PHANTOM OF THE OPERA National Tour

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 7/6/18 at 6:51pm

I saw this last Veteran’s Day weekend in Philadelphia when Derrick Davis was in the lead role as the Phantom. Now that Quentin Oliver Lee has taken over and been the Phantom for almost seven months, I’m wondering if anyone has seen him perform recently? And how is the production holding up? I’m going to see the show again next March when it comes through Pittsburgh, and have several first-timers wanting to see it. They’ve never seen a Broadway show, even a touring production. Thank you for any input.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/6/18 at 7:15pm

The current Phantom tour is one of the tackiest and misguided things I have ever seen. It is completely different from the brilliant and beautiful Broadway production. I don't mind new productions of classic shows at all, but I do expect QUALITY when I attend a professional production, and this Phantom tour is sorely lacking quality in MANY areas. 

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 7/6/18 at 7:59pm

Let me make myself perfectly clear here:

I don’t care what you think of the two compared to each other. If that’s what you’re going to post, don’t bother. I saw the NEW version, ENJOYED it, and will see it AGAIN. So...

I as the OP of this thread, do not want your comparisons BETWEEN the two shows - Broadway and Tour. I asked for input on the CURRENT TOUR only with Quentin Oliver Lee as the Phantom. If you haven’t seen Quentin, I don’t want your input. 

 

Updated On: 7/6/18 at 07:59 PM

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/6/18 at 8:16pm

dmwnc1959 said: "Let me make myself perfectly clear here:

I don’t care what you think of the two compared to each other. If that’s what you’regoing to post, don’t bother. I saw the NEW version, ENJOYED it, and will see it AGAIN.So...

I as the OP of this thread,do not want your comparisons BETWEEN the two shows - Broadway and Tour. I asked for input on the CURRENT TOUR only withQuentin Oliver Lee as the Phantom. If you haven’t seen Quentin, I don’t want your input."

... I'm not sure why you're snapping at me when you asked how the production itself was holding up, mentioned you were bringing people who were never seeing a Broadway show before, and said thank you for ANY input. I have always enjoyed your posts on the boards in the past, but I certainly don't appreciate you snapping at me for answering your questions.

Updated On: 7/6/18 at 08:16 PM

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 7/6/18 at 8:29pm

I’m not sure why you’d post what you did when I indicated I had ALREADY seen the show, and was going to see it AGAIN. That alone should have lead you to think I had enjoyed the show. 

And ANY input didn’t literally mean slamming the show I would be seeing for a second time. I mentioned the current Phantom and the current tour for a reason, not to provoke discussions in comparing the tour to the on-Broadway show. If I wanted to see the on-Broadway show, I’d have seen it already. But it alone never enticed me to make a trip to NYC like “Hello, Dolly!”, “My Fair Lady”, and “The Band’s Visit” have, and will.

I saw “The Phantom of the Opera” tour in November, and anyone who has seen Quentin as the new Phantom and how it was holding up with Quentin was the purpose of my OP. Not for people to jump on any, and every thread, that wants to talk about the touring production and bash it.

Updated On: 7/6/18 at 08:29 PM

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/6/18 at 8:36pm

This is a MESSAGE BOARD... which means people can share their thoughts/opinions even if you disagree...  You don't get to pick and choose when people can/ cannot share their opinions in particular threads just because you're the OP.

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 7/6/18 at 8:44pm

I get that this is a Broadway forum, message board, or whatever you want to call it. Sure you and I can post my/our opinions on any thread regarding Broadway cast/shows when we’ve seen the on-Broadway and/or touring productions.

But I wanted to specifically limit the scope of this to just the touring production with Quentin. Not to invite discussions and compare it every Phantom and Christine and chandelier crash since the beginning of time. 

[kade.ivy]

Posted: 7/6/18 at 9:27pm

I saw the tour in March, and Lee is a fine Phantom. He brings a youthfulness to the role, acts it well, and sings nicely, if a bit weak in vocal power and assertiveness. I did find his performance, and the production as a whole, though, to be lacking overall in passion and urgency, if that makes sense. It seemed like most folks onstage were phoning their performances in. Still immensely talented, obviously, but I didn't feel that there were stakes onstage. I will offer the caveat that I saw understudies for both Christine (Jordan Ensign, who undeniably has a beautiful voice) and Raoul, so this may have affected the consistency of the entire production and the chemistry of the entire cast. Add to this the very noticeable youth and limited professional credits of most of the cast. In short, not everything gelled for me.

I say this as someone who is a fan of this production and saw its original cast however many years ago and was quite impressed with all of its elements. I would still recommend this production, especially to first time professional theatergoers. 

Updated On: 7/6/18 at 09:27 PM

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 7/7/18 at 5:59am

^ ^ ^ Wonderful Post. And THANK YOU for this. Exactly what I was looking for. :)

[Gizmo6]

Posted: 7/7/18 at 10:57am

dmwnc1959 said: "Let me make myself perfectly clear here:

I don’t care what you think of the two compared to each other. If that’s what you’regoing to post, don’t bother. I saw the NEW version, ENJOYED it, and will see it AGAIN.So...

I as the OP of this thread,do not want your comparisons BETWEEN the two shows - Broadway and Tour. I asked for input on the CURRENT TOUR only withQuentin Oliver Lee as the Phantom. If you haven’t seen Quentin, I don’t want your input.

