Welcome to Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love! Home to The Liberty Bell…
Nick Cartell
Independence Hall…
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Cheese Steaks…
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… and for the past month, Cameron Mackintosh’s Spectacular New Production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera!
Nick Cartell
Come with me as I take you backstage at the Academy of Music here in Philly for a behind-the-scenes look at our incredible show!
Nick Cartell
The Academy of Music, also known as the Grand Old Lady of Broad Street, is the oldest opera house in America and has seen countless great performances.
Nick Cartell
The stage door entrance with gas lamps burning day and night.
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The glorious interior. It reminds us all of the Paris Opera House, the setting for (the strange affair of) The Phantom of the Opera.
Nick Cartell
The view from the one of the 4 balconies. Here is our stage and LOT 666, the Chandelier!
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In every city, the layout of each theatre is different, so signage is important.
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Our call board, with updates about schedule, travel information and the always important sign-in sheet!
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Edward Staudenmayer signs in early for this evening’s performance.
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Our backstage changing areas, also lovingly referred to as Wardrobe Village. With so many quick changes during the show, this is where most of our costumes live.
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Jamie Johns, our Associate Music Director, leads the cast through a daily vocal warmup.
Nick Cartell
For a show like this, we always make sure that our voices are in tip-top shape before stepping out on stage. It’s also a chance for our fantastic Corps de Ballet to warm up for the show.
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And as with every Friday Night, Edward Juvier has the bucket ready for Dollar Friday! It’s a fun game we love to play to get us ready for the weekend.
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Backstage, the calm before the storm. Costumes are set in the men’s changing area.
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Austin Rodriguez, our Prop Master, busy preparing the props to be used on stage that night.
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A shot of the dressing room table used in the Il Muto opera scene.
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Our wig stations backstage, AKA the coolest place on deck. Here Hailei Call, our Wig Supervisor, makes sure that everything is set and ready for a Friday night show!
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Feathers and pins ready for Act 2
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And my soldier wig for the top of the show. I get to rock this beard 8 times a week!
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Here we go!
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Celia Hottenstein gets her wig and tiara placed just right at the 5-minutes-to-places call.
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Mark Emerson puts on his side burns and mustache to help him transform into our illustrious Auctioneer.
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Monsieur LeFèvre, Jay Lusteck, makes sure that his mustache has just the right amount of curl.
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PLACES PLEASE! Ready for top of show.
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Our three fops for the Il Muto scene. Edward Juvier, the Jeweler…
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Amy Justman the Confidante…
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...and Merritt David Janes as the Hairdresser!
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Chilling before the end of Act 1.
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One of many moments where we are providing backstage vocals. These moments are not pre-recorded, folks. Live every night!
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A shot of just a couple of our more than 400 props used in the show.
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A couple pictures of our set…
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...which is huge and awe-inspiring. Again, spectacular and new.
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Thanks for coming with me backstage! Gotta run… Hannibal comes! I told you, I ROCK that beard.
Nick Cartell
And a parting shot of our glorious Chandelier. It’s incredible watching this rise (and fall) every night and I hope you will come and visit us as we tour across the country!
Nick Cartell
