The New Production of The Phantom of the Opera Premieres in Hawaii

Last night I was fortunate to have watched Cameron Mackintosh’s new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera at the Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall (runs through September 1).

Cast members Jordan Craig, Emma Grimsley, Derrick Davis

The production incorporates reinvented staging and scene design, and is performed by a cast and orchestra of fifty-two.

The media night performance was spectacular. I had never seen the show - I've only seen the movie, and I thought the story was engaging, the sets were intriguing, and the songs were stirring.

The Phantom of the Opera had the right amount of humor speckled throughout the show, and each time Raoul, Christine, or The Phantom sang, it was captivating.

I thought the set design was clever, especially The Labyrinth Underground, and of course - the other "star" of the show, the chandelier, was a spectacular sight.

The closer you are seated to the stage, the better it will be to see important aspects of the show, however, no matter where you are seated, you will be enthralled by the new production. By the end I was moved to tears by the powerful final scene, and I was fortunate to have met cast members Jordan Craig, Emma Grimsley, Derrick Davis at an after party and tell them in person just how amazing their performances were.

The Phantom of the Opera is part of a three-show series presented by Broadway in Hawaii beginning in the fall of 2019 that also includes The Illusionists – Live From Broadway and RENT – The 20th Anniversary Tour. The only way to secure your tickets now is by purchasing the three-show package or by ordering a group of 10+. Visit www.BroadwayinHawaii.com for details.

For more information on the production and a video sneak peek, please visit www.ThePhantomOfTheOpera.com/ustour/

Fun facts about The Phantom of the Opera Tour from a recent press release:

Load–in

• 75 local stagehands are hired in every market to load the production into the theatre
• 35 local stagehands are used for each performance
• 20 trucks are used to move the production from city to city (16 trucks in the building, 4 more trucks for the jump/advance)

Costumes

• The show incorporates most of the Maria Björnson designs from the original production.
• There are a few pieces from the original production that are over 25 years old used in this production.
• Over 1,200 costume pieces used during the show.
• Each ballet girl goes through a pair of ballet shoes every 2-3 weeks
• Madame Giry has only 1 costume

Wigs

• Over 120 wigs travel with Phantom
• About 50 wigs are used in the show every night
• All wigs are made from human hair except for 5
• Stock of about 50 mustaches

Sound

• Phantom uses over 200 speakers
• Approximately 50 are used just for the surround sound package

Electrics

• Over 85 moving lights in the design that utilizes 4 different kinds of haze/smoke effects.

Chandelier

• Over 6,000 beads are on the chandelier
• Each strand has 632 beads
• The chandelier weighs 1 ton
• This new chandelier was designed by Howard Eaton (who designed the Olympic rings for the London ceremonies)

Scenery

• The main scenic wall weighs 10 tons and rotates around the stage
• The 2 opera boxes scenic elements together take up a full truck to travel from city to city

Orchestra

• 17 orchestra members plus conductor perform Andrew Lloyd Webber’s magnificent score every performance

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Broadway Musical Wicked by Lottery

This way to see Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre.

Even though we were in New York for just 48 hours, we just had to make time to see a Broadway play.  Since our last night's itinerary wasn't set in stone, we decided to try our luck with Broadway lottery tickets which could get us greatly discounted tickets.  We first tried for Anastasia's digital lottery that opens up at midnight of the day of performance.  We were promptly notified at 2pm that we didn't win.  We decided to show up at Wicked's in-person lottery held 2 ½ hours prior to show time.  Just 30 minutes later, names were drawn for 26 orchestra seats at $30.00 each.  I literally jumped for joy when my name was called!  Even if you don't win, stick around because they might still be able to offer you discounted tickets.  At our lottery, they were offering the crowd $69 tickets which is great as tickets start at $99 for the show.     

People trying their luck at Wicked's in-person lottery.

Here is the view of the stage from our orchestra seats!  Both Gem and I had seen the show in Hawaii, but I am glad we decided to see it again.  It had been so long that I had forgotten a lot of the plot!  The show was amazing and it was such an awesome experience to see Wicked on Broadway!  

Amazing seats from the in-person lottery.

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Visit New York: School of Rock - The Musical

When planning our trip to New York, we did not have any Broadway shows on our itinerary, but once there, we found ourselves with a free afternoon, so we decided to see one.

We opted to try and get tickets for School of Rock - The Musical at Winter Garden Theatre. We checked tickets the night before, and it was well over $150 a piece, so we decided to try our luck the next morning at the box office with Rush tickets.

And did we luck out!

We got 5 seats together, full view, for just $39 a ticket!

The employee said that is very unusual to get 5 seats together, and to get full view for all those seats is even rarer.

The show itself was remarkable (if you're not familiar with the film, the synopsis according to the website: Based on the film of the same name, School of Rock—The Musical tells the story of wannabe rock star Dewey Finn, who poses as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. When he discovers his students’ musical talents, he enlists his fifth-graders to form a rock group and conquer the Battle of the Bands).

The understudy, Jonathan Wagner, was fantastic as Dewey, and the kids were amazing.  They play all of their own instruments, and they were all just so talented!

There was a nice amount of humor, and there were many touching moments as well.

School of Rock - The Musical is a fantastic show for all ages!

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