#poto restaged tour

[marleneoftheopera]

Granted the lighting and angle are certainly helping, but this might be the best the restaged chandelier has ever looked.

[lucygold95]

POTO gif - Josh Piterman & Amy Manford

[phantomchristinesuk]

Christine in the ballet: around the world

1- Sarah Brightman - 1986

2- Jill Washington - 1989

3 & 4- Gina Beck - 2008 & 2010

5- Emmi Christensson - 2016

7- Julia Udine - 2013

Years are from the brochures they first appeared in (approximately)

Pictures from various souvenir brochures

[nerdywriter36]

I do recall it being used in the US Tour as of January 2020 when I saw it, because I remember being front row and very confused when I saw it.

A random question, but do you have any idea if Meg still wears the pink bathrobe in the restated tour?

Ya know, I wondered about the same the other day!! I was working on a photoset showing costume quirks in the the Restaged UK Tour that didn't make it into the US or elsewhere. But I am in doubt of Meg's pink dressing gown. It was worn during Angel of Music in the UK:

But I can't recall seeing it elsewhere? On the other hand it's a moment hardly if ever photographed in the Restaged Tour, so correct me if I'm wrong. I have a vague memory of it being done early in the US Tour, but right now I am too lazy to check videos to spot it. Feel free to chime in.

Whatever the case, it always felt like a nod to the West End production of Love Never Dies, where Meg wore a coral dressing gown in the first act:

[flea-palace]

obviously the restaged poto tour doesnt hold a candle to maria björnson's designs BUT is this a safe space to say i could write a dissertation about the restaged sets and the symbolism of tableaus/dollhouses/music boxes in some scenes (dressing room, stage, manager office, the masquerade scene ESPECIALLY, etc) vs the lair, the rooftop, and the graveyard and how it changes the tone and implications of the story is that anything or am i being extremely annoying

[icantrecallaskysoclear]

Me, every single time Raoul proposes to Christine:

💞

[jennyfair7]

Oh there is a HAT. Just not the hat you’d expect 😬😅

(X)

absolutely devastated that im hearing reports that in the new italian production ramin has no hat nor does he do the STYDI wormy slide

[marybeatriceofmodena]

Trading Site Reopening and Gifting Spree!

So. After weeks of work (*insert alpaca scream here*), my trading site is open for trading! To celebrate, I decided to gift a few audios and videos from Phantom of the Opera, a few audios from Les Misérables, two cast recordings from Elisabeth das Musical, and a cast recording for Sweeney Todd. Enjoy!

(If you're the master of a listed audio/video, please don't hesitate to reach out to me if you want me to remove your stuff from the list.)

