*A quick NOTE:
Some videos have a number in parenthesis after the date. This will only happen when all I have is a year, and when I have more than one video from that year and location. The number is important to use when you request a trade as it is a part of my filing system and will help me make sure you get the correct video.
Everything is VOB UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.
Small files are NOT GUARANTEED. If they are important, please ask me to check for them during trade negotiations.
Some videos have a number in parenthesis after the date. This will only happen when all I have is a year, and when I have more than one video from that year and location. The number is important to use when you request a trade as it is a part of my filing system and will help me make sure you get the correct video.
Everything is VOB UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.
Small files are NOT GUARANTEED. If they are important, please ask me to check for them during trade negotiations.
Sydmonton Workshop, July, 1985
Colm Wilkinson, Sarah Brightman
POTO in very early draft form. Pro-shot, as all of Lloyd Webber's workshops were. Only Act One was put on stage at the time.
This copy is actually slightly better than the one I had nearly a decade ago, but it's still in pretty bad shape. Nearly black and white with green bars that cut across the screen. TONS of generation loss from tapings and re-tapings, and the conversion from the original PAL tape, but for the age and circumstances, to be expected. The audio is tons better than my old copy was.
What is here is totally different from the show that is onstage today, in fact, different even than the show that was put to the London stage in 1986.
I'm sure when it was first taken, it was an excellent video, but time has ravaged it. If anyone has a better copy, I'm interested, but I don't hold out much hope.
D-
AVI Format only.
London, 1987
Michael Crawford, Rebecca Caine (ALT), Steve Barton
HIGHLIGHTS.
This is definitely a 'collectors only' type of video. The generation loss is BAD. And I do mean BAD. Almost no color left - mostly blacks, blues, greys and whites. Shot from high up in the right side of the balcony, it's more wide-shots than zooms. Facial features are long gone. There's also heavy head obstruction. The audio track, however, is in good shape. I'd LOVE to find an early generation copy of this crop up, because the shooting in Music Of The Night looks wonderful, and it'd be great to really see Crawford in action from this early on in his run. Quite possibly the only video of Rebecca Caine in London.
Act I goes from the chandelier to Notes I; Prima Donna through the rooftop is audio only with still images on the screen. Act II starts with Masquerade and goes through the end of Notes II.
Also included are some clips: the pro-shot music video of POTO with Sarah Brightman and Steve Harley, a POTO-related TV commercial and about 30 minutes or so of TV clips related to the LA production (with Michael Crawford and Dale Kristien).
D (live performance) / A (Clips)
Broadway (?), 1987
Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman, Steve Barton, Harold Prince
OBC REHEARSAL FOOTAGE.
About 40 minutes of rehearsal footage. It starts with "those who have seen your face" of Phantom of the Opera and continues through MOTN with some interruptions from the creative team (it's a riot watching Michael remove his invisible cape and hat). Then it's to the beginning of Masquerade, a slight tape pause then a cut to the dance towards the end of Masquerade, another tape pause, and then Red Death makes his appearance. More Masquerade work after that segment. Then they work on Notes I and a section of Prima Donna but the taper generally stays focused on the production crew, not the actors. It's interesting if you're into behind the scenes to see how the production crew works, and the footage of the OBC is priceless.There's definite generation loss in this (buzzing in the audio, the 'fuzzy bar' at the bottom of the screen, some color bleeding) but given the age, and how long this likely spent on VHS before being transferred to a DVD it's in better shape than many boots from this time period out there, so I'm giving it a split grade.
B/C
London, 1988
Cast Dave Willetts, Jan Hartley Morris, Michael Ball
Missing most of the prologue - begins at "Perhaps we may frighten away the ghost ..." and missing a chunk out of the Overture and Hanibal scene. Also missing the scene in act II after Masquerade, and the Entr'acte, and may be missing other minor points, but nothing major. Tons of generation loss on this one, which given it's age, the PAL to NTSC transfer, and the VHS to DVD transfer, this isn't surprising. However, it is the only video out there of Willetts' Phantom, and only known video of Ball's Raoul (There should be a joke in there somewhere ... oh wait that was Michael Crawford who joked about showing his "Raoul" ... Kudos if you get it.) I said this over a dozen years ago, but it's still true today ... if an earlier generation copy ever does pop into existance, I'm VERY interested!
D+
Tokyo, Japan, 1988
Masachika Ichimura, Ryoko Nomura, Yuichiro Yamaguchi
PROSHOT
Obvious generation loss issues, however unlike many videos of the time there's no shakiness. Faces are a blur in far shots. Unlike many "proshots" this one goes into close up.
B
Broadway, April 1988
Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman, Steve Barton, and full OBC.
Given it's age, the fact it spent a long time on VHS and the obvious generation loss issues that will go hand in hand with it being traded down Heaven knows how many times ... I didn't expect to give a better grade.
C+
Los Angeles, 1989 (?)
Michael Crawford, Dale Kristen, Steve Barton
Starts during the bidding for the Monkey (just before "25 Francs".) Faces are pretty much blurred out, colors have started bleeding into each other. There's buzzing in the audio track. And some mild horizontal distortion across the screen. In other words, given the age, the typical generation loss problems - this video got traded around on VHS a LOT before someone finally transferred it to DVD (due to waiting on the technology), and the loss isn't helped by the fact that somewhere along the way, someone re-used a tape when they copied it (possibly more than once, as evidenced by a short clip of something I can't identify in the "VTS_01_3" file.
But it's obvious that this was decently shot with plenty of mid-range zooms and even some closer shots - it captures the action VERY well in most places. The taper did have some problems in some of the dark bits (the AIAOY reprise for example.) Which makes the generation loss bit a damn shame - I'd have loved to have seen an earlier generation copy of this. Still ... it's one of the better quality bootlegs of Crawford and Barton out there.
Date is a best guess. The exact time frame of Steve's fill-in period as Raoul in Los Angeles has been debated, and one of the most known audios generally goes with either an '89 or a '91 date. However, with Crawford having performed his final in April 1990, lends creedence to the '89 date. Still, after all these years, we'll likely never know for sure an exact date.
C+
Vienna, 1989
Alexander Goebel, Luzia Nistler, Alfred Pfeifer, Priti Coles, Sergio Lombana, Jack Poppell, Wolfgang Pampel, Diana Bennet, Alexandra Young-Schmidt
Pro-shot highlights. Includes Overture to TOM, AOM to STYDI, Prima Donna to Il Muto and WHYBUH to AIAOY, second act has Masquerade/Why So Silent and Final Lair. Multiple cameras used. Some dual exposure of one camera overlapping the other - reminds me a LOT in that way of a much much later US tour multicam.
Also included are lots of clips from other productions.
Extra clips: A news feature with Alexander Goebel (directly following a performance, curtain calls and stage door are briefly shown); ZDF feature with Peter Hofmann and Anna Maria Kaufmann (clips from the title song, MOTN, Masquerade; interview with Peter and Harold Prince); news feature from the Hamburg premiere (includes clips of Hannibal and MOTN); Jill Washington and Michael Cormick singing AIAOY in costume for an English TV telethon "Children in Need" and Dave Willets talking about donations from fans (the host mentions the London production is 5 years old); German TV show with teenage contest winner Lena Miller meeting and working with Tim Tobin and Renee Knapp then performing the title song with Tim ; Stil Gefühl TV feature with Alfred Pfeifer (interview and clips of the unmasking and title song); a 1993 CNN feature on the Broadway production (just over 2,000 performances) with Mark Jacoby; a brief ZDF feature on the ballet company.
B+/B
Broadway, 1989
Cris Groenendaal, Rebecca Luker, Steve Barton
Almost black-and-white video with constant flickering lines. Dark and tons of generation loss and washout.
C-
Hamburg, Germany, 1990
Peter Hofmann, Anna Maria Kaufmann, Hartwig Rudolz
Scattered highlights of a proshot video, incldues parts of Hannibal, Angel of Music, Little Lotte, The Mirror, STYDI, Il Muto, and the Final Lair.
*2 MKV Files.*
Los Angeles, 1990 (?)
Michael Crawford, Mary D’Arcy (us?), Reece Holland
Begins with Raoul's line, "A collector's peice indeed."
Quite a bit of generation loss - some color loss and bleeding, blurry lines through the picture and static. There were some gorgeous shots in here though - you can still make out some of D'Arcy's facial features in "Think Of Me" when the taper had zoomed in on her. This is another one I wish that an early generation copy would crop up, but I know it won't happen *Sigh*. It looks to be very well shot - Crawford's movements in Music of the Night, especially.
Also includes an MC/POTO photo montage set to Michael singing Music of the Night (from the OLC or some-such recording). Includes curtain calls.
