UK Theatre Network

 
Last night saw the launch of  Livescreen at the Waterside, a new programme of cinema screenings, which will bring some of the best theatre in the UK, broadcast live in High Definition via satellite to the intimacy of the Waterside’s Second Space.

A full season of screenings will be announced in the Spring,  but the launch gave us the opportunity to join the audience of the Royal Albert Hall as Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh presented their special 25th Anniversary concert of The Phantom of the Opera.  The show was a fully-staged, lavish production, with a cast and orchestra of over 200 and was broadcast live to big screens across the globe.

The Phantom of the Opera became the longest running show in Broadway history on 9 January 2006 when it celebrated its 7,486th performance, surpassing the previous record holder Cats.  This coincided with the Broadway and the US national touring company celebrating an unprecedented 20,000 performances in the United States. In October 2010 the London production celebrated its 10,000th performance.

The pre-show film showed Andrew Lloyd Webber, Cameron Mackintosh, Gillian Lynn and Hal Prince telling us how the production began and developed to become the most successful musical of all time.

The Phantom of the Opera has won over 60 major theatre awards, including seven Tony Awards on Broadway and three Olivier Awards in the West End.  It won the Most Popular Musical Audience Award, voted by the public, in the 2002 Laurence Olivier Awards.  The Phantom of the Opera, which opened at Her Majesty's Theatre on 9 October 1986 starred Michael Crawford as The Phantom and Sarah Brightman as Christine. It is produced by Cameron Mackintosh and The Really Useful Theatre Company Limited.  Worldwide, The Phantom of the Opera has grossed over $5.6 billion. The box office revenues are higher than any film or stage play in history, including Avatar, Titanic, ET and Star Wars.  It has been seen in 145 cities in 27 countries and played to over 130 million people.  The Phantom of the Opera is currently showing in London, New York, Budapest, Las Vegas, and Kyoto.

This special production starred Ramin Karimloo as The Phantom and Sierra Boggess as Christine. They were joined by Barry James as Monsieur Firmin, Gareth Snook as Monsieur André, Liz Robertson as Madame Giry and Wynne Evans as Piangi, together with a cast and orchestra of over 200. The original cast joined Andrew Lloyd Webber and the cast on stage after the show.  Michael Crawford made a special guest appearance  and Sarah Brightman sang The Music of the Night, alongside some of the previous Phantoms.

The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall was directed by Laurence Connor with Musical Staging and Choreography by Gillian Lynne, based on the original London Production Directed by Hal Prince with Musical Staging and Choreography by Gillian Lynne. The Royal Albert Hall was transformed with a spectacular and unique design by Matt Kinley inspired by Maria Björnson’s original design. Lighting was by Patrick Woodroffe and Andrew Bridge and Sound by Mick Potter. The production was produced by Cameron Mackintosh.

The event will also subsequently be released on November 14th on DVD, Blu-ray™, CD and Download as a must-have anniversary release for fans everywhere. The staged version has never been available before to own on DVD or Blu-ray, and The Phantom of the Opera original cast recording album remains one of the biggest selling music titles of all time. A limited edition 4CD and DVD Collectors’ box set will also be issued to celebrate 25 years of The Phantom of the Opera.

It really was a wonderful experience to be a part of this spectacular event and even though we were watching the show on screen, we all felt drawn into the story and clapped enthusiastically alongside the live audience!  It’s a brilliant development in technology for a live theatre show to be broadcast around the country and indeed the world. It gives everyone an opportunity to experience a show they may never be able to see live in the theatre, but makes it accessible to us all and that can only be good for bringing new people into our regional theatres.

For details of the current programme at the Waterside Theatre  call the Box Office, 0844 871 7607 (bkg fee) or visit www.atgtickets.com/aylesbury  (bkg fee)

Reviewed by:
Yvonne Delahaye
2.10.11