Hal Prince happy with new Phantom touring show?
October 29, 2011
We would love to know how Hal Prince feels about Cameron Mackintosh’s new touring production of The Phantom of the Opera, celebrating the show’s 25th anniversary.
Hal Prince
Hal directed the original 1986 production of Lloyd-Webber’s show, which is still playing in London and New York and has grossed over $5 billion worldwide.
If you cast your mind back to 2010, Mackintosh suffered a very public falling-out with Trevor Nunn over the “re-imagining” of the 25th anniversary touring production of Les Miserables. Nunn, co-director John Caird and designer John Napier were said to be furious that new directors, Laurence Connor and James Powell, and designer Matt Kinleywere, hired to give the show a touring makeover, including ditching the revolving barricades as these were too costly and complex to tour. Presumably the same will happen to the falling chandelier in Phantom.
As with the Les Mis tour, Mackintosh has recruited director Laurence Connor to stage the new version of Phantom and has even cast his Les Mis touring leads, John Owen-Jones and Earl Carpenter, to share the role of the Phantom.
The Phantom of the Opera UK tour poster
Mackintosh has been careful to suggest in the press that the tour has Prince’s blessing, with Variety in March revealing than an “agreement” had been struck with Prince for the all-new version. But a September interview with Prince in the Huffington Post asked him whether he would change anything about the show if he had the chance to revisit it. “No, I would leave it alone”, he said, “it works”.
The UK touring production, directed by Laurence Connor, will feature choreography by Scott Ambler, set design by Paul Brown and costume design by original designer Maria Björnson. The production will be overseen by Cameron Mackintosh and Matthew Bourne and will premiere at the Theatre Royal Plymouth in March 2012. In addition to John Owen-Jones and Earl Carpenter sharing the Phantom role, Katie Hall will play Christine.
LINKS
Book tickets to The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre
The Phantom of the Opera UK tour information
Les Mis to make world history
March 15, 2010
West End – and world – history will be made this autumn as two productions of Les Miserables will run simultaneously in London.
Poster for the 25th anniversary touring production of Les Mis
As part of the show’s 25th anniversary celebrations, the current touring production of the world’s longest running musical will return home to the Barbican Theatre from 14 September to 2 October, the venue where the show originally premiered in 1985.
At the same time the show will continue to run at the Queen’s Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue where it opened in 2004 after moving from the Palace Theatre.
The new touring production, which premiered in Cardiff in December 2009, is currently touring starring Gareth Gates and directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell.
The move is a courageous act by producer Cameron Mackintosh as it will be the first time that the same musical will run in the same city anywhere in the world.
Les Miserables has been seen by an impressive 56 million people around the world, and became the world’s longest running musical in October 2006.
