Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 13, 1990 TAG: 9004130471
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JEFF DeBELL STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It is not a touring version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber super-hit that won the Tony Award as best musical of the 1987-88 Broadway season and continues to run in New York.
Though the shows have the same source - Leroux's story of a disfigured genius and his obsession with a young singer at the Paris Opera - they are separate and unrelated productions.
The Webber version features music by the composer of "Cats," "Eva" and other well-known shows, whereas the traveling production uses music from "Faust" and other established operas plus new tunes written by Larry Hochman and Stephanie Madden.
In performance, the songs are sung to the accompaniment of a recorded music track that is supplemented by live piano and organ.
To distinguish it from the Broadway musical, the traveling show is advertised as "The Phantom of the Opera - The Play."
"I don't want anyone to think they're coming to see the Andrew Lloyd Webber version," said John Tevis of Class Promotions, Inc., the company that is marketing the show in Roanoke and other cities.
Vern Steed, business coordinator at the civic center, said there was some confusion among Roanoke ticket-buyers at first but it has subsided. In fact, he said, curiosity about the shows "is working in our favor because no one here has seen the one in New York."
Steed said the demand for tickets has been good.
There has been a measure of confusion between the shows in other tour cities too, according to clippings furnished by Class Promotions, but audience response has been good.
Tevis said the traveling production "follows the novel almost to a T. If an individual reads the novel and sees the play, he's going to be happy with it."
The traveling show was written by Pamela Mendelson. It has a cast of 14 and is presented with full sets and lighting effects.
The director is Jeffrey B. Moss, whose credits include "Mayor" in New York; the New York and Kennedy Center productions of "Some Enchanted Evening;" and stage and television productions of a Barry Manilow musical titled "The Drunkard."
Tickets to "The Phantom of the Opera - The Play" are $25 for orchestra and loge seats and $20 for seats in the top balcony. They are available at the civic center box office and Ticketron locations and can be charged by telephone at 1-800-543-3041.
by CNB