The immersive Phantom of the Opera revival, Masquerade, opened its doors July 31, and some exciting casting news has been revealed.
Playing a renovated venue at 218 W. 57tht Street (formerly Lee's Art Shop), we have known who was a part of the company for some time, but the specifics of each role had been kept strictly under wraps. Now, all has been revealed, including six Phantoms, six Christines, three Raouls, and more.
In this production, the Phantom and Christine duo, who attendees follow throughout the experience, changes depending on arrival time. At various points in the evening, the role of the Phantom is played by Jeff Kready, Telly Leung, Hugh Panaro, Kyle Scatliffe, Clay Singer, and Nik Walker, and the role of Christine is played by Haile Ferrier, Eryn LeCroy, Francesca Mehrotra, Riley Noland, Kaley Ann Voorhees, and Anna Zavelson.
Additionally, the role of Raoul is played in different scenes by Paul Adam Schaefer, Nicholas Edwards, and Francisco Javier González, and the role of Madame Giry is performed at various points by Satomi Hofmann, Maree Johnson, Tia Karaplis, and Betsy Morgan. Buquet is performed by both Jacob Lacopo and Andrew Wojtal, and Carlotta is played by both Satomi Hofmann and Betsy Morgan.
André is played by Raymond J. Lee, Barker is played by Chris Ryan, Firmin is played by Jeremy Stolle, and Piangi is played by Phumzile Sojola. Maxfield Haynes, Kody Jauron, and Kevin Zambrano collectively play the role Boy in the Cage.
Quite a few of these roles will likely come as a surprise to The Phantom of the Opera fans, in particular Stolle's casting as Firmin following his appearance on the Tony Awards red carpet, teasing the production in full Phantom garb. Stolle was an understudy, alternate, and swing in the role of The Phantom on Broadway for over a decade until the show's closure on Broadway in April 2023. Other casting choices are more expected, particularly Panaro, who played the title role in over 2,000 performances on Broadway, and Voorhees, a former Broadway Christine who was also selected by Hal Prince to represent the role in his career revue, Prince of Broadway.
Other Phantom alumni in the Masquerade cast include LeCroy, who served an an alternate Christine beginning in 2019; Paul Adam Schaefer, who served as an understudy on Broadway until the production's closing; Cooper Grodin, who played the Phantom on the national tour; and Maree Johnson, who played Madame Giry on Broadway through its final performance in 2023.
The ensemble features Baby Byrne, Gabriella Enriquez, Nkrumah Gatling, Cooper Grodin, Maxfield Haynes, Bryan Hernandez-Luch, Kody Jauron, Nathan Keen, Joe Kerr, Claire Leyden, Georgia Mendes, Sami Merdinian, Charles Osborne, Jack Sullivan, and Kevin Zambrano.
The production, modeled after the seminal immersive Shakespeare production Sleep No More, which ran for 14 years at NYC's McKittrick Hotel, seeks to immerse audiences by planting them right into the plot of Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera—of course, within the lens of Andrew Lloyd Webber's long-running 1986 West End-Broadway musical. Once you have entered the Opera House, you will join in on the "ghost hunt," tracing the steps of the infamous Opera Ghost, who has been terrorizing the theatre's performers and management. As the story unfolds, you learn of the Opera Ghost's mentorship over Christine Daae—a young soprano who has become the object of his obsession.
Tony winner Diane Paulus (Waitress, 1776) is directing a creative team that includes Hunter Bird, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Kathy Fabian, James Fluhr, Jessie Flynn, Nicola Formichetti, Skylar Fox, Kate Lumpkin, J. J. Janas, Brett Jarvis, Marc Kimelman, Lee McCutcheon, Scott Pask, Emilio Sosa, Gypsy Snider, Ben Stanton, and William Waldrop.
Attendees of the production have been given instructions from "their host," which includes a dress code advising patrons dress "extravagantly" in black, white, or silver and to wear a masquerade mask (if you do not have one, one will be provided) and to avoid wearing high heels to facilitate safe walking in the building's recreation of the Paris catacombs.
The production previously announced that it is a 21+ only event, but guests 16+ are permitted to attend matinee performances during the special preview period. The venue is described as fully ADA accessible, and guests with specific accessibility needs are encouraged to email [email protected].
The production team for the revival comprises Rosario Arcuri, Stephen Arnold, Sarah Battaglia, Sean Beach, Evan Bernardin, Will Blumberg, Antoine Boissereau, Carolyn Boyd, Simon Brouke, Kelbi Carrig, Ruth Carsch, Kerry Concannon, Brittany Coyne, Hailey Delaney, Eric Dente, Eli Diker, Elizabeth Emanuel, Randall Etheredge, Stephanie Leah Evans, Shoshana Fisher, Dawn-Elin Fraser, Megan Frazier, Misha Fristensky, Christina Grant, Chris Habana, Simon Hammerstein, Billie Harmon, Cesar Hawas, Isaac Hayward, Morgan Holbrook, Amelie Julicher, Andrew Katz, Viktoria-Isabella King, Jeffery Kurtz, McBee, Fiona McDougal, Brian Messina, Vittoria Orlando, Amanda Perry, Dotty Peterson, Cinder Petrichor, Diana Rebholz, Alicia Rodis, Sadie Schlesinger, Jake Scudder, Max Seelig, Giza Selimi, Ashley Setzler, James Sherwood, David Shocket, Naomi Symeou, Nakkia Smalls, Monet Thibou, Kristopher Thompson-Bolden, Madilyn Tramonte, Benjamin Weigel, Kat West, Nzinga Williams, Chelsea Wilson, David Andrew Wilson, Mike Wojchik, Alex Wolfe, Asher Young, and Alec Zbornak.
Visit MasqueradeNYC.com.
Phantom mask designed by Nicola Formichetti
Masquerade mask designed by Nicola Formichetti
Masquerade mask designed by Nicola Formichetti
Masquerade costumes by Emilio Sosa and masks by Nicola Formichetti
Masquerade costume by Emilio Sosa
Masquerade mask by Nicola Formichetti and costume by Emilio Sosa