Date is a best guess, but if the year is correct it's before April 29. At any rate, the 1990 date has been in use for this recording for over a dozen years now. Also I'm fairly certain that Mary D'Arcy wasn't a principal, as my recollection is that Dale Kristen was principal for the entire run. I also seem to recall an interview somewhere that mentioned there not being an alternate for Los Angeles ... whether or not D'Arcy was officially an understudy or not is questionable.
C+
Canada, 1991? (1) (Toronto)
Colm Wilkinson, Rebecca Caine, Byron Neese
Very choppy highlights, runs approximately 50 minutes. One of only two known videos of Colm as the Phantom (the other being the Sydmonton Video).
All of the generation loss issues you'd expect from any Phantom video from the early 90's are here, of course. Buried in the issues though is a gem in the form of some excellent shooting by the taper (what I wouldn't give to come across a first-generation copy of this, but I know it's not very likely *Sigh*)
The exact date will likely also always be in question - throughout the years I've seen both 1990 and 1991 used. Since I believe Colm was there until at least 1992 ...
C
Canada, 1991 (2) (Vancouver, BC. Canadian Tour Production)
Jeff Hyslop, Patti Cohenour, David Rogers? (Byron Neese?)
Extended highlights, mostly the Phantom's parts. Runs about 70 minutes. Act I is mostly complete - some minor skips here and there, other than AIAOY but Act II starts with Wandering Child. Transfer from VHS. Color is fairly washed out (but I've seen worse) and and the picture is overall dark/not very clear, but facial features are distinguishable sometimes. Pretty shaky, as well. Patti has a very original Think of Me cadenza - I've never heard anyone else sing it quite that way.
Some question about Raoul's identity - the video came to me with the question mark beside it. Honestly though, Byron Neese doesn't make sense - wouldn't he have still been with the original Toronto production?
B-
Vienna, Austria 1991 (1)
Ernst-Dieter Suttheimer (alt), Colleen Besett (alt), Timothy Breese (alt), Dietrich Hergt, Horst Reeh (u/s), Linda Healy (alt.), Claudia Rose Golde (u/s), Sergio Lombana, Eva-Maria Weber (u/s)
Shot from right box, and some of the stage left action is blocked but it’s saved by great close-ups. Some flickering into b&w but otherwise, gorgeous picture and color for its age. Sound is fed in through the soundboard so some of the Phantom’s voiceovers as well as the monkey music box are inaudible. Last show for some performers (Suttheimer, Breese, Golde) they get flowers in the end.
I've had some questions about this date for a while. If 1991 is indeed correct, it might not have remained Suttheimer's final performance (although it's always possible he left and came back, as we know many others have done the same over the years - Brad Little, Hugh Panaro, anyone?) Possibly the same tape that was once traded as August 25, 1991. At any rate, I had it as 1993 for some time, but I'm re-evaluating the date. I doubt we'll ever know for sure unless whoever mastered this came forward (and I think that unlikely after over 25 years.)
B
Vienna, Austria, 1991 (2)
Alexander Goebel, Colleen Besett, Andrew Hambly-Smith, Jack Poppell, Dietrich Hergt, Robin Lee, Diana Bennett, Vittorio Giammarrusco (u/s), Alexandra Young
MONITOR VIDEO with audio from the soundboard, black and white. The sound is gorgeous and clear. Not very clear, spotlight washout, but with a bit more detail/contrast than the 1992 Saverine monitor video, but not by that much.
C
Vienna, Austria 1992 (1)
Nicholas Saverine, Colleen Bessett, Thorsten Tinney
Someone somewhere got a hold of a very early generation copy of this and did a transfer, because this is much better quality than the VHS copy I had nearly a dozen years ago! Some minor color bleeding, likely from a PAL to NTSC transfer, but nothing too far out there.
Whoever taped this could give most of today's tapers a run for their money as far as filming quality goes. Nice clear close ups, next to no loss of focus. I'm fairly sure this was shot on a tri-pod, possibly by someone working for the show, which could explain all that. Shot from the upper far right balcony with nice zooms. Due to the location of the camera, however, there are some obstructions (stage left, on the right side of the screen.) Nothing major though, no heads in the way, just the angle makes you miss a few minor details in the stage setup.
OMG. Saverine is a Phantom God. 'Nuff said.
A
Vienna, Austria, 1992 (2)
Nicholas Saverine, Luzia Nistler, Andrew Hambly-Smith, Jack Poppell, Peter Vorwerg, Robin Lee, Diana Bennett, Sergio Lombana, Alexandra Young
MONITOR VIDEO with sound patched through the soundboard. 1000th performance in Vienna.
Not sure if it was once in color, but it's now black and white. No zooms, you get a full-stage shot for the entire video. Recommended for collectors only. There's lots of spotlight washout, definiteve generation loss and very little detail (Don't expect to see anyone's facial features), but it's a good video for study of everyone's movements.
Sound is clear underneath, but there's this buzz over the whole thing - I suspect it happened during the transfer. If I were better at audio editing, I'd honestly rip the audio off of this and clean it up, and we'd finally have that gorgeous soundboard audio of Saverine the trading world deserves.
C
US Tour 1992-93 (Three dates as follows) 2NT
Philadelphia June 25, 1992
Philadelphia, June 26, 1992
Detroit 1993
Kevin Gray, Teri Bibb (1993)/Dodie Petit (u/s - 1992), Nat Chandler (1993)/Keith Buterbaugh (1992), David Hunerjaeger
This DVD contains *THREE* performances on ONE digitally enhanced DVD with beautiful menus, chapter selections and special features (interviews, news clips...etc)
Philadelphia videos: Obvious generation loss, but no where *near* what I was expecting to see from a video of this age – obviously who ever put this to DVD found a lower generation video than some of the ones floating around. Filmed from the upper balcony, I've watched part of the June 25 video thus far – there is a head, but it's not too much in the way. Good zooms for this time period, but there's a bit of spot-washout. Taper obviously knew the show rather well. I was surprised to see how clear the AIAOY reprise was – you can make out quite a bit of Gray's facial features. Contrary to popular description these are *NOT* complete. They are Phantom-heavy highlights running about 80 minutes for 6/25 and 45 minutes for 6/26. 6/26, unfortunately, is missing a few chunks of MOTN. They were filmed from the balcony, but still in full color. PRICELESS FLUB in the 6/25 video where the noose breaks during Final Lair. There *is* one thing though that I seriously wonder about in the 6-25 video . . . you have to watch closely, but at the end of Why So Silent, when the Phantom disappears – he goes through a trap door. Did this *Ever* happen on tour???
Detroit video: Wow. That's all I can say. Definitely loads better than the VHS copy I had previously which this replaced. If I were grading that one on a sliding scale with age factored in, I'd have to call it an A because there's almost NO generation loss . . . only a little. And some of the best zooms I've seen in a video – it gives some of my early vids a run for their money. And the AIAOY reprise . . . lordy. Shot from a rather odd angle in the orchestra – but I like it. Facial features are niiiice and clear throughout, although there are points where the shot will go a little blurry, still, no worse than some newer videos. The DVD is worth it for this performance alone. Highlights, mostly the phantom parts running about 35 minutes
Gray’s Phantom is great, a wonderfully smooth tenor voice that swings from seductive to hysterical in a split second. He nearly flips over the Angel during the Reprise from his fury.
A/B-
Vienna, June 30, 1993
Alexander Goebel, Luzia Nistler, Thorsten Tinney
Final performance of the show in Vienna. Astonishing quality for its age, just the slightest bit saturated. Facial features are easily visible on close-ups, and there are a lot of them. The zooms seem to “jump” sometimes, from very far to very close, and vice versa, as if the taper had presets on his camera. Most likely this was shot on a tripod - it's extremely steady. A couple ad lib's during Masquerade, and another occurs during Don Juan rehearsal, when Reyer says to Piangi, “Once more…like the last 1364 times,” which was the number of performances the show played in Vienna. The dancing during Masquerade is also much more elaborate than Broadway. Cast and orchestra get flowers and a good ten minutes of applause at curtain call. A good friend of mine called Alexander Goebel an "orgasm auf Deutsch", and I have to agree.
B+
US Tour, July/September? 1993 (Pittsburg, PA)
Franc D'Ambrosio, Tracy Shayne, Ciarán Sheehan
HIGHLIGHTS, mainly the Phantom's parts. Runtime of the main portion is just about 50 minutes (not counting any bonus features.)
Quality wise, this featues anything you'd expect for a video of this age, generation loss wise. Color loss, dark spots, and some 'light' bleeding. Facial features aren't completely obliterated though - during MOTN for example there's a few shots where Tracy's face can be made out. It's harder ot see Franc's, though, until the 'classic MOTN pose'. More wide shots than close-ups. Taper didn't have the steadiest hand, but given the equipement of the day, not a complete surprise.
