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Friday, February 12, 2021
Redesigned Her Majesty's Theatre Will 'Blur the Boundary Between Stage and Auditorium' for West End's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
www.broadwayworld.com: As BroadwayWorld previously reported, work is underway on Her Majesty's Theatre in London, for a newly renovated venue upon the reopening of The Phantom of the Opera in the West End.
Details are emerging on what audiences can expect when the show returns, as per a planning application submitted last month.
It is so interesting to see that theaters are investing money in repairs and redesign right now, but I would say that it serves as a good sign for the potential in the future. I am glad to see that theaters are now able to see a way forward hopefully and the end of no live, in-person theater does seem near. I do think that in The Phantom of the Opera there is a need for the audience to be connected to the stage in a really unique way, and I can imagine how these redesigns will work to enhance the connection between performers and the audience. It will also be very cool to see how the set is somehow incorporated into the space as a whole, and I think that is something that does tend to really excite audiences and make them feel as though they are part of the world of the show and not just outside observers.
It was very new to read about how the theater was actually trying to “spend” money instead of saving during this era. These kind of articles are always delightful to read, especially when I am a huge fan of the production itself. I was 8 years old when I first saw The Phantom of the Opera with its original cast tour in South Korea, and the Chandelier moving across the audience seat and being hung on the ceiling really did something to my mind. I think it is a brilliant way of providing different scale of engagement to the audience. I’ve had opportunities to watch it two more times (basically each time they visited my country), and I noticed various adjustments of the stage sceneries as well as the music each time. I appreciate how The Phantom of the Opera is one of the most popular and old (long-living) musicals in the world and is still willing to explore new methods so that they could be “fresh” to the audience (perhaps the reason why they are still one of the most famous productions among thousands of new musicals).
It's crazy to see the contrast between the theatre before and after removing the Phantom set because it almost looked naked without all the ornate bits and pieces. Having never seen Phantom the play, since my mom went to see it at Her Majesty's Theatre without me even though she doesn't like theatre which I'm totally not salty about, I wasn't aware that there is such a focus on blurring the lines between the location, set, and audience. It makes complete sense as the show takes place in an opera house, but I wasn't aware. I also wanted to comment on how smart it is for them to take the closure during Covid time to do the long-awaited repairs to the theatre. This is probably the first time in years that the amount of time needed to do so has arisen and it also gives a sense of hope to those of us that have been constantly reading about another theatre closing forever or entertainment show struggling to make ends meet and letting people go. Knowing that at least one large scale in person production is trying to get up and running by only a few months from now is very exciting.
I think that this long running show will benefit greatly from its facelift, so to speak. This show has been the longest running show on broadway for quite a while and it is not surprise that popularity reaches across the pond to England as well. The extraordinary thing about the scenic design of this show is how it greatly blurs the line between the audience and the show itself. Because of the shows setting in a theatre, the way set design for the production often runs out into the house of the theatre really immerses the audience in the show. With the re opening of the theatre set for June, I think that the re design of this production will be a great way to bring people back to the theatre. The old show will be a comfortable and familiar thing for people and families to go see, and the new design will bring it into the twenty first century making it new and exciting at the same time. I can not wait to see that the team does with the design of the show and eagerly await any new photos.
Although I have not seen the Phantom of The Opera before, I could understand why they want to do their renovations now and why they want to blur the boundary between stage and audience. You want your audience to feel immersed in the show that you are in. Having the set creep into the audience would make them feel as if they are actually in the setting that the actors are in. I am glad to see that there are theatres that are making an investment in their show during this time they cannot preform. This investment has been giving theatre workers money and has set the show up for newfound interest after the pandemic. People who have seen Phantom of the Opera many time will be curious what it is like with this newfound set. I am also glad that the renovations will continue to keep the site as a historical monument as it seems that the building is quite beautiful. It must be quite difficult to balance full immersion in the play and protecting the historical architecture.
This is awesome for so many reasons. I love when productions (that have a good reason to) blur the line between audience and stage. I got to work on community productions of Cabaret and Pippin a couple years ago and I pushed to have the set extend beyond the proscenium but was shut down by fire code. Anytime there’s a stage on the stage, I feel like that needs to break the fourth wall and really make the whole space one. Also, I think its fantastic that these renovations are going to include the theater getting new sound equipment. It always feels like the architecture of historic theaters can be such an obstacle and get in the way of using new equipment, and that can really hurt the production value of productions. I understand the value of keeping the original architecture of theaters, but not when it comes at the detriment of productions and so these renovations are pretty exciting.