"

This is a truly horrendous production helmed by Laurence Connor who should be banned from directing. 

Now come for me! I'm waiting! 

 

[Gizmo6]

Posted: 7/7/18 at 10:57am

dmwnc1959 said: "Let me make myself perfectly clear here:

I don’t care what you think of the two compared to each other. If that’s what you’regoing to post, don’t bother. I saw the NEW version, ENJOYED it, and will see it AGAIN.So...

I as the OP of this thread,do not want your comparisons BETWEEN the two shows - Broadway and Tour. I asked for input on the CURRENT TOUR only withQuentin Oliver Lee as the Phantom. If you haven’t seen Quentin, I don’t want your input.

"

This is a truly horrendous production helmed by Laurence Connor who should be banned from directing. 

Now come for me! I'm waiting! 

 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/7/18 at 12:41pm

I'm sorry, but it's impossible to start a thread about the current Phantom tour without talking about how awful it is compared to the original. Because it is.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/7/18 at 1:41pm

CATSNYrevival said: "I'm sorry, but it's impossible to start a thread about the current Phantom tour without talking about how awful it is compared to the original. Because it is."

WORD.

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 7/7/18 at 2:06pm

Deleted 

Updated On: 7/8/18 at 02:06 PM

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 7/8/18 at 1:49am

It seems like you just started this thread looking for a fight, OP. How can you ask other members for our opinions on the tour nowadays if you didn't want to hear anything that even remotely disagreed with your opinion? It's not like you specified that you JUST wanted to hear how the new Phantom is, you only asked if the tour (you know, implying the entire production) is still holding up. If you enjoy the tour, then good for you. Go see it again. But don't come on here and snap at people for answering your question just because you didn't bother being specific enough in what you were asking.

Updated On: 7/8/18 at 01:49 AM

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 7/8/18 at 7:46am

I do apologize to bwayphreak234 for the manner in which I snapped at him. As he alluded to, my prior history is definitely not one of being aggressive or unfriendly. I’m the embodiment of mild mannered Clark Kent - geekiness, glasses, and all. So this was not where I wanted to leave this thread, comparable to the ‘going to bed mad’ at each other aphorism. I am truly sorry, and my apologies to all who read it.

In response to Elfuhbuh, go back and read the original post. It is fairly concise in what I asked for. Then read Post #8. It embodied everything I had asked for: if you’ve seen Quentin Oliver Lee (focus was on Lee) since November, how’s he doing as the Phantom, and how is the production holding up under him. The answer in Post #8 was to the point, with the good and the bad, and fairly balanced. That’s all. It wasn’t a one-sided opinion solely comparing it to the Broadway version.

There’s something about the anonymity of posting on a forum that allows us to talk at each other, and not to each other. We can’t see each other’s faces and hear the tone of the voices in a post. Being humble, gentle, and kind seems to have taken a back seat to being ‘as a matter of fact’ opinionated and absolute in those opinions. It’s a ‘my opinion is right, and yours is wrong because I hated it and you didn’t’ world. How did we get to this point?

CATSNYrevival said that it is impossible to start a thread on the current tour “without talking about how awful it is compared to the original.” Why? There are perhaps hundreds of thousands of people who have seen the new touring production and really enjoyed it. They’ve also never seen the on-Broadway version, so we are all content and happy with what we have seen. Why jump on this thread with such contempt and ill will as to trample what someone has enjoyed? It’s easier to step away from that thread than to start an argument by contrasting to two. Leave those of us who have seen the new show and enjoyed it with that: the thrill, pleasure, and joy that we left the theater with when we saw the show. But it’s some people’s first instinct to ruin that.

That’s what I don’t understand.

We have a commonality amongst us, a love for theater. Our love for theater varies with the style, genre, and characterizations of the show and it’s cast’s performances. I mean, just look how the “My Fair Lady” thread went with the current adaptation and cast. We have to be able to ‘agree to disagree’ even before that first impulse to post a negative reply, which is sometimes a knee-jerk reaction. Sometimes we have to just let it go. 

I discussed this with my neighbor across the street - a lover of fine literature, great movies, and theater. Her reply to me was to let it go, that all of you were just Broadway snobs. I don’t actually believe that. At all. I know that most all of you are good at heart, and in normal life away from this forum are probably wonderful, thoughtful, kind, gentle, and giving. And I as a novice have received a lot of amazing advice from you. I think your vast knowledge and history of attending performances for decades is simply amazing. Of that I am truly jealous. 

Thank you for listening.

Updated On: 10/1/18 at 07:46 AM

[antonijan]

Posted: 10/1/18 at 12:32am

I cannot put my finger on it...but the production seemed lackluster. Are they an equity tour this time around? Lee was ok but not really blown away...but great to see a person of color in the lead.

Updated On: 10/1/18 at 12:32 AM

[MannPhan24601]

Posted: 4/3/19 at 2:32pm

So I guess it's safe to say the tour is ending in Toronto in Feb?

Caught Quentin Oliver Lee's Instagram live yesterday and he's leaving after Schnectdy for another major show and can't say if it's broadway or tour for it.Wonder who is replacing him.. Derrick Davis is back in Lion King and Chris Mann seems busy with his new music and plans on touring for it (Even though it seemed like he was heading to another show last year ) . Guess they are bringing in somebody new ? Quentin said announcement would be out by next week at the latest

Updated On: 4/3/19 at 02:32 PM