The exact date has been a question mark for years now, but according to my old notes, the tour was in Pittsburgh between July 23 and September 25 in 1993. The only known video of D'Ambrosio's Phantom, and if I'm not mistaken, the earliest video of Shayne as Christine.
There are some bonus features in this copy, including a Toronto commercial and a couple of TV spots with Kevin Gray, as well as the (possibly accidental) bonus of a few minutes of the 1993 Detriot Hightlights with Kevin Gray and Teri Bibb (the Mirror, part of the title song, and most of MOTN, all of which is A- quality, as described int he review for that video).
Of interest to note: Franc used "Far from my FATHERING gaze" as far back as this performance during Wandering Child.
C+
Los Angeles, August 28, 1993
Davis Gaines, Dale Kristien, Michael Piontek, Calvin Remsberg, Norman Large, Leigh Munro, Barbara Lang, Gualtiero Negrini, Elizabeth Stringer
MONITOR VIDEO. Sound is patched through the soundboard. Not one hundred percent sure if this was matinee or evening, but if there were two shows that date that would make this either the third or fourth to last performance before the close of the production the next day. As it's a monitor video, there's no zooms, everything is full stage shot. The only time there are any heads is when the crowd gives a standing ovation for Gaines as he appears for curtain calls. Given the age, however, it's in excellent shape with very minor generation loss. Video begins with about 11 or 12 minutes of local TV spots denoting the ending of the production. Curtain calls are included, and there is a speech by both Davis Gaines and Andrew Lloyd Webber at the end.
This has been circulated around for quite some time as one of the August 29th videos (I myself originally had it as the Evening performace, before I took a closer listen to the speech), but if you listen to Davis's speech, he clearly denotes that the production is closing the next day.
A-
Los Angeles, August 29, 1993 (Matinee)
Davis Gaines, Dale Kristien, Michael Piontek, Calvin Remsberg, Norman Large, Leigh Munro, Barbara Lang, Gualtiero Negrini, Elizabeth Stringer
MONITOR VIDEO of the final matinee in LA recorded from Gaines' dressing room. Full stage shot that doesn't move. Color is good, with soundboard audio, very dark, though. Although there are no closeups, the wide shot is a nice simulation of sitting in the theater. Davis is fabulous, both vocally and physically (although his voice does crack on "be" in MOTN).
A-
Canada, 1994 (Toronto)
Peter Karrie, Teresa DeZarn, David Rogers
HIGHLIGHTS. captures mostly the Phantom's parts. Said to be the only video of Peter in the role. There's what I think of as the typical "transfer line" at the bottom of the screen from the VHS-to-DVD transfer. There are some focus issues here and there (but nothing too atypical) and it is a bit shaky (forgivable when you think that camcorders in the early part of the 1990's were a LOT larger than today's cameras). There is some generation loss, not unexpected when you think this spent at least 10 years being traded on VHS before it was transfered to DVD, it could have been in a LOT worse shape. Facial features are still very distinguishable when they're not in a spotlight washout area. Some of the colors had started to fade, however. Decent mix of wide shots and zooms. Taper knew the show well and doesn't miss much of the action at all. Includes an interview with Peter Karrie after the video, which includes a pro-shot MOTN and POTO clip of Karrie and DeZarn.
One thing to note. Having gone through the other Canadian videos I have, Peter is the ONLY one to catch Christine at the end of MOTN and carry her to the bed, a very nice touch, but I know it was a rare thing for any non-London production by this point.
B
Japan, April 6, 1994 (Sapparo, Japan Tour)
Eiji Akutagawa, Hisako Hanaoka, Kanji Ishimaru
Superb quality for the age of this video, very minimal generation loss. Almost makes me wonder if the date I got with it is wrong, because it almost seems to be digital quality.
A
London, 1995
Ethan Freeman, Jill Washington, Simon Bowman
A RUG video. Faces are blurry and there are very few close-ups, also spotlight washout, and slight color bleeding, likely from a PAL to NTSC transfer somewhere along the way. Nevertheless, still watchable.
C
Canada, 1995 (Toronto)
Cris Groenendaal, Tereza DeZarn, David Rogers
60 minute highlights. For the age, it's in great shape. A little snow at the bottom (typical of many VHS to DVD transfers.) A little color qashout, but facial features are clear and the sound is good. Also some occaisonal 'flickering'. Focus suffers from time to time, but nothing out of normal ranges. Someone added "credits" to the beginning - I'd love to know if that was done when this was put onto DVD, or if it was a feature the master put on the original tape, but we'll likely never know now, more than 20 years later. There's some decent zooms. Taper sadly doesn't have the steadiest hand - but given the likely weight of the camcorder, it's forgiveable.
B
Broadway, January 26, 1998
Thomas James O'Leary, Tracy Shayne, Gary Mauer
HIGHLIGHTS. Runs just under 37 minutes. Very hard to grade. Quite shaky and blurry at times, with what I think of as the 'transfer' bar at the bottom. Includes most of The Mirror, most of POTO, half of MOTN, all of I Remember/STYDI, most of the AIAOY reprise, all of Why So Silent, all of Wandering Child, all of PONR, part of Down Once More, all of the Final Lair, and part of the curtain calls (including TJOL giving Tracy a rose). Also includes a very brief news clip about the anniversary, which helps verify the date - the rose in Tracy Shayne's hand in the curtain call footage from the clip matches the the video, except the angle of course.
I don't know if it's a flub or just very in character, but when Tracy feels his mask under the hood at the end of PONR she says something like "Oh, God..." or "Oh, no!" Another couple minor flubs are TJOL tripping a little on his way up to the organ in the final lair and Tracy slipping when she's kneeling in front of the throne.
B+
Broadway, Summer 1998
Thomas James O Leary, Sandra Joseph, Gary Mauer, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews, Patricia Hurd, Leila Martin, Frederic Heringues, Geralyn DelCorso, Ted Keegan (Reyer.)
There's some gen loss and color bleeding during the show, as well as some spot washout. Also more wide shots than I would have liked. The close-ups that are there are good, though. Taped from the far left balcony from the looks of the camera angle, and one of only a few video's I've seen where there are no annoying heads in the way. All around though, some excellent work went into this, the taper took shots from the front of the theatre, and even added "credits" into the end, by taping the playbill.
This video has also recently been traded with a date of "July, 1998" as well, but "Summer, 1998" has been the longer standing date - it's how it was marked more than a dozen years ago when I first got a hold of this video. The two dates ARE the same video - I've done comparisons on them. The only differences are in the DVD authoring, but the generations are close if not the same.
B-
Hamburg, Germany, March 31, 1999
Jerzy Jeszke, Carla Nicholson, Bjorn Olsson, Linda Bruske, Vera Barisova
Sound is a little muffled, and sometimes is missing from one channel or the other, but it's not constant all the way through. Some balcony rails in the way at times, but the taper stays zoomed in for most of it to compensate. Possibly shot by the same person as the other Jerzy Jeszke video from this year (I've got two dates for it, 1-4 or 4-1) Filming is steady, and the filmer knows the show well. Some color bleeding from the transfer (whether it is simply a PAL to NTSC or a VHS to DVD or both is questionable.)
B+
Hamburg, Germany, April 1, 1999?
Jerzy Jeske, Lori Zeglarski (alt), Björn Olson, Anders Sahlmann, Reinhard Schulze
A little dark and saturated from the PAL transfer, but nothing unexpected. Some spotlight washout in places, again, typical for the show. Balcony bars in the way, but this almost never matters since the camera is zoomed in. Missing the small files. Possibly filmbed by the same taper as the March 31st video from this year, but they ARE different performances (I've compared to be sure. There are different shots and noises, and the Christines are definitely different.) Taper knows the show VERY well.
Some question on the date. Most sites do have it as April 1 (I even had it that way on my old site a dozen years ago when I first aquired it), but I have found at least one older trader who had it listed as January 4 (And before anyone says it, it was a site of a trader who was usually good about conveying all info they had). This could be typical European/American misdating. I'm going to leave this in the April 1 spot as that's the typically accepted date on most contemporary sites, but just want it noted there IS a question.
B+
Hamburg, August 22, 1999?
