CMU School of Drama


Monday, February 09, 2026

Refreshed, Modern & Engaging: The Innovative Design For An Immersive Adaptation Of "Phantom of the Opera"

ProSoundWeb: “Forget everything about how you would typically do this, and then let’s figure out how we are going to do it.” This was theatrical sound designer Brett Jarvis’s instruction to his audio team when they began work on the sound design for Masquerade, a cutting-edge, immersive adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, directed by Diane Paulus.

1 comment:

Max A said...

It’s a shame that this is so expensive, because Phantom of the Opera is already such a cool immersive experience (especially for an older show), and this sounds amazing. Those first few minutes with the louder than life overture, lighting, and chandelier rising are some of my favorite five minutes of live theatre ever. I think that Phantom is one of the best things to turn interactive - the audience is already supposed to feel fear at the chandelier drop. Reading this has me struggling to understand how it actually works, which speaks in favor of the interactive experience. The sound specifically has me wondering who’s “in charge” of the direction of the show. Is it the sound program, or the actors as a collective? Or is each segment governed by the different macs that run them? I imagine that this production took a LOT to get off the ground. This article makes it seem like sound is the most complex element of the show.