BWW Interviews: THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA On Tour's Chris Mann

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA continues to entertain audiences all over the world. The success of this musical shows its staying power everywhere it is performed. As PHANTOM OF THE OPERA comes to the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio, BWW caught up with Chris Mann who currently plays the role of the Phantom as it travels around North America.

I heard something happened to your foot. Are you doing better?

Yes. I am doing better. Thank you. I had a little bit of a crazy incident. A piece of the set fell from the ceiling onto my foot. It is better than onto my head where it easily could have fallen but it took me out for a week and I started again on Tuesday. I'm not fixed but I am able to wear a shoe and walk better and am able to do the show.

I know you've been performing for a long time and had an opportunity to be a part of THE VOICE. Can you give us a brief synopsis of how it all came about for you?

I have been in and out of record deals before and I've had auditions for AMERICAN IDOL before and even THE VOICE and hadn't gotten on. I wasn't surprised since I wasn't a young Pop/ R&B singer but I tried again and it was different this time. I got on and I at least had the opportunity to be in the blind auditions. (I) even had Mark Burnett come up to me that day and kind of imply to me that they weren't sure how far I was going to go. I think I might have been more of a diversity element for them for the casting direction but ended up almost winning the whole thing. It was a really incredible experience to be able to go out and sing big and do the kind of music that I love to do and have it be so embraced by the country and what that allowed because of the ten years I had been in the business before when I came off the show I was really able to hit the ground running. I got another record deal with Universal and immediately starting working with PBS and did a couple television concert specials for them. I ended up touring to support for the better part of two years with the symphonies and performing arts centers around the country. When that finished, when it sort of came to the end of that tour, is when I had a meeting with my representatives and said I'd really like to perform in a different way and get back on the stage in music theater, specifically with this as a goal, PHANTOM, and within a couple weeks PHANTOM announced auditions and I auditioned for Raul and was cast as Phantom.

You were talking about your other musical endeavors as well and I know that you recorded the single, "Remember Me," not too long ago about Alzheimer's. Tell us a little bit about that one.

That is a song and a video that I have recorded and released since I have been on the road with PHANTOM. It was a really fun project to be involved (in). I have Alzheimer's in my family. When I was shooting film for my PBS special, I met an Alzheimer's researcher/doctor named Rudy Tanzi, who had this PBS special called SUPER BRAIN with Deepak Chopra. It's all about brain exercises to help prevent Alzheimer's. We became friends and bonded over that and ended up writing a song with my wife called "Remember Me" which was originally intended for the movie STILL ALICE. We ended up releasing it as a single and made a beautiful, beautiful music video with one of the dancers from PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and use makeup to show sort of transitional aging by my PHANTOM makeup artist. It all went to help benefit the Cure Alzheimer's Fund. It was a real passion project and something I'm very proud of. I enjoy continuing making my music on the road. I still do my concerts occasionally while I'm out here and I'm recording a full length album as we speak which includes "Music of the Night" from PHANTOM. So it's sorta fun to keep my solo career going while I'm performing in PHANTOM as well.

I did see that you've just gotten your album completely funded through PledgeMusic?

I have done two albums with major labels. This is my first time doing an independent project. It's so much fun. I'm really glad that I choose to do it this way and to have the support of my fan base and the people I sing for every night in PHANTOM. It is incredible. Yeah, the album's funded and I've finished vocals on it and we are just wrapping up production on it. It'll come out probably in the spring.

Let's talk a little more about PHANTOM. You told me you went in for the part of Raul and then ended up getting the Phantom part. Tell us a little more about that audition process.

The held auditions in Los Angeles and, again, I was going in for Raul. So I was singing "All I Ask of You" and they kinda stopped me and said, "You're a Phantom. Can you sing "Music of the Night?" I was like, "Sure" and I ended up getting called back for PHANTOM in New York. That's where I went through the whole big audition which the full production staff, casting directors, director from the UK, instructor from the UK, and they film it and send it to Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber and about an hour where we really through the show and he's directing me and now I understand why I would be more of a Phantom than a Raul. I just naturally have kind of an intense look to me in general and I can get kind of intense and that feeds right on into the Phantom to have that sort of intensity. I got so happy and lucky that they thought I would be the right guy to sort of take on the show.

Do you have anything that you do to prepare to go on stage each night?

Yeah. I do. Aside from my warm up earlier in the day and then again around four o'clock, I always do some sort of cardiovascular warm up, running or going to the gym. Then when I get to when I have an hour in the makeup chair so I warm up during that time and then after that's finished I usually do some stretching and breathing exercises on the ground and then the show starts but I kind of have a slow, all day warm up.

When you're on the road, do you get a chance to do any sightseeing?

I always make a point to do that. We're in Tucson right now and I feel like we've really gotten to enjoy Tucson. That's the best part about touring is getting to come into these places that I've never been, like San Antonio, and we go to Houston after that and it's fun. I can't wait to sort of see what each city has to offer. My favorite thing to do is find the best coffee. I'm a huge coffee drinker so I find the best coffee shops.

How has your portrayal of the Phantom evolved as you've continued to play him night after night?

In retrospect, it's nothing that you can come out of the gates and like just totally get from a character and from a production stand point. I think it's evolved. There's a lot going on and the show's so big that we have to work with the director and have notes sessions all the time, Cameron will come in and our executives from the UK and they like to sort of keep it fresh and kind of keep it from becoming the same thing all the time. I think they try to prevent that from happening.

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA opens at the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio and plays from November 5-15, 2015. There are a limited number of tickets still available by going to www.majesticempire.com. Don't miss this limited engagement.

PHOTO CREDIT: Matthew Murphy