The Phantom
of the Opera
Musical Comedy by Ken Hill
Music by
Verdi Gounod Offenbach
Mozart Weber Donizetti Bolto
Tupperware Theatre
Kissimmee, Florida
Autumn 1990
THE CAST
(In Order of Appearance)
Jammes
Richard
Rémy
Debienne
Raoul
Mephistopheles
Stage Hand
Faust
Madam Giry
Christine Daaé
La Carlotta
The Phantom
The Groom
The Grave Digger
Lisette
The Old Man
The Persian
Dominque
Mauclair
The Chorus Girl
The Priest
|
Arianna
Fred Foster
Jack A. Matter
John Lynch
Michael F. Park
Vincent Hardy
Michelle Rosen
Ross Halper
Lucy Sorlucco
Lise Brown
Cynthia Donaldson
Todd Alan Johnson
John Lynch
John Lynch
Michelle Rosen
John Lynch
Vincent Hardy
Cynthia Donaldson
John Lynch
Cynthia Donaldson
John Lynch |
Song List
ACT ONE
1. Welcome, Sir I'm so Delighted
"Jamais, foi de Cicerone"
from La Vie Parisienne by Offenbach
2. Accursed Be All Ye Thoughts
"Maudites soyez-vous"
from Faust by Gounod
3. How Dare She!
"O inferno! Amelia qui!"
from Simon Boccanegra by Verdi
4. Late Last Night I'm in the Cellars
"Son lo spirito che nega sempre"
from Mefistofele by Boito
5. Love Has Gone, Never Returning
"Elle a fui, la Tourterelle"
from Les Contes d'Hoffman by Offenbach
6. She Says She's Got the Nodules
"A Paris nous arrivons en masse"
from La Vie Parisienne by Offenbach
7. What Do I See?
"Que vois-je là?"
from Faust by Gounod
8. To Pain My Heart Selfishly Dooms Me
"Hélàs, mon coeur"
from Les Contes d'Hoffman by Offenbach
|
Debienne, Rémy,Faust,
Mephistopheles,Richard,
Raoul,Jammes
Faust
Raoul
The Groom
Christine
Faust,Jammes,
Rémy,Debienne,Carlotta,
Richard,Christine,Lisette
Carlotta
(Christine)
The Phantom,Raoul,
Christine
|
ACT TWO
9. Ah, Do I Hear Thee Once Again?
"Ah! c'est la voix"
from Faust by Gounod
10.No Sign, I See No Sign
"Du Weisst, dass meine Frist
from Der Freischutz by Weber
and "Re dell'abisso afrettati"
from Un Ballo in Maschera by Verdi
11.Somewhere Above the Sun Shines Bright
"Non so le tetre immagini"
from Il Corasaro by Verdi
12.Born with a Monstrous Countenance
"Mentre gonfiarsi l'anima"
from Attila by Verdi
13.What an Awful Way to Perish
"Chi mi frena in tal momento"
from Lucia di Lammermoor by Donizetti
14.Ne'er Forsake Me, Here Remain
"Avant de quitter ces lieux"
from Faust by Gounod
15.Ne'er Forsake Me, Here Remain
(Reprise)
16.He Will Not Go Without a Friend
"Alla vita è sempre ugual"
from Don Giovanni by Mozart |
Faust, Christine
Debienne,Richard,
Raoul,Rémy,Dominque,
Faust,Jammes,Madame Giry,
Lisette
Christine
The Persian
Faust,The Persian,
Madame Giry,Richard,
Raoul,Jammes
The Phantom
The Phantom,Christine
The Company
|
Review
This one was a local production by a local arts college in Orlando, Florida. It screamed of "The Phantom Amateur Hour" compared to live shows I've seen at performing arts centers, but I got to watch it for free. (A family member got free tickets from work.) All or most of the other members in my group, mistaking it for the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, were confused and disappointed. Much to my horror, something went wrong with the Phantom's microphone, of all times, during his death scene.
Even with these things going all wrong, I found myself enjoying my visit nonetheless. After I watched the Charles Dance miniseries, I had for months been researching different arias from different operas. Needless to say, when I heard these now familiar tunes on stage and now in English, my inner Horshack emerged as I was sitting there to myself, "Oh! Oh! Oh! I know that one!"
It is mostly a "Phunny Phantom" musical. The Phantom and Christine Daaé are serious roles, but everyone else is portrayed comically. Even Carlotta's murder is portrayed comically.
The lyrics are set to the tunes of old classical operas. One of my personal favorites is "Ne'er Forsake Me, Here Remain," the Phantom's plea for Christine's love set to the tune of "Valentin's Aria" from Charles Gounod's Faust. Years later, someone gave me a CD copy of the musical and this soundtrack had another song strangely missing from the production I saw. It is titled "While Floating High Above," set to the tune of "Je crois encore entendre" (Nadir's Aria) from Bizet's The Pearl Fishers. I love this one. Too bad it was not included in the production I saw.
Carlotta (and later Christine) sing the role of Marguerite from Faust, but instead of singing it in French as in the movies from 1983, 1989, and 1990, they are sung in English.
Technically, this one is "the original London Stage (Phantom) Musical." Ken Hill conceived of the idea of a Phantom musical long before anyone else, even Andrew Lloyd Webber. It seems recordings are hard to find, especially compared to other musicals. The best chance at finding one would most likely be on eBay.
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