There have been one or two other changes but Graham says everything is “full steam ahead”. Due to the long gestation period of the production, there have been changes in circumstances and a couple of “Phantom babies” have been born in the interim.
“I can’t see anything on the horizon that’s going to stop us now.
“A lot of the people who have bought tickets have stayed with us and we’re very thankful for that, and Lynn [Whiteside] has still got a pretty full-size orchestra going.”
There is music throughout the show, with very little spoken dialogue.
“We’ve got some talented people in this orchestra.”
Tertiary education has claimed a few young people who had roles in the show but others have been able to take their place.
“We have longer rehearsals now, meaning we’re starting to run the show instead of doing scene work.”
The technical side of things is being worked on, like how to make it look as though Katie Brown’s beautiful 120kg glass chandelier crashes to the floor. Spoiler alert - it doesn’t.
Props and costumes are a big part of Phantom. “We’ve got at least 12 people involved in costume making,” says Graham. That team is led by Mary Dack. “Mary has the vision and she’s tasked the ladies to come up with that. There are 200-plus costumes to be either sourced or made. The ballet dancers [alone] go through four costumes each.
“Due to Covid, this is one of the longest projects I’ve ever worked on. It never went away when Covid was there because you’re always trying to keep something alive. You can definitely feel an air of anticipation and excitement within the cast. They’re eager to get this on.”
Book your tickets online at https://rwoh.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/10198 or in person at the Royal Whanganui Opera House box office.
