’t care if I am sitting in the last row or standing at the back of the theater, any chance to witness theater must be taken! So last night Brady and I sat at the top of The Majestic (possibly the most beautiful theater in this city) and marveled at what GOOD theater Phantom is, what good storytelling it is, what extraordinary artistry has gone into the sets, the costumes, the lighting, Hal Prince’s GENIUS directing, the performances of the actors. No matter what you say about Andrew Lloyd Webber’s work (and, yes, I have been unkind about it when discussing some of his other works, though NOT Superstar or Evita), it cannot be denied that THIS is GREAT musical theater. We were so moved that Brady jumped in his seat once and we both gasped two or three times, sighed two or three times, and wept (both of us, for the first time) because of Hugh Panaro’s performance (Hugh, for the record has been my favourite Phantom of the three I have seen: Mr Crawford and Mr McGillin being the other two). We were amazed at how well maintained the production is, how fresh and new it feels, how sharp and alive it remains. It has been almost a quarter of a century and the show looks and feels like it opened this season.
I played it over and over (I could listen to Steve sing forever – what a smooth, mellifluous voice he had); I became obsessed with the show (at the time, playing in London). I became a Phantom-phile! I bought everything that even touched upon the show. I had quite a little collection going there, for awhile. It was one of the things for which I was known. So when the show opened on Broadway, it became my ambition to make it to New York to see it. I sent Steve a telegram on opening night and we were in touch over the months until, finally, in the spring of 1988, Pat and I made the trip to see my friend in his Broadway debut – mere days before the Tony awards; probably about ten. We had booked our tickets to see several shows through one of those expensive ticket brokers – but Phantom tickets were hard to come by. The seats we got were at the very rear mezzanine and Steve had told me, over the phone, that he could not help because the Tony voters got all the house seats. It was ok. I didn’t mind. I had tickets and that was all that mattered.
The day we arrived in New York from Dallas was a Monday. Few shows played on Monday and we wanted to see a show a night, so Pat got us tickets to see CATS at the Winter Garden Theater. The day before, CARRIE had closed, much to our dismay. We set about securing the rest of our theater tickets, let Steve know we were in town and waited the long week til Friday, the night we would see Phantom of the Opera. It was a glorious week for us – springtime in New York and trips to see Burn This, M Butterfly, Into the Woods, Speed the Plow (and, during the weekend, following Phantom, we would see Macbeth and Romance, Romance). On Thursday there was a call at our hotel from Steve. The voting had ended. The house seats were released. That day Andrew Lloyd Webber had returned to London. My friend, Steve Barton, had secured for us Andrew Lloyd Webber’s house seats. I was OVER. THE. MOON. We sold our tickets in the nosebleeds. I dressed all in white (a most ridiculous outfit, right out of the eighties, complete with huge shoulder pads, push up sleeves and a stand-up collar on my jacket) and we went to the theater, where Steve had us come back before the show for a quick visit… then to our seats: fifth row, on the aisle. My heart was simply racing, I was so excited.
You see, at the time, Phantom was THE THE THE show of the century. I suppose, in a way, it still is. Phantom completely changed musical theater forever. The way Show Boat changed it, more than half a century earlier. There are these few musicals that come along that set new standards – these important works of art that JUST push the artform a little further into the future. A year or so before Phantom came along, there was this freight train called Les Mis that started the change in musical theater, that began the trend of epic, gothic, literary work based musicals that made audiences rabid. Phantom finished the job. I’m not a theatrical historian, so I cannot deconstruct it – I only know that my perception is that Phantom of the Opera changed things, not just on the stage but in the audience, too. It seemed to be the first time that musical theater became like a rock concert, with audiences so desperate to see it that they would pay any price for a ticket, that fans would react to a character and a piece of theater the way they would to a rock star. It was an interesting phenomenon in which the show was the star and that audiences were there to see the production, that they weren’t being drawn to their seats by a name. I suppose that it is why it is still running, twenty three years later. Les Mis was not able to sustain its’ momentum. Cats and Miss Saigon closed. Even A Chorus Line closed. Phantom is still running.
