“People will ask why we changed certain things, and list them all,” he said. “And, point by point, I wrote back that we hadn’t changed any of those things.”
While “Phantom,” which stops at the Aronoff for a 12-day run this weekend, will feature all-new sets, staging, lighting and visual effects, the score and the fundamental story remains the same.
“There was a lot of negative space in the original production,” Sklar-Heyn said. “A lot of black voids onstage, so the audience had to fill in the blanks, and they imagined things that weren’t actually there. Now, the locations have a lot more detail. With the Paris Opera House, you see dressing rooms and the manager’s office. Instead of the masquerade on the staircase, we have a hall of mirrors. You see a lot more of the Phantom’s lair.”
Sklar-Heyn is also the executive producer for Cameron Mackintosh, Inc. Mackintosh was the original producer when “Phantom” first opened in 1986 and the mastermind behind the makeover. According to Sklar-Heyn, Mackintosh felt an obligation to take advantage of technology that didn’t exist 30 years ago to meet the expectations of contemporary audiences.
“Attention spans are shorter, and audiences today, I think, expect a show that is more grounded in reality, more cinematic,” Sklar-Heyn said. “In the original, it was accepted that the Phantom could just do certain things, because he lived in a world where magic existed. Now, he’s portrayed more as a man who was born with a deformity who became an engineer.”
However, Sklar-Heyn stressed that the production is still theatrical, and the emotional core of the story is intact.
“It’s still glorious and tragic,” he said. “The lush, romantic melodrama is still there. We just do it with a different muscle. The fourth wall is completely broken down. The audience feels like a participant in the story.”
So what does the new design bode for that famous chandelier-crashing scene?
“Because of improved technology, (the chandelier) has a lot more personality,” Sklar-Heyn said. “It’s still hanging over your head when you come in.”
Despite all the changes, Sklar-Heyn said that “Phantom” is still an event. It still requires 20 trucks to transport it from city to city. However, Sklar-Heyn does have a remedy for purists who liked the show the way it was.
“You can come to New York,” he said. “We still have the original.”
How to go
What: “Phantom of the Opera”
Where: Aronoff Center for the Arts, 650 Walnut St., Cincinnati
When: Nov. 15-27. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sundays.
Cost: $45 and up
More info: 513-621-2787 or www.cincinnatiarts.org
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