David Hunerjaeger (u/s), Valentina Kozhanova (u/s), Kyle Gonyea, Laurie Ann McGowan, Linda Bruske, Marcello Roncietto, Sabrina Harper, Stephan Drakulich, Eberhardt Neitzel
Only boot known to exist of David in the title role (he was usually Firmin). The video's edges are fuzzy (especially on the left and bottom) and there is the slightest bit of color bleeding. There are lots of good zooms and the tape is remarkably steady. No cover-ups that I saw and virtually no head obstructions. Occasional remarks from either the taper or someone sitting quite near him/her. Scenes that are often dark (example, the Phantom during Il Muto) are well-lit and quite viewable. Starts at the auction scene. Cuts off after the chandelier crash mid-laugh. Blue screen for several seconds before coming back with the Entr'acte music, ends with the last note of the show (no curtain calls, unfortunately). The first act was taped on the left side of the theater with the second act being taped on the far right side of the theater (which results in a little obstruction, nothing major)
I've seen this listed as both 1998 and 1999.
B
Belgium, April 2000
Hans Peter Janssens, Inneke van Klinken, Michael Shawn Lewis, Ann Lauwereins, Ernst Van Looy, Marc Meersman, Stephanie H. Tschïppe
Some generation loss - some color bleeding, mildly fuzzy, and of course the fuzz bar at the bottom of the screen from the analog transfer this underwent at some point. However, there are some bloody AMAZING close-ups. This taper knew the show VERY well. I'd LOVE to get a hold of a first-gen copy, but that ship probably sailed years ago. On the rare side (if I had this back in the day it was unlisted.)
B-
London, 2000
Scott Davies, Charlotte Page, Matthew Cammelle
Once upon a time, this could only be found on VHS in black-and-white, it was traded VERY heavily within the first four years of it's life on tape. Then some wonderful person got a hold of a very early PAL copy and put it onto DVD without the massive generation loss of the widely circulated copy. The result is a low-gen video with some beautiful close-ups throughout. It is, however, shot from an interesting angle.
Typically traded as "Summer, 2000".
A-
London, March 9, 2000
Scott Davies, Meredith Braun, Matt Cammelle
Lovely show, with nice close-ups. Head obstruction. Filmed from the orchestra (which explains all the heads), but the taper does a pretty good job working around them. A few seconds here and there are just black because of all the heads, but nothing too serious is missed. There are some simply orgasmic close-ups! You can see the spit glisten on Scott's lips.
*Missing Smalls Files*
A
Hamburg, 2001
Ian Jon Bourg, Olivia Safe (u/s), Kyle Gonyea
Absolutely gorgeous close-ups and excellent sound. Taper definitely knew the show well and had a very steady hand. Whoever transferred this from the VHS tape left the tape running, so there's a whole bunch of 'dead air' after the Final Lair. But they obviously had a very early generation tape - there's very little generation loss. No curtain calls. The exact date is in question, but it's definitely before June 30 (when the production closed.)
A-
Mexico, January 14, 2001
Juan Navarro/Saulo Vasconcelos (Phantom), Claudia Cota/Irasema Terrazas (Christine), Jose Joel (Raoul)
MOST OF THE SHOW. Final performance of the Mexican production. The alternate cast performs the first act, principal cast the second. Looks to be shot from the right hand side of the balcony. Not always the steadiest of hands on the camcorder. I only viewed from Wandering Child on ... There's at least two skips in Wandering Child, then a big chunk missing between Bravo Monsier until the beginning of PONR. Chunks missing out of the Final Lair, and out of the curtain calls. Part of the Speeches at the end are there, but only about 30 seconds worth. In act 1 I viewed most of the first Lair scene. Some more close shots than in act 2 but still more zoomed. Act 1 is definitely better quality. More wide shots thatn close ups throughout. Definitely suffers from generation loss.
B/B-
Hamburg, June 30, 2001 (Final Matinee)
Michael Nicholson (alt), Olivia Safe (u/s), Christopher Morandi (alt), Reinhard Schulze (u/s?), Anders Sohlmann, Evelyn Werner (u/s), Linda Bruske, Charlie Serrano, Kate Lawrence
Final matinee performance in Hamburg and the final performance open to the public. Shot from the balcony. The rail gets in the way at times, but only during wide shots. Some color bleeding and generation loss - likely from the PAL to NTSC transfer or the VHS to DVD transfer, or the remaster from a 2-disk set to a single disk (which would have obviously compressed the video. Yes, I know this was done. I used to have the two-disk set). Still, it's good quality considering what it went through to get to DVD. Some video issues during the auction and constant camcorder noise. Funny closing ad libs: the center skull from Robert le Diable is wearing sunglasses, the marksman is in the pit applauding Christine after ToM, crazy cadenzas during Il Muto. Also, a flub-up in the show, the backdrop never falls in “Hannibal”. Also includes bonus clips from German TV (One with Tim Tobin and Renee Knapp, the other two unidentified) Moving menus and scene selection.
B+
Hamburg, June 30, 2001 (Final Evening)
Ian Jon Bourg, Colby Thomas, Kyle Gonyea, David Hunerjaeger, Anders Sohlmann, Vera Borisova, Linda Bruske, Marcello Roncietto, Kate Lawrence
Stunning and beautifully clear video of the final performance in Hamburg! This is the version with the Curtain Calls & Medley included, plus a few minutes at the stage-door. Done by a different taper from the other video of this performance, and filmed from stage right. No color saturation from PAL transfer but the filming can be pretty shaky.
A-
Madrid, Spain, 2002
Luis Amando, Felicidad Farag, Armando Pita, David Venacio Murio, Enrique R del Portal, Teresa Castal, Ana Argemi, Carlos Fernández (u/s), Evangelina Esteves
PRO-SHOT.
At one time, I had a much better copy of this one *Sigh*. This one has a sound issue that the early copies didn't have - a mechanical buzz throughout. Also some color bleeding (did someone at some point convert from PAL to NTSC and this was the result?) Also it's much further compressed than the original copy I had was. *Sigh again*.
A few seconds of MOTN (Looks like a tape change???), the Rooftop, and Don Juan missing. A wonderful and unique production of Phantom. First, the chandelier is pretty much free falling. Second, both Carlotta and Piangi are *thin* (Piangi also doesn’t hit his high note during Hannibal). Third, Luis walks right into the boat during the end of the Title Song (although I must say he covered admirably).
Still, it's in a lot better shape than many older videos.
B
Broadway, March 27, 2002
Howard McGillin, Elizabeth Southard, Michael Shawn Lewis, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews,
Rebecca Eichenberger, Marilyn Caskey, David Gaschen [u/s], Joelle Gates
Can be very shaky at points (Taper's first video ever), but the close-ups are incredible. Southard was on for a short time while Sarah Pfisterer left for her second maternity leave. One of only two known videos of Southard from her Broadway days, and quite probably the first recording of her as Christine.
RECENTLY UPGRADED! I got my hands on the two-disk copy made from a first-generation VHS tape that was floating around *years* ago, this one doesn't have the compression issues my old copy had. Video is FULL SHOW and includes curtain calls and Howard's BC/EFA speech that my previous copy was missing.
A-
Broadway, July 31, 2002 (matinee)
Howard McGillin, Elizabeth Southard (alt), Michael Shawn Lewis, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews, Wren Marie Harrington (u/s), Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Joelle Gates
Very dark, with a fair bit of generation loss. (I know for a fact that it spent quite some time on VHS before someone transferred it to DVD. Mildly fuzzy, with a hissy audio. The Prologue and the beginning of Act II are audio only. The taper doesn't follow the show as well as they could - lots of good shot opportunities lost. One of only two videos of Southard from her time on Broadway.
B
Budapest, 2003
Attila Csengeri, Renata Krassy, Gabor Bot
Somewhat shaky video of the first non-replica production. It's definitely been compressed (less than 3gb for the full video). Mix of wide to mid-range zooms (Which given the production's newness helps you see everything.
Given the compression I highly suspect this was ripped from Youtube and turned into VOBs. I'm not 100% sure on that (only because there is the possibilty that if it were mastered straight to DVD in 2003-2004 the master may not have had access to "good" master software. My first DVD creation software in 2004 SUCKED as evidenced by the compression rate of one of my early masters.) But at any rate, I'm throwing it out there.
B
Budapest, 2003
Sándor Sásvari, Andrea Mahó, Gabor Bot
Supposely from a Dress Rehearsal, which would explain the lack of heads. Likely shot on a tripod, given how steady it is. Good mix of zoom and wide shots. The audio is very skewed to the right - there's almost nothing in the left channel. Slightly grainy, and very compressed - the entire video is less than 3 gb. And it is full show.
Given the compression I highly suspect this was ripped from Youtube and turned into VOBs. I'm not 100% sure on that (only because there is the possibilty that if it were mastered straight to DVD in 2003-2004 the master may not have had access to "good" master software. My first DVD creation software in 2004 SUCKED as evidenced by the compression rate of one of my early masters.) But at any rate, I'm throwing it out there.