POTO audios

Michael Crawford, Rebecca Caine (alt.), Steve Barton October 10, 1987; London Michael Crawford and Steve Barton's last in London. Soundboard, very good quality, and this one is complete. And Rebecca Caine sounds amazing in it (as she always does). https://www.mediafire.com/file/pttrjfqzb84gatm/POTO_West_End_10-10-1987_-_Crawford%252C_Caine%252C_Barton.rar/file Steve Barton, Rebecca Luker, Gary Lindemenn (u/s),  Marilyn Caskey, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews, Leila Martin September 26, 1990; Broadway Soundboard audio. Because Steve Barton was almost as good of a Phantom as he was as Raoul, and Rebecca Luker is a legend (RIP). https://www.mediafire.com/file/xc9ywojtdesptje/POTO_Broadway_26-09-1990_-_Barton%252C_Luker%252C_Lindemenn.rar/file Davis Gaines, Tracy Shayne, Matthew R. Jones, George Lee Andrews, Jeff Keller, Lelia Martin October 5, 1996; Broadway Davis Gaines's last performance. Because Davis Gaines has one of the best voices I've heard in the role. https://www.mediafire.com/file/w1ybvl8v6e4ex6r/POTO_Broadway_05-01-1996_-_Gaines%252C_Shayne%252C_Little.rar/file Brad Little, Lisa Vroman, Tim Martin Gleason, Kim Stengel, DC Anderson, David Cryer, Patti  Davidson-Gorbea, Kate Wray, Jimmy Smagula December 5, 2003; Los Angeles Lisa Vroman’s second-to-last performance as Christine. Both she and Brad Little are glorious vocal-wise. https://www.mediafire.com/file/muavx4ocvs62eav/POTO_US_Tour_05-12-2003_-_Little%252C_Vroman%252C_Gleason.rar/file Anthony Warlow, Julie Goodwin, John Bowles, Andrea Creighton, John O'May, Derek Taylor, Jackie Rees, Nadia Komazec, David Rogers-Smith August 15, 2007; Melbourne Not the biggest fan of Anthony Warlow acting-wise, but he does not disappoint on the vocals - and neither does Julie Goodwin. https://www.mediafire.com/file/3pm0ksips30n3it/POTO_Melbourne_15-08-2007_-_Warlow%252C_Goodwin%252C_Bowles.rar/file John Owen-Jones, Katie Hall, Simon Bailey, Angela M. Caesar, Andy Hockley, Simon Green, Elizabeth Mars, Hannah Cadec, Vincent Pirillo September 29, 2012; Edinburgh Not the biggest fan of the restaged tour, but... Katie Hall's "Tears of HAAAAAATE" is pretty great. And John Owen-Jones! https://www.mediafire.com/file/00vtvziy172lpkv/POTO_UK_Tour_29-09-2012_-_Owen-Jones%252C_Hall%252C_Bailey.rar/file Hugh Panaro, Elizabeth Welch (u/s), Jeremy Hays March 3, 2014; Broadway Great trio overall, but Elizabeth Welch is a standout (to me at least). https://www.mediafire.com/file/1hc1ozi96vok5pd/POTO_Broadway_03-03-2014_-_Panaro%252C_Welch%252C_Hays.rar/file Dmitry Ermak, Tamara Kotova, Eugeny Zaytsev, Irina Samoylova, Alexei Bobrov, Yuri Mazihin, Elena Charkviani, Valeria Migalina, Rustim Bahtiyarov (u/s) July 16, 2015; Moscow A lovely production that I miss - Tamara Kotova in particular is great. https://www.mediafire.com/file/w56tx5d7fkh4kse/POTO_Moscow_16-07-2015_-_Ermak%252C_Kotova%252C_Zaytsev.rar/file John Owen-Jones, Celinde Schoenmaker, Nadim Naaman, Megan Llewellyn, Michael Matus, Christopher Dickens, Jacinta Mulcahy, Alicia Beck, John Ellis September 7, 2015; London First performance of the 2015-2016 cast. https://www.mediafire.com/file/5hswf44ldku6ngm/POTO_West_End_07-09-2015_-_Owen-Jones%252C_Schoenmaker%252C_Naaman.rar/file Peter Jöback, Emmi Christensson, Anton Zetterholm, Karolina Andresson, Glenn Kjellberg, Rolf Lydhal, Sanna Martin, Tehilla Blad, Sindre Postholm March 19, 2017; Stockholm Given Christine is from Sweden, it's only fair to include the recent Stockholm production. https://www.mediafire.com/file/zkl38t9388gcvh7/POTO_Sweden_2017-03-19_PJ_EC_AZ.wav/file Tim Howar, Amy Manford, Jeremy Taylor, Kimberly Blake, Ross Dawes, Alan Vicary, Jacinta Mulcahy, Georgia Ware, Paul Ettore Tabone September 7, 2019; London This one is different from the one listed as NFT (so don't get mad at me, haha). Last performance for Amy Manford in the West End production. https://www.mediafire.com/file/vf60ie1er18rkon/POTO_West_End_07-09-2019_-_Howar%252C_Manford%252C_Taylor.rar/file Ben Crawford, Meghan Picerno, John Riddle October 26, 2019 Because we all love a Christine with opera chops. https://www.mediafire.com/file/9gji0khgfoazjqd/POTO_Broadway_26-10-2019_-_Crawford%252C_Picerno%252C_Riddle.rar/file 

