www.broadwayworld.com: A special Charity Performance will take place on Friday, April 14 of Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, the iconic and record-breaking Broadway production that will end its history-making run that week. Directed by the late theater legend Harold Prince and produced by Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Really Useful Group, the blockbuster phenomenon plays at The Majestic Theatre (245 West 44th Street), where earlier this year it welcomed its record-shattering 20 millionth audience member.
2 comments:
Congratulations to all current and former theatre makers involved with The Phantom of the Opera! It is really sweet that the director and producers are doing a special charity performance for various organizations. It really shows the end of community in our industry. I love how at each of the production's impressive milestones, the company continues to honor and celebrate everyone in the Phantom family. I remember how excited the internet was when Emilie Kouatchou made her debut, but I was surprised at how long it took for there to be a black Christine on Broadway. I wholeheartedly believe in celebrating these achievements and hope that the industry will continue to move in the direction of color-conscious casting. Especially for roles like Christine, where race does not impact the integrity of the character, it seems to me that the role would have been cast more diverse decades ago. My first technical director who I had in high school, always talked about how much she loves Phantom, and I hope if my production schedule allows, I will be able to travel to New York some weekend soon to watch it.
This seems like a great way to end such a long running, well known show. It’s somehow kind of strange to wrap my head around the closing of Phantom of the Opera, even though I first heard of it probably over a month ago. This charity is a perfect example of how the performing arts industry can really come together to support itself and grow as one, especially given the power of Phantom of the Opera. I love how two of the charities, the Prince Fellowship and the Andrew Lloyd Weber Initiative, are dedicated to funding theater education and supporting new talent. Similarly, Broadway Bridges sounds like a great program for students in New York City; I wish I had access to a program like that when I was in school. It's really just incredible how theater is such a regenerative system. I hope that in the future, when other stars like Phantom die, they go out like this.
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