When the show first opened, the frequency would often receive interference by taxi cabs driving by the Majestic! (The frequency was soon changed and it's been smoother sailing ever since.) But sometimes the boat has a mind of its own. The boat is remote-controlled wirelessly by an off-stage stage hand with a device that looks like a large Atari joystick. The boat has made 24,968 journeys to the Phantom's lair. If the noose in the Final Lair scene doesn't function properly, Raoul knows to back up and throw himself against the Portcullis as if it's electrically charged and has a magnetic pull holding him back against the grid. It's the best seat in the house for the final scene as you watch the action onstage and you have a clear view of the whole theatre. Then there are three ensemble singers and a stage manager up there. Five actors up there will be the climbers who appear on the portcullis. There is nothing masking the actors except for the fact that there isn't light on them up there. The bridge is in a high position upstage of the portcullis - the metal grid that acts as the entry point for the Phantom's Lair. Most audience members watching Phantom aren't aware that during the Final Lair scene at the end of the show, there are nine people up on the travelator bridge watching from above. Plus, he has a number of dead rats hanging from a rack he wears! He carries a net that he hits on the ground trying to catch the vermin. The character that runs across the bridge when Raoul and Madame Giry appear during the second journey to the Lair is still called the Rat Catcher even though the mechanical rats were cut from the production very early on. The company’s current leading lady, Ali Ewoldt, became the first Asian-American to be cast in the role of Christine on Broadway. With over 2,500 performances, McGillin holds the record for playing the title role on Broadway more than any other performer. (There have also been five additional temporary replacements: Jeff Keller, Ted Keegan, Brad Little, Gary Mauer and Laird Mackintosh.) Over 400 actors have appeared in the New York production.īut, 15 actors have been cast as The Phantom on Broadway: Michael Crawford, Timothy Nolen, Cris Groenendaal, Steve Barton, Kevin Gray, Mark Jacoby, Marcus Lovett, Davis Gaines, Thomas James O’Leary, Hugh Panaro, Howard McGillin, John Cudia, Peter Jöback, Norm Lewis and James Barbour. The creative team originally wanted the conductor of Phantom in the pit to wear a white wig during the gala performance of Hannibal while Christine sang "Think of Me," so that he or she matched the conductor that appears onstage in the moment after the gala when Christine takes her bow facing upstage through the reverse tab curtains. The same production today would cost $20 million. The New York production cost a record $8 million in 1988. In honor of the official anniversary of The Phantom of the Opera opening 30 years ago on Broadway, here are 30 little known facts about the historic show:
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