POTO videos

Earl Carpenter, Rachel Barrell, David Shannon, Wendy Ferguson, David Lawrence (u/s), Sam Hiller, Emily Harvey (u/s), Heidi Ann O'Brien, Rohan Tickell January 2006 VOB format.  If you want to see Earl in London right now but can't... this video is the best quality overall that features him, and Rachel Barrell is a fantastic Christine - one of my favorites in the role. https://mega.nz/folder/u09GQKyR#gjNHj4Letd9YInTsuLowjA Gary Mauer, Elizabeth Southard, Jim Weitzer, Kim Stengel, John Jellison, DC Anderson, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Kate Wray, John Whitney April 6, 2006; Dallas VOB format.  For my Eristine moots (I see you!): Gary Mauer and Elizabeth Southard were (and as far as I know, still are) married while performing as the Phantom and Christine, and you thought Ramin and Sierra's chemistry was off the charts, think again. https://mega.nz/folder/PtExxS5A#D4yyf2g_lXoN-cIDPkMU2Q Anthony Crivello, Kristi Holden, Andrew Ragone, Geena Jeffries Mattox, John Leslie Wolfe, Lawson Skala, Tina Walsh, Brianne Kelly Morgan, Larry Wayne Morbitt August 8, 2008; Las Vegas VOB format. This is the Las Vegas Spectacular production, which is abriged compared to the original but totally worth seeing. If you want to understand why I love Meg Giry so much, Brianne Kelly Morgan is one of the best I've ever seen in the role. Also, if you’re meh about Raoul... with Andrew Ragone, think again. He’s one of the most Superman/Clark Kent Raouls I’ve seen. And I really like Kristi Holden’s Leroux-esque Christine too.  https://mega.nz/folder/Sh1zxSAB#twtXau8Y8pd_L9tMQLa4Mg Jeremy Stolle (u/s), Samantha Hill, Greg Mills (u/s), Michele McConnell, Tim Jerome, Richard Poole (u/s), Ellen Harvey, Kara Klein, Christian Sebek March 9, 2013 VOB format. Missing part of Act 1 (‘Stranger Than You Dreamt It’ to Il Muto), but otherwise complete. This is one of the best trios I've seen on Broadway, and Samantha Hill is just a fantastic Christine overall. https://mega.nz/folder/y1slyJRD#OP1Tp5Cj_fMk9LbAWJMqAA Tomas Ambt Kofod, Sibylle Glosted, Christian Lund, Louise Fribo, Carl Christian Rasmussen, Sebastian Harris, Elisabeth Halling, Imogen-Lilly Ash, Rasmus Jupin March 2019; Copenhagen VOB format. This one is more recent, but given it's been uploaded on YouTube, I guess it's fine to gift it (again, if you’re the master and you want me to remove this, please let me know).This one has one of the best casts ever caught on tape. Seriously. Everyone in this is a star. https://mega.nz/folder/q40hTagI#Zui14MWo-F2YSQ0gNdaL6Q



Les Mis Audios

Colm Wilkinson, Roger Allam, Patti LuPone, Alun Armstrong, Sue Jane Tanner, Michael Ball, Frances Ruffele, Rebecca Caine, David Burt 1985; London Preview at the Barbican Centre. This is interesting since it includes Cosette's song "I Saw Him Once", which has been cut later.  https://www.mediafire.com/file/jbedqiemuk9qnd1/Les_Mis_West_End_1985_-_Wilkinson%252C_Allam.rar/file Symphonic recording (1989)  Gary Morris, Philip Quast, Debra Byrne, Michael Ball, Tracy Shayne, Kaho Shimada, Anthony Warlow, Barry James, Gay Soper https://www.mediafire.com/file/n7gp30jcpnjfkf7/Les_Miserables_Symphonic_Recording.rar/file Kyle Jean-Baptiste (u/s), Earl Carpenter, Erika Henningsen, Chris McCarrell, Samantha Hill, Brennyn Lark, Max Quinlan (u/s), Gavin Lee, Rachel Izen August 13, 2015; Broadway For Kyle Jean-Baptiste, who was an amazing performer gone way too soon. RIP. https://www.mediafire.com/file/fzj2qubunkrrfhc/Les_Mis_Broadway_13-08-2015_-_Jean-Baptiste%252C_Carpenter.rar/file John Owen-Jones, Michael Ball, Carrie Hope Fletcher, Craig Mather (u/s), Lily Kerhoas, Shan Ako, Bradley Jaden, Matt Lucas, Katy Secombe, Earl Carpenter October 16, 2019; London All-star concert! https://www.mediafire.com/file/nh28zdry93vhry2/Les_Mis_London_Concert_16-10-2019_-_Owen-Jones%252C_Ball.rar/file

Elisabeth das Musical

Original Cast Recording (1992) Pia Douwes, Uwe Kroeger, Ethan Freeman, Andreas Bieber, Viktor Gernot, Else Ludwig https://www.mediafire.com/file/fagi9ctooeq2y11/Elisabeth-Original_German_Cast.rar/file Vienna revival cast recording (2006)  Maya Hakvoort, Mate Kamaras, Serkan Kaya, André Bauer, Fritz Schmid, Else Ludwig https://www.mediafire.com/file/7wpqbotp8oszzz3/Elisabeth_-_2006_Vienna_Cast.rar/file



Sweeney Todd

2000 Concert Cast Recording George Hearn, Patti LuPone, Davis Gaines, Heidi Grant Murphy, Paul Plishka, Audra McDonald, Standford Olsen, Neil Patrick Harris, John Aler Pretty sure this isn't on Spotify, which is a real shame given its cast. So enjoy! EDIT: Someone pointed out to me that the recording is incomplete - probably a result of the Great Hardware Crash of 2016, so until I get the full version, this will probably stay incomplete. Sorry about that! https://www.mediafire.com/file/ywoiqe5bnlzr7bs/Sweeney_Todd_2000_New_York_Concert_Cast.rar/file

[noppan]

POTO restaged tour trailer comparison!

