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Behind The 'Phantom' Is A Lot Of Preparation
Photo by Joan Marcus
Richard Todd Adams stars as The Phantom and Trista Moldovan plays Christine Daaé in the touring version of "The Phantom of the Opera," which is running at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.
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Published: October 30, 2008
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TAMPA Since 1986, millions of people worldwide have marveled at the magic of Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage musical "The Phantom of the Opera."
The dramatic lighting, the decadent costumes, the richly re-created Paris Opera, the love story. And then there's the music — some of the most powerful and memorable of musical theater.
What audiences see on stage is a perfect thing of beauty. But like the monstrous Phantom secure in his mask, behind this lovely facade lie the messy machinations of production: dollies, cables, decking, tools, marked floors, chains and a lot of sweat. It is these ugly but vital skeletons and muscles that make "Phantom" come to life.
David Hansen is the advance stage manager for the national "Phantom of the Opera" tour. Hansen and his crew worked around the clock to finish building the set for Thursday's opening night at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.
"It takes 10 days for the entire show to be loaded and ready before the actors arrive," said Hansen. "It's a puzzle. You start with nothing, and it slowly comes together."
Twenty 48-foot trailers haul the package to a hosting city, where crew members reconstruct the Maria Bjornson-designed set piece by piece, retrofitting elements to accommodate each stage's height and width. Morsani Hall at the performing arts center is spacious, so the resin-based proscenium arch, for instance, can stand tall and wide on its scaffoldlike legs.
Few would know that during the show, while the Phantom scurries across the catwalk, two spotlight operators sit in chairs fixed to the arch's backside. Speakers and motors, too, are nestled back there within a sea of electrical cables. The audience sitting in the theater's front row may catch a glimpse of something sparkling in the hot lights, not realizing it is crystal jewelry adorning the leering satyrs and angels at the arch's front.
Evidence of the crew's attention to detail also lies above and below where the actors tread.
From the ceiling hang left and right service trusses. "The left one is the automation truss. The stage right truss is for lighting and sound equipment," Hansen explained. "We also install our own stage floor. As the aluminum sections go down, we run cabling between the sections."
One effect calls for 141 candles to rise from beneath the 10-inch-deep floor.
Despite the production company's 16 years of experience setting up shop in 76 cities and 81 theaters, the occasional glitch can still happen.
"The worst thing is to lose power," Hansen said, but even a blackout won't ruffle his feathers.
"If that happens, we just set up a couple of generators."
ON STAGE
The Phantom of the Opera
WHEN: through Nov. 22; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Carol Morsani Hall, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa
HOW MUCH: $23.50 to $78; (813) 222-1001; www.tbpac.org
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