B
Stuttgart, Germany, 2003
Roy Weissensteiner (u/s), Marion Wilmer (u/s), Carsten Lepper
Monitor video - better quality than the one with Maike Switzer from 2004. Full stage shot and soundboard audio.
Spotlight washout, facial features not discernable, but you don't actually miss any of the action. Colors seem muted.
B
Broadway, May 20, 2003
Hugh Panaro, Lisa Vroman, John Cudia
Decent picture and quality, some washout in wider shots. Taper obviously knows the show very well. Not a true digital though - I happen to know that the master originally sent this to someone on a VHS and that person transferred it to a DVD. Would LOVE to come across a copy of the original Master's DVD but I know that's VERY unlikely. Once upon a time, this was rediculously rare ...
Ravenquest's master.
A
Broadway, October 7, 2003
Hugh Panaro, Julie Hanson, Jim Weitzer (?)
Very nice shots throughout. Some struggling with the camera clearing up after zooms. Oh and the typical spot washout issues in the normal places.
Taped by PuppetMan.
A
US Tour, November 18, 2003 (Los Angeles, CA)
Brad Little, Marni Raab, Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer (Firmin), D.C. Anderson (Andre), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), (?) Jimmy Smagula (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Mme. Giry), Kate Wray (Meg)
Audio is a little on the quiet side. Mic adjustment noise in the Overture. "LeFevre" repeats a line in Hannibal (I'm not sure if it's an overlap from the recording or if it really happened that way, I'll have to check the video closer.) Reyer's mic goes out in Hannibal as well. Some of the orchestration during Carlotta's "Think Of Me" is so low it's almost inaudible. Also sounds like the Auctioneer is played by a cover – it's not the same guy as on the tour audios I have prior and after this engagement. I'm pretty sure this is Smagula as Piangi, which would make it the first recording of him after he took over the role. There are some good shots here, but mostly mid-range zooms, and there is pixilation from the digital zoom when the taper DID zoom in. Also intermittent talking through out – VERY annoying. Earliest known video of Raab as Christine.
B
Stuttgart, Germany, November 28, 2003
Steve Lucas (u/s), Maike Switzer, Carsten Lepper, Stefan Mueller-Ruppert, Marko Woytowicz, Barbara Grey Nystrom, Anette Kuhn, Marcello Ronchietto, Lara Glew
Very nice close-ups, some bad focus moments but nothing out of the norm for the cameras of the time period. Taper knows the show well.
A
Budapest, Hungary, 2004?
Sasvári Sándor, Renata Krassy, Zoltan Miller
Highlights, runs 70 minutes.
Attila Csengeri, Eszter Biro, Zsolt Homonnay
Highlights, runs 20 minutes.
VERY interesting angle on both videos- filmed from the right side of the stage (behind the lights) with just a little bit of obstructions but nothing too terrible. Given the angle, though, there are some AWESOME shots in here. The picture is nice and crystal clear.
The first highlights covers both acts and catches all of the principal material plus quite a smattering of ensemble pieces.
The second highlights only covers act 1, and misses most of the principal material, instead seeming to concentrate on ensemble scenes - Hanibal, Notes 1/Prima Donna, Il Muto. Nothing from the first lair at all - very disappointing, but what can you do? Most of the Rooftop is there (it ends partway through the AIAOY Reprise.)
I noted years ago that Christine was a blond in this production ... apparantly that holds for Renata, but NOT for Eszter.
As to the question mark by the date ... it's probably accurate, but given there's two performances on here I can't guarantee with any degree of certainty that they were both the same timeframe. I didn't delve too deep into Hungarian videos years ago, and I never had this one, so ...
A
US Tour, January 11, 2004. Matinee. (Orlando, Florida.)
Brad Little, Elizabeth Southard (Alternate), Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer (Firmin), DC Anderson (Andre), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), Jimmy Smagula (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Giry), Kate Wray (Meg), William Patrick Dunne (Understudy, Bouquet)
Digital – Master. My first tape, so I was pretty shaky. The reason for the downing of the grade follows Missing the Prologue. The Overture is mostly audio only, as is the beginning of Hannibal up until mid-way through Think Of Me. Most of the title scene and the Graveyard scene are also audio only, I had trouble getting shots. Quite a few more cover-ups than I would have liked due to ushers getting too close. The audio is perfectly intact and in FULL except for parts of the Prologue. The shots I did get however; are perfectly clear, though I did have some problems with the optical zoom on occasion. Brad Little's second-to-last performance with the tour.
DAT or AVI formats. (My DVD is MIA.)
B
US Tour, January 11, 2004. Evening. (Orlando, FL)
Brad Little (Final Performance), Rebecca Pitcher, Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer (Firmin), DC Anderson (Andre), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), Jimmy Smagula (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Giry), Kate Wray (Meg)
Digital – Master. Missing the beginning of the Prologue, the Entr'acte, and the first minute of Act Two before Masquerade, everything else is there. Title scene is mostly audio only as I had difficulty getting a shot. Wishing and Wandering Child are very dark as well. Still a little shaky, but not as bad as the Matinee show. Brad gets choked up as he sings "It's over now ..."
A
Stuttgart, Germany, March 2004
Roy Weissensteiner (2nd u/s), Maike Switzer, Carsten Axel Lepper
Monitor video, full stage shot, quite a bit of color bleeding and exposure. Soundboard audio which gives out sometimes.
Now HERE is a walk down memory lane for me ... I originally had this on VHS and transferred it. Thank you to whoever put it into VOB format for keeping my original "credit" scenes :-)
B
US Tour, June 6, 2004 (Salt Lake City)
Tim Martin Gleason (U/S), Sarah Lawrence (U/S), Peter Lockyer (U/S), David Cryer (Firmin), DC Anderson (Andre), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), Jimmy Smagula? (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Giry), Kate Wray (Meg)
VHS TRANSFER. Missing all but the very last word of the prologue. When the chandelier lights and begins its assent, there is video disturbance, as well as audio disturbance. Video is non-existent in the beginning of the Angel Of Music scene, and there are a few cover-ups in Hannibal. Missing the beginning of "I Remember" . . . picks up at Christine's line "Who is that shape in the shadows?" (My guess is they switched tapes. As a taper I know it's NOT necessary!) Magical Lasso has no video, and the beginning of the first notes scene also seems to be a cover-up. During Il Muto, Piangi's voice is very hard to hear. Also there are no shots of the Phantom on the Proscenium during Il Muto – very disappointing! There's one point where you can tell the taper tried to get a shot but was foiled by the chandelier. There's a disturbance in both the audio and video portion at the beginning of the Rooftop scene. Also the taper went for digital zoom about halfway through – only for a moment – but there's pixilation in that moment. Missing the Entr'acte (not a big deal, if you've heard it once etc . . . ) And almost all of Masquerade up until the final portion with the cast on the staircase before the Phantom comes down. *Sighs* And I really wanted to see Lawrence and Lockyer in that scene! Portion of the scene between Giry and Raoul is missing. The rest of the video is basically standard POTO . . . usual darkness during Wishing and Wandering Child, etc, but nothing really to note missing or badly shot. This was taped by the same tapers as the Brad Little Los Angeles videos. My old notes mention that the transfer to VHS from the mini-DV tape was very sloppy, and that the trader I got that VHS tape off of was known for sloppy work.
B+/B-
London, October 15, 2004
John Owen-Jones, Rachel Barrell, Oliver Thornton, Anthony Cable (u/s), Sam Hiller, Sally Harrison, Emma Edwards (u/s), Rohan Tickell, Claire Tilling(?)
This video was ahead of it's time, when it was filmed it was considered by most Phantom traders to be the best Phantom video out there. Shot from obstructed seats in the right dress circle, so sometimes you can’t see some action on the right, including the Phantom in the mirror, the Red Death on the stairs, and some of the bench during PONR. Sometimes shaky and sometimes scratchy sound. But the pictures is incredibly clear, with many tight zooms that maintain their integrity without pixellation. Also, scenes that one generally expects to be dark (and aren't always visible: such as the AIAOY reprise and Wandering Child) are very visible.
A
US Tour, February 11, 2005 (Ft. Myers, FL)
Peter Lockyer (U/S), Rebecca Pitcher, Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Laureen Vigil (U/S Carlotta), John Whitney, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Sarah Spradlin-Bonomo
MASTER. HIGHLIGHTS due to only having one battery for the camcorder. Breakdown follows:
No Prologue. Overture is there, but is shaky. Hannibal cut out until when Christine sings "Think of Me." Part of the Backstage scene cut out. Angel of Music, Little Lotte, The Mirror, POTO, Music Of The Night, and Stranger Than You Dreamt It are all shot, though the title song is mostly audio only until they come out on the boat. Cut out Magical Lasso and the Manager's Office scene. Comes back in Il Muto as Carlotta comes on stage, and filmed through the end of Act I.