[marleneoftheopera]

More Kayleigh photos from her Christine show yesterday!

[glassprism]

I know Mackintosh wanted a cheap production to travel with but couldn't they keep at least the original blockings in the POTO Restaged Tour? It's just choreography, how it was going to cost more? And who directed that cringefest?? Even high school productions aren't that bad. I'm still enraged about christine slapping Raoul, because wtf??

Because Cameron Mackintosh did not just want a cheap production that travels easily, he wanted a cheap production where he would not have to pay royalties to the original creatives, Hal Prince, Maria Bjornson, Gillian Lynne, and so on. One of the big costs of putting on the original is the licensing: paying to use the original direction, costumes, choreography, and so on, because even if the creatives are not directly involved in that specific production, it is still using their ideas to make the show a success, and they deserve to be paid in part for doing that. So to answer your question, no, it's really not "just choreography", it is a large part of the cost, and if you want a cheaper production, that is a thing you have to cut (by changing it).

Of course, as people who were around back then might know, the restaged tour was not entirely popular with fans or even some critics, and so a compromise of sorts was made, where a production was created that sticks as closely to the original as it can but deviates just enough that they don't have to pay royalties to, at the very least, Hal Prince, the original director. And that's how we got the modified UK tour that ran so briefly in 2020 and the reopened London production / London revival (which, yes, is legally considered a whole new production).

As for the person who directed the restaging, it was Laurence Connor, who has directed, among other things, the Les Miserables restaging as well as the Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera 25th anniversary concerts. And if you're curious, the person who directed the modified UK tour / London revival is Seth Sklar-Heyn, who also served as a producer and associate director in the restaged tours. So if you watch the London revival (or the reopened Broadway production) and noticed some similarities in blocking between that and the restaging, well, that's probably why.

[maryasmorevna]

It’s been some days, but can I ask your opinions about Phantom in Milan?

yes of course!! so, here are the things i enjoyed:

the performances were all very solid. ramin karimloo's voice has grown far better with time - he was never one of my super fav phantoms of all time but i always enjoyed him and it was really a treat to see him live. amelia milo is a lovely christine, and vinny coyle was also good as raoul. ah! and i got to see earl carpenter as andré (he's a superb actor and singer, and acting wise probably my fav erik ever)

the audience was on fire and very enthusiastic. the performers received multiple standing ovations at the curtain call - it was really a magical experience

in general the new staging, costumes, coreography were alright, and tbh far better (for the most part) than the restaged tour lmao. sure, the black angel wings of doom in the graveyard trio scene + the yellow coat/giant hat combo in ponr were a Choice but honestly? i didn't mind it so much, it kinda worked on stage.

in general i obviously prefer the original production but this was still a worthwhile experience. even my dad (who can't understand one word of english but was already vaguely familiar with the plot) absolutely loved it - he even said it was the best thing he saw in milan lmao. now he's a poto fan too sdfghjfjf

so tl;dr: they did a lot of things right. what i disliked instead:

in the graveyard scene... well it really doesn't look like a graveyard, to the point that my brother (who like my dad is familiar with the musical and even read the book many years ago) didn't understand that it was supposed to be a graveyard at all lol. the scenography was very bare ngl (they possibly saved some money for the abovementioned black angel wings of doom lmao)

i thought the staging for aiaoy was a bit... heh. basically raoul and christine don't really touch/hug each other until the end of the song (with the big damn kiss etc.) and it was a weird choice since this is supposed to be a romantic scene; in fact it kinda reminded me of the restaged tour version. same with motn (erik & christine don't have any physical contact until the famous 'touch me, trust me' bit, while in the og there's this interesting thing where he barely touches her at all/she leans into him etc. until the climax) but it makes more sense here. i mean, this is just a pet peeve of mine, both scenes were fine. as you pointed out it's been some days since i saw the show so maybe i'm misremembering it all. if anyone out there has a better memory than i have and wants to correct me you're free to do so lol

in the final lair scene, after erik lets christine & raoul go, she does return to give him back the ring but whereas in the original they face each other here she just. leaves it there (tho she looks emotional) while erik is facing the audience and singing 'i love you'. again, this doesn't ruin the show or anything but i prefer the more intimate scene from the original.