One thing that really stuck out to me was how they are focusing on preserving the historical and architectural elements of the theater, rather than just making any change for Phantom of the Opera. They are able to make use of the time that they have with no audience in the theatre by making changes that will benefit the theatre for hopefully a long time. I’m really interested in their plan to almost incorporate the stage into the auditorium and make the whole theater the set. I am definitely drawn to shows where the audience is taken into the story by either sitting “on stage” or actors coming closer to you. One of my favorite examples of this is the set for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812. Once I entered the theatre, I was instantly transported. The ensemble uses up all of the aisles to dance and scenes take place all over the theater. It’s extremely engaging for an audience member.
Of course, reading about a theater that is actually looking forward to the future during these challenging times is an amazing thing. However, my focus on this article was less on the relationship between theater and the pandemic, but rather on the genius of blurring the lines between stage and audience. For many, many years now theater focused on the concept of providing merely a window into the action of the play, done through the window-like boundary of the proscenium. There were of course exceptions to this concept, as there are in all things artistic. The idea of instead allowing the action to spill into the audience and extending the boundaries of the set allows for all sorts of new artistic expressions in shows. Traditionally, audiences get drawn into the story of a play through clever writing and actions, like how they can relate to family values or emphasize with the characters. This new way of designing would allow for the audience to actually be involved in the play, rather than just watching it from afar, which in my mind allows for many more methods of creating true art and entertainment by adding almost a whole new dimension.
First of all, it always encourages me when there is a solid date given to something’s reopening, and in this show’s case, June 2021. It is refreshing to see after so long of being in a general limbo and uncertainty of when things would start to return to normal. Second of all, I am really intrigued by the concept of the scenic design of this show that is meant to make the show more personal and more immersive. It is an interesting idea when design moves beyond the stage. I feel like I would personally have to see the show to develop a real opinion on it, but with the information I can glean from this article, the immersion of the audience into the show via design should be a choice made according to the type of show, and even if the effect is impressive, I believe there are still shows that require a divide between audience and stage to work.
I found this article very interesting. Like most I am a fan on Phantom as I find it’s dramatic story and extravagant design compelling. I think what they’re doing sounds very logical for the show, and actually I’m surprised this isn’t something they did earlier seeing that it’s bee in Her Majesty’s theatre for so long. The original Production a designer Maria Bjornson did an exquisite job of capturing the architecture of the proscenium. Anyone who has seen a recording or seen the show live probably remembered the rich gold proscenium decorated with angels and amongst other motifs. The design has been interpreted and changed for various production so I think it will be exciting to see what they come up with the incorporate the theatre as a part of the show. I also wonder if they’ll change anything with the chandelier. I have watched countless video on YouTube on different variant of the famed crash. I know originally it kind of swoops down onto the stage, but in a touring production I saw It was hung from the ceiling and had a mechanism to have it drop quickly and stop right above the orchestra level. - Evan Riley
10 comments:
It is so interesting to see that theaters are investing money in repairs and redesign right now, but I would say that it serves as a good sign for the potential in the future. I am glad to see that theaters are now able to see a way forward hopefully and the end of no live, in-person theater does seem near. I do think that in The Phantom of the Opera there is a need for the audience to be connected to the stage in a really unique way, and I can imagine how these redesigns will work to enhance the connection between performers and the audience. It will also be very cool to see how the set is somehow incorporated into the space as a whole, and I think that is something that does tend to really excite audiences and make them feel as though they are part of the world of the show and not just outside observers.
It was very new to read about how the theater was actually trying to “spend” money instead of saving during this era. These kind of articles are always delightful to read, especially when I am a huge fan of the production itself. I was 8 years old when I first saw The Phantom of the Opera with its original cast tour in South Korea, and the Chandelier moving across the audience seat and being hung on the ceiling really did something to my mind. I think it is a brilliant way of providing different scale of engagement to the audience. I’ve had opportunities to watch it two more times (basically each time they visited my country), and I noticed various adjustments of the stage sceneries as well as the music each time. I appreciate how The Phantom of the Opera is one of the most popular and old (long-living) musicals in the world and is still willing to explore new methods so that they could be “fresh” to the audience (perhaps the reason why they are still one of the most famous productions among thousands of new musicals).
It's crazy to see the contrast between the theatre before and after removing the Phantom set because it almost looked naked without all the ornate bits and pieces. Having never seen Phantom the play, since my mom went to see it at Her Majesty's Theatre without me even though she doesn't like theatre which I'm totally not salty about, I wasn't aware that there is such a focus on blurring the lines between the location, set, and audience. It makes complete sense as the show takes place in an opera house, but I wasn't aware. I also wanted to comment on how smart it is for them to take the closure during Covid time to do the long-awaited repairs to the theatre. This is probably the first time in years that the amount of time needed to do so has arisen and it also gives a sense of hope to those of us that have been constantly reading about another theatre closing forever or entertainment show struggling to make ends meet and letting people go. Knowing that at least one large scale in person production is trying to get up and running by only a few months from now is very exciting.
