Cameron Mackintosh’s spectacular new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera is playing now at the Hippodrome Theatre. Chris Mann, who plays the Phantom, joined us in the studio to talk about the show’s new staging and production elements, his upcoming album, and his time on The Voice:
Chat with Chris Mann of The Phantom of the Opera
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You can catch up with Chris and his time in Baltimore on Twitter at @iamchrismann.
The Phantom of the Opera plays the Hippodrome through Sunday, February 7. . To purchase tickets, visit BaltimoreHippodrome.com, call 800-982-ARTS or visit The Hippodrome Theatre Box Office located at 12 N. Eutaw Street. Ticket price range: $25.00-$150.00 For more information on the production and a video sneak peek, please visit www.ThePhantomOfTheOpera.com/ustour/
Chris Mann Bio
Chris Mann (The Phantom) rose to fame as Christina Aguilera’s finalist on NBC’s The Voice. Since then, his debut album, Roads, hit #1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Chart and he starred in his own PBS television special: A Mann For All Seasons. Chris has performed with the National Symphony for President Obama, at Christmas in Rockefeller Center and headlined his own symphony tour across the country. From Wichita, KS, Mann holds a Vocal Performance degree from Vanderbilt University and is honored to join this cast in his dream role. Love to the fam, friends and Laura. TV: Ellen, Today, Conan, Jay Leno, Glee. ChrisMannMusic.com. Twitter: @iamchrismann Facebook.com/ChrisMannMusic
Facts and Figures about The Phantom of the Opera, courtesy of the production team
There are currently nine productions of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA around the world: the flagship London production (29 Years and counting), New York (28 Years and counting), Sapporo (Japan, 27 Years and counting, in repertory), Budapest (Hungary), Hamburg (Germany), Prague (Czech Republic), Moscow (Russia), Helsinki (Finland) and Cameron Mackintosh’s spectacular new production, now in its third year on North American Tour. The next confirmed international openings will be Stockholm (Sweden) in September 2016 and Paris (France) in October 2016.
Since its debut, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has grossed over $1 billion on Broadway.
Total Broadway attendance is now over 17 million and it continues to play with no end in sight.
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA became the first stage production to reach worldwide grosses of $6 billion, which it did during the summer of 2014. Revenues far surpass the world’s highest-grossing film Avatar (at $2.8 billion), as well as such other blockbusters as Titanic, The Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park and Star Wars.
Worldwide, over 65,000 performances have been seen by 140 million people in 35 countries and 160 cities in 15 languages.
The show has won more than 70 major theater awards.
The flagship London production of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, which opened in 1986 at Her Majesty’s Theatre, celebrated 25 years in October 2011. That milestone was celebrated with a special production at London’s Royal Albert Hall directed by Laurence Connor.
The show has won more than 70 major theater awards, including seven 1988 Tony Awards (including Best Musical) and three Olivier Awards in the West End.
The original cast recording, with over 40 million copies sold worldwide, is the best-selling cast recording of all time.
The new touring production of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is the first to tour the U.S. in three years. There have been three previous U.S. National Tours that grossed over $1.5 billion in combined box office sales and played 216 engagements in 77 cities for an unprecedented total of 36 years and over 14,500 performances to 31 million people.
About The Spectacular New Production of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Tour
Load–in
75 local stagehands are hired in every market to load the production into the theatre
35 local stagehands are used for each performance
20 trucks are used to move the production from city to city (16 trucks in the building, 4 more trucks for the jump/advance)
Costumes
The show incorporates most of the Maria Björnson designs from the original production.
There are a few pieces from the original production that are over 25 years old used in this production.
Over 1,200 costume pieces used during the show.
Each ballet girl goes through a pair of ballet shoes every 2-3 weeks
Madame Giry has only 1 costume
Wigs
Over 120 wigs travel with Phantom
About 50 wigs are used in the show every night
All wigs are made from human hair except for 5
Stock of about 50 mustaches
Sound
Phantom uses over 200 speakers
Approximately 50 are used just for the surround sound package
Electrics
Over 85 moving lights in the design that utilizes 4 different kinds of haze/smoke effects.
Chandelier
Over 6,000 beads are on the chandelier
Each strand has 632 beads
The chandelier weighs 1 ton
This new chandelier was designed by Howard Eaton (who designed the Olympic rings for the London ceremonies)
Scenery
The main scenic wall weighs 10 tons and rotates around the stage
The 2 opera boxes scenic elements together take up a full truck to travel from city to city
Orchestra
17 orchestra members plus conductor perform Andrew Lloyd Webber’s magnificent score every performance