Bob Dylan's Artwork Is Featured in MASQUERADE Off-Broadway

While many aspects of Off-Broadway's immersive Phantom of the Opera production, Masquerade, have been kept from the general public, one piece of artwork has a surprising backstory. Singer-songwriter Bob Dylan was commissioned to weld ironwork gates specifically for the production.

Masquerade’s creative director, Shai Baitel, revealed to Vulture that he approached Dylan to create the piece, citing his consistent inspiration of Paris to be a large factor.

“Bob is very connected to Paris. This is something that has influenced his entire career,” he shared. “The Paris of the late 1800s, when the Phantom story was conceived, made me suggest including him. There was a wealth of his artwork that I could look into and review.”

The gates that Dylan created are made of found objects from Minnesota, mostly metallic pieces and scraps from railroads and bridges.

The gates were originally intended for an outdoor graveyard scene with Christine Daaé. However, the idea was scrapped due to the outdoor scenes being dependent on weather. Now, they are used for a new narrative specific to Masquerade, a scene that introduce's the Phantom's tragic upbringing at a freak show.

“When you enter the mirror maze, there’s Dylan’s gates that are welcoming you, and when you exit it’s a farewell,” Baitel continued. “If you look carefully, you can see there’s some elements from Phantom, like roses, incorporated into his art. There’s so much in Dylan’s approach to the way he sees the world and society. The Phantom had a chance to see society, but it was very cruel for him. And he evolved into the genius creature when he was isolated, whereas Dylan was very connected to society. I was very intrigued by this dichotomy. The Phantom is the genius of music and Bob is the genius of everything.”

Baitel confirms that "a lot was invested in" the piece, although an NDA prevented him from naming a price. Dylan worked on the gates in 2024 and 2025.

Masquerade blurs the lines of reality, bringing audiences inside and closer than ever before to the strange affair of The Phantom of the Opera – a mystery never fully explained. From the highest rooftop to the subterranean lair deep below the Opera Populaire, guests are invited to experience the Music Of The Night more intimately than ever before. And when the iconic chandelier rises again above New York City, it provides more than just “a little illumination,” with a dazzling display of over 30,000 crystals provided by Preciosa, the Official Crystal Partner of Masquerade. M.A.C. COSMETICS is the show’s Official Makeup Partner. Champagne is provided by Taittinger.

The cast of Masquerade includes Alaska, Laura Lee Anderson, Baby Byrne, Nicholas Edwards, Gabriella Enriquez, Haile Ferrier, Nkrumah Gatling, Francisco Javier González, Cooper Grodin, Maxfield Haynes, Bryan Hernandez-Luch, Satomi Hofmann, Kody Jauron, Maree Johnson, Tia Karaplis, Nathan Keen, Joe Kerr, Jeff Kready, Jacob Lacopo, Rawb Lane, Eryn LeCroy, Raymond J. Lee, Telly Leung, Claire Leyden, Francesca Mehrotra, Georgia Mendes, Sami Merdinian, Anna Monoxide, Betsy Morgan, Riley Noland, Charles Osborne, Hugh Panaro, Chris Ryan, Kyle Scatliffe, Paul Adam Schaefer, Clay Singer, Phumzile Sojola, Jeremy Stolle, Jack Sullivan, Olivia Tarchick, Kaley Ann Voorhees, Nik Walker, Andrew Wojtal, Nikita Yermak, Kevin Zambrano, and Anna Zavelson.

The creative team of Masquerade includes Rosario Arcuri, Shai Baitel, Hunter Bird, Yeman Brown, Alan Busch Jr., Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Kathy Fabian, James Fluhr, Jessie Flynn, Nicola Formichetti, Skylar Fox, Chris Habana, J. J. Janas, Brett Jarvis, Marc Kimelman, Kate Lumpkin, Lee McCutcheon, Scott Pask, Diane Paulus, Alicia Rodis, Gypsy Snider, Emilio Sosa, Tori Sparks, Ben Stanton, Mike Tyus, David Andrew Wilson, and William Waldrop.

The production team of Masquerade includes Gabriella Acquaviva, Adam Adelman, Stephen Arnold, Kimberly Baird, Jason Baruch, Sarah Battaglia, Sean Beach, Mikayla Gold Benson, Evan Bernardin, Will Blumberg, Antoine Boissereau, Nicholas Bologna, Carolyn Boyd, Jason Brantman, Simon Broucke, Yeman Brown, Kimberly Butler-Gilkeson, Ruth Carsch, Sam Corbett, Rick Criswell, Eric Dente, Hailey Delaney, Eli Diker, Randall Etheredge, Stephanie Leah Evans, Shoshana Fisher, Alex Fogel, Alex Fouquet, Dawn-Elin Fraser, Megan Frazier, Misha Fristensky, Christina Grant, Simon Hammerstein, Billie Harmon, Jenn Harrison, Kelbi Hevia Carrig, Cesar Hawas, Isaac Hayward, Heather Howard, Amelie Julicher, Andrew Katz, Richard Kimmel, Viktoria-Isabella King, Jeffery Kurtze, Tahshea LaBrew, Tara Layous, Randy Luna, Abigail Marlin, Dorothy Masters, Fiona McDougal, Brian Messina, Brittney Mims, Rick Miramontez, Juan Pablo Montoya, Richard Muske, Conner Needham, Sasha Onichuck, Vittoria Orlando, Mark Osgood, Amanda Perry, Dotty Peterson, Cinder Petrichor, Andrea Raasch, Diana Rebholz, Lili Rosen, Sadie Schlesinger, Fiona Santos, Jake Scudder, Max Seelig, Giza Selimi, Ashley Setzler, Kimberly Shaw, James Sherwood, David Shocket, Eric Sikoryak, Nakkia Smalls, Josephine Stark, Willa Stow, Naomi Symeou, Kristopher Thompson-Bolden, Amanda Ting, Madilyn Tramonte, Mike Tyus, Benjamin Weigel, Hope Weiner, Randy Weiner, Carl Whipple, Nzinga Williams, Chelsea Wilson, Mike Wojchik, Asher Young, and Alec Zbornak.

Masquerade is based on the original musical The Phantom of the Opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart, additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe and book by Richard Stilgoe and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Masquerade is presented by arrangement with Lloyd Webber Entertainment.

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