{"id":13099,"date":"2012-05-16T10:27:10","date_gmt":"2012-05-16T14:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=13099"},"modified":"2022-09-29T12:55:49","modified_gmt":"2022-09-29T16:55:49","slug":"the-phantom-of-the-opera-haunts-festival-playhouse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2012\/05\/16\/the-phantom-of-the-opera-haunts-festival-playhouse\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThe Phantom of the Opera\u201d haunts Festival Playhouse"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>

“The Phantom of the Opera is there inside your mind.”<\/p><\/div>\n

It\u2019s not uncommon for a theatre to be considered \u201chaunted\u201d; actors, like athletes, can be notoriously superstitious. At present, however, the Wright State University theatre is occupied by a different sort of spectre, this one more spectacular than supernatural.<\/p>\n

Wright State\u2019s much-anticipated production of The Phantom of the Opera<\/em> has taken over the Festival Playhouse. The show has already sold out its entire 15-performance run.<\/p>\n

Check out our Follow the Phantom video series!<\/a><\/p>\n

Andrew Lloyd Webber\u2019s gothic musical tells the story of a twisted musical genius and his dangerously obsessive love for Christine, the young soprano capable of giving life to his songs. It is based on the 1909 French novel Le Fant\u00f4me de l’Op\u00e9ra<\/em> by Gaston Leroux.<\/p>\n

Winner of seven Tony Awards, The Phantom of the Opera<\/em> is currently the longest-running show on Broadway. In 2004, it became a feature film starring Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>

“Masquerade. Paper faces on parade.”<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cOur students all know this show inside and out,\u201d said W. Stuart McDowell, chair of the Department of Theatre, Dance and Motion Pictures. \u201cThey came to auditions with the songs already memorized.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those auditions were highly competitive, with one of the largest turnouts McDowell says he\u2019s seen for a Wright State production.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have some wonderful actors in this department and we probably could have cast several people in each of the lead roles,\u201d said McDowell. \u201cWe have some real \u2018bench strength,\u2019 as they would say in baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the end, the coveted title role went to junior musical theatre major Casey Jordan. He was previously seen in Wright State\u2019s productions of Hairspray<\/em>, Little Women <\/em>and Anything Goes<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhantom<\/em> knocks anything else I\u2019ve ever done out of the water completely,\u201d said Jordan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really had to take a step back before diving in because the Phantom is such an icon,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd the trouble with an icon is that you don\u2019t want to play it just like everyone has played it before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>

“Listen to the music of the night.”<\/p><\/div>\n

The production also stars senior musical theatre majors Sam Helmstetter as Christine and Patrick Ross as Raoul.<\/p>\n

Producing the musical is quite an undertaking, with more than 30 students in the cast and one of the largest orchestras the department has ever used. The set includes a massive chandelier that hangs over the audience and plays a pivotal role in the show\u2019s first act.<\/p>\n

Though many in the audience have already experienced The Phantom of the Opera<\/em>, onstage or at the movies, McDowell promises a few surprises along the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome aspects of this production will be unlike any you\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Performances run through May 27 in the Festival Playhouse of the Creative Arts Center on Wright State University\u2019s Dayton campus.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\t\t