#poto greece

[operafantomet]

Big mirror / small mirror

The current Middle East / European Tour seems to alternate between two different mirrors. For the original production in Romania 2015 and the current revamped version premiering in Norway 2018-2019 they featured a big, round window/mirror with such a depth Christine could sit inside it. For the mirror scene she therefore sat there.

For the Greek premiere in 2020 they introduced a smaller mirror for the Thessaloniki stop, while Athens had the bigger one.

When the production continued to Riyadh, Dubai and Sofia in 2023-2024, they kept using the small mirror. But it looks like the big mirror had a comeback for the Sofia revisit in 2024.

Me? I'm "Team Big Mirror" all the way. As the stage is quite bare, apart from Christine's dressing room, it has a bolder visual impact. It also means Christine can walk through the mirror instead of crawl through it. A tad more elegant. But the smaller mirror makes the Phantom more visible, so I guess both versions has its merits.

(Photos from top: Bucharest 2015, Oslo 2018, Oslo 2018, Thessaloniki 2020, Athens 2020, Thessaloniki 2023, Dubai 2024, Sofia April 2024, Sofia September 2024)

[pureanonofficial]

Raoul's proposal in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (GREECE)

[phantomchristinesuk]

Amy Manford in her 3 Christine wigs

(West end, Australia, Greece)

Pictures: Amy Manford instagram

[wheel-of-fish]

Nadim Naaman, Harriet Jones & Tim Howar | Thessaloniki 2023

[marleneoftheopera]

The proposal during ‘All I Ask of You’, featured in the original Romanian, Oslo, and Greek productions.

[theres-music-in-you]

HELP I know this is Nadim and Georgia but who is the guy on the left? I’m 99% sure he’s the new Raoul in the Greek/Middle East tour.

[lucygold95]

Happy Birthday, Andrew! And Happy 50 Musical Years!

https://twitter.com/OfficialALW/status/1638496738146148353?t=LWNE4vLXTu4VKaRj2ugL3g&s=19

[ballerinadellamusica]

Confirmed cast members for the Middle East tour:

Rachel Bird

David Burilin

Ester Cameron

Grace Chapman

Maria Conneely

Paul Erbs

Daniel Jagusz-Holley

Michael Kirby

Ebony Jayne Kitts

Rhidian Marc

Rebecca Ridout

Nikki Skinner

These people have been confirmed to be part of the tour by their agents or Spotlight cvs.

[hermes-whistle]

Georgia Wilkinson greece

[averycuteknight]

Just watched phantom of the opera up close and man, am I obsessed with the sewer man

[operafantomet]

Arvid Larsen as Gilles André in Norway, Greece, Middle East Tour + European Tour (main feature: red bowtie!)

[flora-gray]

When you act surprised, no one will ever suspect!

All I ask of you reprise

I have questions. Why is the phantom the one to yell and point out piangi? Did he not murder him? Why does she not unmask him? He really ruined his own proposal to yell about a dead body he put there???

x

[glassprism]

What goes into the decision behind running a replica vs. non-replica POTO? Does it boil down to costs or contracts or is it related to artistic license? And even when they run non-replica, it still says ALW's Phantom, so how much still has to run true to his original?

For the decision-making, it just depends on the production! There are some versions that could probably afford to do the replica production, but choose not to because they want to explore other interpretations or because they have always done non-replicas. For example, musicals in Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Finland have traditionally always done non-replicas, so when they put Phantom on, it's no different. Within this category too are other reasons - for example, several of these productions are also in repertoire theaters, meaning they have multiple different shows cycling in the same theater across the year, so it's also about using the space wisely.

For other productions, yes, cost is a big reason. This is more the case in countries where musical theater is not as established, such as Italy, Norway, or Greece; here, it's easier to not have to pay the licensing costs or production to put on the replica and just make a version that is cheaper and likely to recoup the money back. But that doesn't mean artistry or creative license is not a factor, and creators of productions on a lower budget have still talked about how they wanted the opportunity to reinterpret the material.

As for the second question, the show has to use the same music, story, and lyrics (with some leeway for translations) as the replica, but the sets, costumes, choreography, and blocking can change. If you look at any non-replica of ALW's, they are still playing the same music, singing the same songs, and following the same general story; it's just the visuals and the blocking that changes, and even the latter has to stay within the boundaries of the story (no Christine going back to the Phantom at the end, for example). If everything changes, then you're not a non-replica, you're just a totally different version, e.g. the Ken Hill version, the Yeston/Kopit version.

Not that that's stopped some high school productions from trying to insert their new and improved lines.

[marleneoftheopera]

Photos from POTO Thessaloniki, featuring Dougie Carter and Georgia Wilkinson.

[theres-music-in-you]

HARRIET JONES AND GEORGIA WILKINSON ARE PLAYING CHRISTINE IN POTO GREECE

[icantrecallaskysoclear]

THIS IS SO CUTE ❤️❤️❤️

Raoul's proposal in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (GREECE)