Act II – Comes in at the very end of Masquerade, just before Red Death comes out. Cut the scene with Giry and Raoul. Comes back in Note's II around Carlotta's line "Precious little flower." Cut the Rehearsal scene. Comes back during Wishing. Wandering Child is dark, but it's there. Cut the Before the Premiere, and the beginning of Don Juan Triumphant. Comes back in for Point of No Return through the end of the Final Lair. Curtain calls were not taped – I was lucky the battery made it through the lair. Some minor cover-ups, but nothing extensive, I'm amazed I was able to film at all the way the ushers were.
Chock full of close ups, even though it was taped from the balcony.
Lockyer flubs part of the AIAOY reprise after PONR – stops singing, and then comes back with the proper second line. He also flubbed when removing the cape and removed his jacket as well - leading him to sing MOTN in shirt sleeves and a vest.
A
US Tour, February 13, 2005 (Ft. Myers, FL)
Peter Lockyer (U/S), Elizabeth Southard (Alt), Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Laureen Vigil (U/S Carlotta), John Whitney, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Sarah Spradlin-Bonomo
Digital – Master - Highlights:
I made the mistake of playing with the light meter in some scenes: Breakdown follows:
Act one starts at Think of Me. Missing some dialogue between TOM and Angel of Music. Short cut just before Little Lotte, then includes the entire sequence from The Mirror to the end of the first Lair. Only the Phantom's parts of Il Muto were taped. Includes the entire Rooftop.
Act two starts at the last verse of "Masquerade" for "Why so Silent." Cuts made in Notes II – begins at "Raoul I'm frightened." Cut out the Rehearsal, and the Before the Premiere scenes, and video picks back up at Point Of No Return. Mode switch for DOM, and back to normal for the Final Lair. Curtain calls were not taped.
Problems in Title song, Il Muto, AIAOY Reprise, Wishing, Wandering Child, and DOM – I decided to try out a different mode on the camera that supposedly helps with low lighting situations but have discovered after reviewing the tape that it distorts the picture. Essentially, everything is blurred when it moves. I can send a video clip before we trade so you can see what the exact nature of the problem is. After the title song, switched back to normal mode, so the problem doesn't exist through MOTN or I Remember scenes, and I didn't use it for AIAOY, just the reprise. I also cut out the ballet from Il Muto this time – good thing too because that night vision runs the battery down quicker. This is the cause for the split grade – because these scenes ARE so blurry, and do not deserve an A.
Some minor cover-ups, but nothing extensive, I'm amazed I was able to film at all the way the ushers were.
Chock full of close ups, even though it was taped from the very back of the balcony.
One of only two videos of Lockyer as Phantom.
A/B
US Tour, February 17, 2005 (Ft. Myers, FL)
Tim Martin Gleason (U/S), Rebecca Pitcher, Peter Lockyer (U/S), John Kuether (U/S Firman), DC Anderson, Joan Sobel (U/S Carlotta), John Whitney, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Sarah Spradlin-Bonomo
MASTER. HIGHLIGHTS.
Act One: Begins at Carlotta's "Think Of Me" and runs through the end of "Stranger" with only minor cuts. In "Il Muto" Only the Phantom's parts are included. Rooftop runs from "All I Ask Of You" through to the chandelier crash.
Act Two: Begins at the very end of Masquerade right before the Red Death comes out. Includes "Wandering Child", and everything from "Point Of No Return" through to the end of the final Lair. Curtain calls were NOT taped.
Shot from the lower left hand side of the Balcony. A few notes: During Il Muto, the Phantom does not move around on the Proscenium - this is because the ceiling at Barbara Mann is so low that the Phantom would have literally had to crawl to get to his next cue - so they kept him stationary for this venue (Gary Mauer had informed me of this earlier in the run before I had access to the camera). Also, In the Final Lair, the Chair doesn't come out until Raoul is already in the Lair – a little bit of a funny, but if you know POTO well, you'll note that Gleason almost misses his timing getting the Lasso around Raoul's neck because he's not quite in the right place – due to the chair coming out, he's further downstage than normal.
Complete digital audio available of this performance
RARE cast – probably the last video of Gleason's Phantom on tour before he left to take over Raoul on Broadway.
CONTRARY TO WHAT IS ON OTHER LISTS, KATE WRAY DID NOT PLAY MEG! THIS IS THE CORRECT CAST LIST!
A-
US Tour, February 18, 2005 (Ft. Myers, FL)
Stephen R. Buntrock (U/S), Rebecca Pitcher, Peter Lockyer (U/S), David Cryer, DC Anderson, Joan Sobel (U/S Carlotta), John Whitney, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Sarah Spradlin-Bonomo
MASTER. HIGHLIGHTS.
Act One: Starts with Christine in Think of Me (Missing I think the first line or so – I almost didn't tape at all, there was an usher RIGHT beside me!) Short cut in between TOM and Angel of Music. Includes AOM, Little Lotte, The Mirror, POTO, Music of the Night, I Remember/Stranger than you Dreamt It, part of Il Muto (the Phantom's parts), and the entire Rooftop. Title song is dark, of course (blurry through the beginning with odd shots when I could get them until the boat comes out.)
Act Two: Very end of Masquerade and all of Why So Silent. Wandering Child (though it's dark, and Buntrock keeps going into shadow – the foot of the Angel getting slightly in the way), Point of No Return through the end of the Lair.
Curtain calls were NOT taped. The overall shooting seems to have improved. I had a lot more luck with the title song, the AIAOY reprise, and Wandering Child than I've had on previous nights at this venue.
There's a malfunction with the Chandelier's lights on its way down at the end of act one.
Buntrock flubs a few words in Point of No Return. (I'm shocked I didn't notice it that night, but I noticed when reviewing the tape.) After he says "Make your choice", someone near me in the audience says the word "Jerk" . . . probably in reference to the Phantom (Well, the Phantom is being a jerk at that point!)
A
US Tour, February 24, 2005 (Ft. Myers, FL)
Gary Mauer, Rebecca Pitcher, Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, John Whitney, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Sarah Spradlin-Bonomo
MASTER. HIGHLIGHTS.
Act One: Begins during "Little Lotte" and continues through the end of the first Lair. Parts of Little Lotte, however, are blind shot. Clears up by the Mirror. Includes the entire rooftop scene
Act Two: Begins during Masquerade, but most of the scene is blind-shot, until Red Death. Also includes the entire Graveyard scene, and from PONR through to the end of the Lair. Curtain calls were NOT taped.
Taped from 13th row, center orchestra. A few cover-ups where I was nearly sure I was caught taping. Absolutely AMAZING close-ups. Part of the right hand side of the stage is obstructed by a head in the way. I did my best to shoot around it, but it does block some otherwise good shots (The Phantom at the organ, for example.)
I swear that in the final Lair scene, after Christine hands back the ring and he tells her he loves her, as Christine runs away, I SWEAR Mauer whispers "Stay". You have to jack the volume up VERY high, but I swear it's there. Pitcher continues to improve little by little.
Complete digital audio available of this performance
CONTRARY TO WHAT IS ON OTHER LISTS, KATE WRAY DID NOT PLAY MEG! THIS IS THE CORRECT CAST LIST!
(Temporarily NFT - MIA)
A
London, February 26, 2005 (Evening)
John Owen-Jones (final), Rachel Barrell, Oliver Thornton, Richard Hazell, Sam Hiller, Sally Harrison, Heather Jackson, Rohan Tickell, Claire Tilling
One of the best videos out there, shot from third row orchestra and therefore has incredible close-ups, you're right under the actor's noses. Some heads as a result but they almost never get in the way. No video during Overture or first half of Title Song. Hard to see the Phantom during the Reprise because of the angle, and first act ends before the chandelier falls. JOJ is on fire obviously, especially his Final Lair. His "Go now and leave me" is extraordinarily protracted. But awesome. Definitely awesome.
Finally upgraded to VOB's, but I know there's a two-disk PAL version out there which I'd love to upgrade to. This version is a one-disk that's only just barely over two gigabytes in size. This one is definitely a VHS transfer - the 'tape' symbol shows at the end. I don't remember if the copy I had years ago did that.
VOB or WMV format.
A
Broadway, March 2, 2005
Hugh Panaro, Julie Hanson, John Cudia
Lovely quality video, nice color and details, but filmer didn’t know show very well, resulting in more wideshots than might be usual. Some mic contact noise here and there.
