Ever since Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera opened on Broadway in 1986, it has stirred audiences with one potent message: it’s okay to be different. As the show prepares for its tour around Asia, where theatergoers are not middle-aged highbrows but fanatic teens, the century-old tale will once again acquire fresh significance.
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“A lot of emerging cities in China are new to large-scale Western musicals, so the audience is often a lot younger,” says Jenny Harlow, general manager of The Really Useful Company Asia Pacific, founded by Webber in 1977. “The fans tend to be very demonstrative.”
At the musical’s press conference in Guangzhou this past March, Brad Little, the suave upstate New Yorker who will star as the Phantom, had to ward off flocks of young female reporters eager for an autograph.
“It’s astounding how [theater] is almost like a hip thing to do here,” he says, clearly soaking up the limelight typically reserved for rock stars in his native land. “I’ve heard stories of kids who spend their own money to go see musicals and their parents aren’t happy about it. In America, parents would celebrate that.”
Little, who has acted the Phantom no less than 2,200 times throughout the past 18 years, takes a flexible approach to the role, embracing day-to-day transformations of his character. The thrill of theater, in his opinion, lies in its inconsistency, which he can tap into given the Phantom’s volatile persona.
“I can play him pitiful, angry, soulful, as a teacher, as a father or as a child,” Little explains. “I take the ‘let happen what happens’ kind of approach.”
Historically, the role has proved hard to give up. Nearly every professional actor cast as the Phantom has continued on to perform at least hundreds, if not thousands, of times. Little has described the acting process as being “wonderfully therapeutic.”
Originating as a novel by French author Gaston Leroux, The Phantom of the Opera follows the tale of Christine Daaé, a budding opera singer whose voice enchants a deformed man haunting the shadowy depths of the theater. Afraid Christine will leave him once she discovers what lies behind his mask, the Phantom kidnaps her, locking her in his chambers to the horror of Raoul, another suitor. Ashamed of his appearance and feared by all, the Phantom ultimately discovers that even the most horrific of scars can find acceptance in the presence of love.
The Phantom’s timeless message has been especially well received in Asian countries, where individuality is often discouraged and success is measured by how well one fits in.
“Everybody has their closet of disabilities, insecurities, things they don’t like about themselves,” Little explains. “The way Andrew and Charles Hart wrote this show… it goes straight to the heart. It doesn’t matter what language you speak. It’s human.”
The longest-running production in Broadway history and most financially successful entertainment event to date, The Phantom of the Opera will debut at the Guangzhou Opera House on September 26, bringing a token of hope to viewers young and old.
// September 26-27 and October 1-7, Tuesday to Friday 8pm, Saturday and Sunday 2.30pm and 8pm, RMB280-880. Guangzhou Opera House.
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