I think that this long running show will benefit greatly from its facelift, so to speak. This show has been the longest running show on broadway for quite a while and it is not surprise that popularity reaches across the pond to England as well. The extraordinary thing about the scenic design of this show is how it greatly blurs the line between the audience and the show itself. Because of the shows setting in a theatre, the way set design for the production often runs out into the house of the theatre really immerses the audience in the show. With the re opening of the theatre set for June, I think that the re design of this production will be a great way to bring people back to the theatre. The old show will be a comfortable and familiar thing for people and families to go see, and the new design will bring it into the twenty first century making it new and exciting at the same time. I can not wait to see that the team does with the design of the show and eagerly await any new photos.
Although I have not seen the Phantom of The Opera before, I could understand why they want to do their renovations now and why they want to blur the boundary between stage and audience. You want your audience to feel immersed in the show that you are in. Having the set creep into the audience would make them feel as if they are actually in the setting that the actors are in. I am glad to see that there are theatres that are making an investment in their show during this time they cannot preform. This investment has been giving theatre workers money and has set the show up for newfound interest after the pandemic. People who have seen Phantom of the Opera many time will be curious what it is like with this newfound set. I am also glad that the renovations will continue to keep the site as a historical monument as it seems that the building is quite beautiful. It must be quite difficult to balance full immersion in the play and protecting the historical architecture.
This is awesome for so many reasons. I love when productions (that have a good reason to) blur the line between audience and stage. I got to work on community productions of Cabaret and Pippin a couple years ago and I pushed to have the set extend beyond the proscenium but was shut down by fire code. Anytime there’s a stage on the stage, I feel like that needs to break the fourth wall and really make the whole space one. Also, I think its fantastic that these renovations are going to include the theater getting new sound equipment. It always feels like the architecture of historic theaters can be such an obstacle and get in the way of using new equipment, and that can really hurt the production value of productions. I understand the value of keeping the original architecture of theaters, but not when it comes at the detriment of productions and so these renovations are pretty exciting.
One thing that really stuck out to me was how they are focusing on preserving the historical and architectural elements of the theater, rather than just making any change for Phantom of the Opera. They are able to make use of the time that they have with no audience in the theatre by making changes that will benefit the theatre for hopefully a long time. I’m really interested in their plan to almost incorporate the stage into the auditorium and make the whole theater the set. I am definitely drawn to shows where the audience is taken into the story by either sitting “on stage” or actors coming closer to you. One of my favorite examples of this is the set for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812. Once I entered the theatre, I was instantly transported. The ensemble uses up all of the aisles to dance and scenes take place all over the theater. It’s extremely engaging for an audience member.
Of course, reading about a theater that is actually looking forward to the future during these challenging times is an amazing thing. However, my focus on this article was less on the relationship between theater and the pandemic, but rather on the genius of blurring the lines between stage and audience. For many, many years now theater focused on the concept of providing merely a window into the action of the play, done through the window-like boundary of the proscenium. There were of course exceptions to this concept, as there are in all things artistic. The idea of instead allowing the action to spill into the audience and extending the boundaries of the set allows for all sorts of new artistic expressions in shows. Traditionally, audiences get drawn into the story of a play through clever writing and actions, like how they can relate to family values or emphasize with the characters. This new way of designing would allow for the audience to actually be involved in the play, rather than just watching it from afar, which in my mind allows for many more methods of creating true art and entertainment by adding almost a whole new dimension.
First of all, it always encourages me when there is a solid date given to something’s reopening, and in this show’s case, June 2021. It is refreshing to see after so long of being in a general limbo and uncertainty of when things would start to return to normal. Second of all, I am really intrigued by the concept of the scenic design of this show that is meant to make the show more personal and more immersive. It is an interesting idea when design moves beyond the stage. I feel like I would personally have to see the show to develop a real opinion on it, but with the information I can glean from this article, the immersion of the audience into the show via design should be a choice made according to the type of show, and even if the effect is impressive, I believe there are still shows that require a divide between audience and stage to work.
I found this article very interesting. Like most I am a fan on Phantom as I find it’s dramatic story and extravagant design compelling. I think what they’re doing sounds very logical for the show, and actually I’m surprised this isn’t something they did earlier seeing that it’s bee in Her Majesty’s theatre for so long. The original Production a designer Maria Bjornson did an exquisite job of capturing the architecture of the proscenium. Anyone who has seen a recording or seen the show live probably remembered the rich gold proscenium decorated with angels and amongst other motifs. The design has been interpreted and changed for various production so I think it will be exciting to see what they come up with the incorporate the theatre as a part of the show. I also wonder if they’ll change anything with the chandelier. I have watched countless video on YouTube on different variant of the famed crash. I know originally it kind of swoops down onto the stage, but in a touring production I saw It was hung from the ceiling and had a mechanism to have it drop quickly and stop right above the orchestra level. - Evan Riley
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