obv there were a lot of changes/additions to the og production and i can't list them all (i suppose other phans already did) but imho it's one of the most 'loyal' non-replicas out there, and while the original brilliant is still. you know. the og brilliant and all in all superior/far more spectacular this did not disappoint 💜

[operafantomet]

Corps de Ballet photographed in the Restaged Tour in Vienna, photo by Robert Meyer through Ema Amaral

[andrewlloydwebber]

I notice POTO Vienna doesn't have an alternate Christine, do you think Lisanne Veeneman will do all the shows unless sick or on holiday?

the restaged productions (and many other productions over the last 5-7 years) seem to not give as much attention to the alternate Christine as much. in the three, soon to be four productions of the laurence connor nightmare direction, the only alternate to get an official stage photo was olivia brereton in the restaged uk tour.

some of the us tour alternate/understudies (more on that later) had some side of the stage performance pictures taken by matthew murphy, but those were never printed in the brochure or put on posters. and i don't remember anything of bridget costello either in australia.

meanwhile, broadway, west end, and old us tour alternates usually had a few stage photos taken and at least one of them included in the brochure and a poster outside the theatre.

the restaged US tour christines also had weird schedules, at one point no one could publicly post or answer questions about when they were going on, sometimes there was a "first cover/second cover" situation where one got preference over the other, I remember reading stuff from one of the understudies "[the principal] just takes off any two shows she likes and I do them, any shows I miss or additional shows the principal takes off are covered by the other understudy" (i think i'm paraphrasing celia hottenstein when katie travis was principal but i don't fully remember). and then some time (a couple of years/cast changes) later, suddenly there wasn't as much rhyme or reason to it and both were considered "understudies" with no alternate.

and of course the restaged tour "alterstudies" all perform in the ensemble when not playing christine, as opposed to previous replica productions such as broadway and old us tours, which for the most part have the christine alternate do 1-3 shows a week with a generally set schedule and having the day off when not performing and no additional role besides christine. plus there's 1-2 understudies with a regular ensemble track or swing role.

the vienna revival lists 2 cover christines performing regularly as "princesses", leonie kappmeyer and lillian maandag, but no indication that one is "christine at certain performances" or "first cover". i doubt lisanne clémence veeneman will do 8 shows a week, but i'm not sure how they will arrange who covers her off shows and what dates the 2 covers will perform. at first i wondered if leonie kappmeyer was first cover because she is listed first on the website cast list, with lillian maandag the next person listed, but then i realized the ensemble is listed in alphabetical order by last name, and it's just coincidence that leonie and lillian are next to each other. i guess we'll find out

[dogmouthhorse]

had to turn off my fan to be able to write this post for some reason. anyway. watched umm. poto uk restaged tour today w earl carpenter olivia brereton and simon bailey + and i like 2 see what ppl think after i watch something so i was reading some posts about the restaged + frankly ppl were sooo boring about it. they were like ohh its so aggressive and violent :( like yes. its the phantom of the opera whether alw knows it or not it is a story about abuse+misogyny. and arguably some of the abuse is worse but broadly the restaged tours big difference is that it's not shying away from the abuse. like tbf u can feel how u like w the slap i think it was awesome but that may be a result of specifically simon bailey being the coldest least empathetic and nastiest raoul ive ever seen so. could go either way. but like. the wedding dress+the choking etc. that is the substance of the text. it just feels like ppl r so obsessed w their e/c or whatever that they r trying to willfully ignore the emotional/physical/sexual abuse that is blatantly there but once him forcing her to change is slightly shown onstage instead of just implied offstage it's like. impossible to be ignored. the phantom is an abusive misogynist in this show and he always was + that is GOOD‼️ play with meeeee engage with the text with meeeee

[lot666achandelierinpieces]

Quentin Oliver Lee.

To commemorate his performance, after news of his passing. The Phantom of the Opera (25th Anniversary Tour)  San Francisco - September 5, 2018 (Eve) - MaskedLion’s Master Quentin Oliver Lee, Eva Tavares, Jordan Craig, Trista Moldovan, David Benoit, Edward Staudenmayer, Kristie Dale Sanders, Phumzile Sojola, Emily Ramirez AUDIO GIFT