A
US Tour, March 31, 2005 (Boston, MA)
Gary Mauer, Elizabeth Southard (alt), Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, John Whitney, Kate Wray
Taper says: MOST of the show, starts at Carlotta's “Think of Me”. On the shaky side. Audio was fed in through an MD recorder using binaural mics, creating a surround sound effect. Unfortunately some synching problems cause half-second late audio lags during the second act. 2nd show and Southard's first performance of the Boston tour stop. Quirks: the curtain never goes up after Think of Me for Christine to take her bows, and the curtain during curtain call takes quite awhile to go up as well (you can hear the creaking as the technicians raise it manually).
Some seriously awesome shots in this one, taper knew the show well. The first released video of Gary and Beth, but it's halfway through their run on the tour so they've settled into the roles well - their chemistry together is simply AMAZEING. JStarz master.
A
Broadway, April 2, 2005 (matinee)
James Romick (u/s), Marie Danvers (alt), John Cudia, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews, Anne Runolfsson, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Kara Klein (u/s)
MOST of the show. Includes Romick's BC/EFA speech. Starts when the backdrop falls in "Hannibal" and missing Magical Lasso and Notes. Filmed from the very last row of the front mezz on an aisle seat, so there are a few brief cover-ups on the Rooftop and one each during Wandering Child and PONR because of ushers. Nothing life-threatening is missed. Obstructions: one head in the center of the stage that was shot around well. Remains in mid-zoom or close-up shots for the entire show. Rare video of Marie as Broadway alternate.
A-
US Tour, April 3, 2005 (Boston, MA)
Gary Mauer, Elizabeth Southard (alt), Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, John Whitney, Kate Wray
Taper says: "FULL SHOW, yay! A bit on the darkish side since my light meter messed up. A brief cover-up for a few seconds during Hannibal. A *crazy* audience that applauds at every available moment. Also a funny flub where the monkey sits tipped over on its side for almost all of Final Lair. Mauer very smoothly fixes it when he’s screaming at Christine and Raoul to go.
Good mix of close and wide shots. Taper knew the show like the back of her hand.
Jstarz master.
A-
US Tour, April 17, 2005 (Boston, MA)
Gary Mauer, Elizabeth Southard (alt), Tim Martin Gleason, John Keuther (u/s), DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, Rebecca Judd (u/s), John Whitney, Kate Wray
EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS. First Act shot from the orchestra, starts from announcement to turn off cell phones and runs until the end of Magical Lasso. Picks up again in the middle of the Rooftop and runs till the end of the act. Second Act shot from balcony (after the taper was caught and had to hand over the 'tape in the camera' that happened to be the blank tape that should have recorded act 2) runs from Point of No Return through Mauer's hilarious BC/EFA speech. Starts out shaky in the beginning and some blockage from a large moving head, but otherwise definitely some good shooting. Mid to close-close-ups all the way through.
Jstarz master. "Evening" was denoted on this one ... which makes me wonder if she'd taped both shows. Which would not suprise me a bit, I know there were a bunch more videos she made in Boston than were ever released.
A
Broadway, June 6, 2005
Hugh Panaro, Sandra Joseph, Tim Martin Gleason, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews,Anne Runolfsson, Marilyn Caskey, David Gaschen (u/s), Kara Klein
Taper says: Filmed from left rear mezz, full show including curtain calls. Act Two starts in the middle of Masquerade. Sporadic blockage from spastic people sitting in front of the taper. First video of TMG on Broadway as well as Keller's first show back from vacation
Mildly fuzzy at points, but includes some awesome close ups
=(JStarz master, if IIRC. Once upon a time I could have been sure ...)=
A
Broadway, June 22, 2005
Hugh Panaro, Julie Hanson (alt), Tim Martin Gleason, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews, Anne Runolfsson, Marilyn Caskey, David Gaschen (u/s), Kara Klein
Taper says: Filmed from right rear mezz, full show including curtain calls. A cover-up during the Overture and about five minutes of Hannibal because of latecomers being seated around me. A bit shakier than 6/6 because of more heads to shoot through.
A
Broadway, August 10, 2005 (Matinee)
Tim Martin Gleason (u/s), Susan Owen (alt,u/s), Stephen R. Buntrock (u/s), Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews, Anne Runolfsson, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Kara Klein, James Romick (Don Attilo)
Rare video of Susan Owen as Christine (she was bumped to alternate for this week but was usually an understudy) or Stephen as Raoul. Tim’s 2nd as Phantom on Broadway. Shakier than taper’s other recent vids because of the Evil Moving Head from Hell in front of her. Filmed from center rear mezz. About five minutes of cover-ups because of ushers, missing the first minute of Il Muto, nothing life-threatening missing. Includes curtain calls.
A-
Broadway, August 13, 2005 (matinee)
Stephen R. Buntrock (u/s), Rebecca Pitcher (u/s), Fred Rose (u/s), Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews, Anne Runolfsson, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Kara Klein, David Gaschen (Auctioneer), Tim Jerome (Don Attilo)
Lots of usher activity, so five minutes of cover-ups, including: most of the Overture, half of ToM, half a minute of Bravo Monsieur, most of Seal My Fate, and half a minute of PONR. One of only two videos of Buntrock's Phantom. Can get pretty shaky at times, but the picture is nice and clear when the shot is steady. The color switches from full to sort of washed out throughout the entire show which can get frustrating.
A-
US Tour, September 10, 2005 (Atlanta, GA)
Gary Mauer, Marie Danvers, Michael Shawn Lewis, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, John Whitney, Kate Wray
From DIGITAL MASTER; matinee; Taper says: "Begins at Piangi's high note in Hannibal. First video of the new touring cast." Jstarz master.
A
Broadway, October 1, 2005
Hugh Panaro, Sandra Joseph, Tim Martin Gleason, James Romick (u/s), George Lee Andrews, Anne Runolfsson, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Kara Klein
Hugh Panaro's last performance prior to taking on the role of Elton John's Lestat, includes curtain call and speeches at the end. Beautiful, clear picture with great detail and quality, and the entire cast was on fire. Filmer definitely knows show very well.
I'd taken a vow when redoing my list (since I lost so much and gained others over the past decade) to skip most of the cast reviews, but I can't help myself on this one.
Hugh Panaro's Bravo Monsieur ... friggen GENIUS. He looks like he's having the time of his life, but it's this psychopathic look to his face and sound in his voice ... how the HECK did I not notice this YEARS ago???
Full audio also available.
A
Essen, Germany, December 17, 2005
Thomas Borchert, Anne Gorner, Christopher Morandi, Laurie Ann McGowan, Ernst van Looy
Incredible video out of Essen. No head obstructions, gorgeous detail and color, wide screen. Taper obviously knew the show like the back of their hand. Comes with a cast listing in the beginning.
Raoul was originally mislabeled as Nikolai Alexander Brucker. Whoever mastered the Essen videos took care to add credits to the beginning.
A+
London, 2006
Matthew Cammelle (SB?), Rachel Barrell, David Shannon
One hour of footage that had been packed onto another recording at some point in time. Includes the title song to 'Prima Donna', 'Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again' to 'Wandering Child', and 'Point of No Return' to the end of Act 2. Incredible quality, freaking awesome closeups and no obstructions. Also whoever put this together edited the 'scene cuts' seamlessly ... if you didn't know the show, you wouldn't know where the skips were.
Three VOB files, no small files included.
*CURRENTLY NFT - MIA*
A+
London, January 2006
Earl Carpenter, Rachel Barrell, David Shannon, David Lawrence (u/s), Sam Hiller, Wendy Ferguson, Emily Harvey (u/s), Rohan Tickell, Heidi Ann O'Brien
Some seriously awesome close ups - I've never seen quite such a good angle during the AIAOY reprise as I saw here, you can really make out Earl's facial features.
A
London, February, 4, 2006 (evening)
Earl Carpenter, Rachel Barrell, David Shannon, James Barron, Richard Sidaway (u/s), Wendy Ferguson, Emily Harvey (u/s), Rohan Tickell, Heidi Ann O'Brien, David Erik (u/s Passarino)
HIGHLIGHTS, runs about 80 minutes, focused on the main trio. Shot from obstructed view seats in the balcony, so the far left quarter of the stage cannot be seen, this includes: Christine handing back the mask at the end of "Stranger" and the kiss (Focus is on Raoul's reaction instead). Earl couldn't get the Chinese robe on in time for I remember/Stranger so he does it in shirtsleeves, with his tie coming askew - YUM! PONR starts with Rachel's "thoughts of joy" and cuts directly to Earl dragging her across the stage at the end of the number. Taper knew the show well, and shot around the moving heads from hell as best they could, but there are moments nothing could be done. Other than that and some random spotlight washout (typical) this is a beautifully shot video, and was definitely one of the better videos of it's time.