Our experience that night at Phantom of the Opera remains one of the exciting nights I have spent in a theater, even though time has turned Phantom into a bit of a joke. I don’t joke about Phantom. It is true that I hardly ever listen to the cast album anymore. It is true that it has become a staple of the New York theater going community and, for that, suffers the slings and arrows of derisive members of the arts community. You won’t that kind of talk from me. We revisited Phantom in 2001 when, after the attacks on the World Trade Center, the theater community was hit hard by a complete lack of ticket sales; so producers sold very discounted tickets to members of Actor’s Equity. We bought those cheap seats and went with our friends Stephen and Will, to see, to support, to revel in the artistry. On that occasion, I remarked to Pat that I had forgotten what REALLY good theater Phantom is.
Yesterday, I went, once more, to see Broadway’s longest running musical. My friend, Brady, said to me he wanted to see Phantom again, that it had been a long time between visits and he wanted to refresh his memory. I was certainly game. I can always go to the theater…especially when there are 25 dollar seats available. I don’t care if I am sitting in the last row or standing at the back of the theater, any chance to witness theater must be taken! So last night Brady and I sat at the top of The Majestic (possibly the most beautiful theater in this city) and marveled at what GOOD theater Phantom is, what good storytelling it is, what extraordinary artistry has gone into the sets, the costumes, the lighting, Hal Prince’s GENIUS directing, the performances of the actors. No matter what you say about Andrew Lloyd Webber’s work (and, yes, I have been unkind about it when discussing some of his other works, though NOT Superstar or Evita), it cannot be denied that THIS is GREAT musical theater. We were so moved that Brady jumped in his seat once and we both gasped two or three times, sighed two or three times, and wept (both of us, for the first time) because of Hugh Panaro’s performance (Hugh, for the record has been my favourite Phantom of the three I have seen: Mr Crawford and Mr McGillin being the other two). We were amazed at how well maintained the production is, how fresh and new it feels, how sharp and alive it remains. It has been almost a quarter of a century and the show looks and feels like it opened this season.
During parts of the play last night, I found myself remembered that first time… How we sat in our seats, the enormous and elegant souvenir programs in our laps… How, moments before the curtain went up, Elizabeth Taylor was whisked in and seated (in a row behind us, thank you very much).. How thrilling the show was, from start to finish… How shiny that black floor was… How opulent the set was... How those four jets of flame singed my eyebrows! How really and truly good Sarah Brightman was.. And the thrill of seeing Steve Barton on Broadway in this dashing and romantic role. Even today, when someone is singing All I Ask of You, live or on recording, it is Steve’s voice that I hear. The electricity in the air at that theater, 23 years ago, was unforgettable; and even last night, in a day and time when audience etiquette is at an all time low, the audience was so incredibly well behaved! It was almost reverential! During most of Act One, most of Act Two and ESPECIALLY the last 15 minutes of the play, last night, the audience was frozen, help rapt in their seats, practically holding their breath – Brady and I both noticed it and remarked on it. And as The Phantom was weeping into the bridal veil and saying ‘I love you” Brady and I both sniffled and wiped away a tear.
We were not the only ones.There is a reason that Phantom of the Opera is the longest running show on Broadway. It deserves to be. It is well crafted and well executed and (as outlined for us after the show, in a private backstage tour by my friend Josh) it is EXTREMELY well maintained. I think it matters, greatly, to the powers that be that Phantom is the longest running show; so they stay on top of it, making sure that it is always fresh, always new, always great. And it is. That is how they will keep the title and the record.
I hope it runs forever.
posted by StephenMosher at 9:21 AM
1 Comments:
now you have made me want to go back and see it again... I think the last time I saw it was 1996...
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