Missing the small files.
A
US Tour, April 6, 2006 (Dallas, TX)
Gary Mauer (Final), Beth Southard (alt, Final), Jim Weitzer, John Jellison (Final), DC Anderson, Kim Stengal, John Whitney, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Kate Wray
Camera 1 (Balcony): Jstarz
Camera 2 (Orchestra): Music In The Stars
MULTI-CAM (Two video tapers coordinated efforts and shots before the show to put together this masterpiece. One from the orchestra, the other from the balcony. Audio comes from a third taper using an MD recorder from front-Orchestra section.) Amazingly well edited video with amazing shots throughout. Beth tears up during both Think of Me and WYWSHA. See Beth's shadow on the curtain during PONR. Gary has a heart-breaking near-crack during MOTN (the emotion was obvious he choked juuuust a little.) Amazing performances from all the cast members. Curtain calls included in the video.
No words could possibly describe the power-house of this performance. If you only want one video of Gary and Beth, this performance is the one to go for.
A
US Tour, April 6, 2006 (Dallas, TX)
Gary Mauer (Final), Beth Southard (alt, Final), Jim Weitzer, John Jellison (Final), DC Anderson, Kim Stengal, John Whitney, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Kate Wray
MASTER
NOT THE MULTI-CAM VERSION. Full copy of unedited Camera 2 video that is seen in the multi-cam (this is the camera that was in the orchestra section - the one with the close-ups.) Much of the focus is on Beth when both she and Gary were onstage, with the exception of during PONR when I focused on Gary (because both of us had agreed I had an interesting way of filming that showcased those fabulous hands!) The audio is also mildly different from the multi-cam version, as the multi-cam version used a separate audio source from an MD recorder.
Video includes bonus features at the end - four music videos edited from this video.
A
US Tour, April 7, 2006 (Dallas, TX)
John Cudia (1st), Marie Danvers, Jim Weitzer, Bruce Winant, DC Anderson, Kim Stengal, John Whitney, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Kate Wray
MASTER. HIGHLIGHTS.
Mostly Phantom-centric. John Cudia's first performance as Principal Phantom in the Tour, he'd just taken over from Gary Mauer.
Quality is similar to the Ft. Myers videos from 2005, I used the same camera to tape this as I used in those. Complete credits at the end of the video of course.
A
Essen, April (20? 30?), 2006
Ethan Freeman (last), Anne Görner, Nikolai Alexander Brucker, Ernst van Looy, Fernand Delosch, Karen Buck, Bonifacio Galvan, Gabriele Ramm, Annabel Knight
I'm pretty sure all the Essen videos were done by the same taper - another fantastic video in widescreen. The picture is mildly grainy, and the taper is still a little shaky, but the colors and picture otherwise are gorgeous. There's some head obstruction on the wider shots, mostly in the left side and lower center. You can also hear either the taper or someone very close breathing loudly through the show.
Some question on the exact date - I recieved it as the 20th but I've seen it listed as the 30th.
A-
Essen, July 15, 2006
Uwe Kröger, Beatrix Reiterer, Lucius Wolter, Laurie Anne McGowan, Ernst van Looy, Fernand Delosch, Gabriele Ramm, Daniel Brenna, Annabel Knight
Done by the same taper as the December 2005 video with Thomas Borchert, which means again it's in gorgeous widescreen. Some amazing close ups, but slightly shaky. Taper knows the show well and captures this beautifully.
Either Uwe is on the short side or Beatrix is on the tall side because they're about the same height.
A
Las Vegas, August 28, 2006
Anthony Crivello, Elizabeth Loyacano, Tim Martin Gleason, Elena Jeanne Batman, John Wolfe, Lawson Skala, Rebecca Spencer, Brianne Morgan, Larry Morbitt
Good color and sharper detail than the other Vegas video below. Some missed shots due to a head in the way to the right of the screen. Filming is also a bit steadier; filmer catches the chandelier fall, for one thing. First video to come out of the Las Vegas show.
A
Las Vegas, August 30, 2006
Brent Barrett, Sierra Boggess, Tim Martin Gleason, Geena Jeffries Mattox, John Wolfe, Lawson Skala, Rebecca Spencer, Brianne Morgan, Larry Morbitt
Fuzzy and rather dull capture of the Las Vegas show. Shot from quite far back in the theater, so filming is shaky, tends to stray, and is obstructed by several heads. Earliest video of Sierra's Christine.
B
Broadway, May 9, 2007 (evening)
Gary Mauer, Jennifer Hope Wills, Jason Mills (u/s), George Lee Andrews, David Cryer, Patricia Phillips (u/s), Roland Rusinek, Sally Williams (u/s), Heather McFadden, James Romick (u/s), Julie Schmidt (u/s), Emily Adonna
Looks to be filmed from the center mezzanine. Well shot wit a typically clear picture, except in those places where it's nearly impossible to get good shots. Any fan of the show knows what I mean. One of only two videos of Gary's short run on Broadway as Phantom. Filmed in Widescreen.
A
Broadway, May 12, 2007 (evening)
Gary Mauer, Jennifer Hope Wills, Michael Shawn Lewis, David Cryer, George Lee Andrews, Patricia Phillips (u/s), Kris Koop (u/s), Jimmy Smagula (u/s), Heather McFadden
Shot in widescreen, from what looks to be high up in the balcony. Begins at end of auction but difficulty getting a good shot until right before Think of Me. Act Two begins in the middle of Masquerade. Multiple coverups and several massive heads-from-hell that all tapers dread in the middle of some scenes which causes a lot of blurry shots as the taper attepts to refocus around it. When the taper can get around the obstruction, the shots are EXCELLENT. That last known recording of Gary's Phantom.
A-/B+
US Tour, August 2, 2007 (Washington, DC)
John Cudia, Marni Raab, Greg Mills, D. C. Anderson, Bruce Winant, Laureen Vigil (u/s), Rebecca Judd, John Whitney, Polly Baird
Wide screen (I think this might have been one of the earliest wide screen videos, IIRC.) Beautiful filming, nice zooms throughout. Taper obviously knew the show well.
A
Australia, April 22, 2008 (Brisbane)
Simon Pryce (s/b), Ana Marina, Alexander Lewis
Very well shot in wide screen, gorgeous colors. MOST of the show. Missing most of the Final Lair - cuts off right as Raoul was entering. If there is a copy out there with the missing bits, I'd be very interested in it.
*Missing Small files*
A
Broadway, May 12, 2008
Howard McGillin, Elizabeth Loyacano (alt.), Jeremy Stolle (Raoul u/s)
A few coverups, mostly due to people being seated late, and of course some bulldog ushers. There's a head on the left side of the screen in places. The dark scenes are audio only for the most part. Somewhat shaky. Still, it's one of the last videos of Howard. And there are some good shots, although it's more mid-range than close-up.
A-
Las Vegas, August 8, 2008
Anthony Crivello, Kristi Holden, Andrew Ragone, Geena Jeffries Mattox, John Leslie Wolfe, Lawson Skala, Tina Walsh, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Brianne Kelly Morgan
Sunsetblvd’s master, released 2016.
Nice color, good mix of zooms. Some blurring while the camera switches from one zoom to the next - only lasts a few seconds each time. Some mild, brief spotlight washout in the places you'd expect it most (for those familiar with the typical state of Phantom bootlegs.) A few brief coverups (notably during the classic MOTN pose!) Overall though, probably the best quality capture of the Vegas production, especially given the lack of videos of this production!
A
US Tour, August 19, 2008 (Portland)
Richard Todd Adams, Kelly Jeanne Grant, Greg Mills
Act 1 only. Steady filming, mostly mid-zoom. Sound could be better. *FINALLY upgraded to a complete copy of Act 1.
A
London, September 9, 2008
Ramin Karimloo, Gina Beck, Simon Bailey, Kate Radmilovic, Barry James, Gareth Snook, Heather Jackson, Rohan Tickell, Tori John
Wide screen There are some awesome shots in this video ... and there are some not-so-great shots here. An example - The taper was obviously indecisive during the Trio - tried to switch between actors and the camera's focus couldn't seem to keep up. But when it is good, it is VERY good so I'm giving it a split grade.
A/B
Australia, 2008/2009
Anthony Warlow, Ana Marina/Anna O'Byrne, Alexander Lewis
HIGHLIGHTS of two different performances. Both are high quality captures, but suffer from some pixelation due to AVI formatting. Which isn't a problem when I view on my 19 inch computer monitor, but if I were to want to watch it on my 42 inch TV it'd show for sure. Which sucks just slightly because the two clips from the Mirror scene have some of the BEST friggen shots of the Phantom behind the Mirror I've seen. And given the shape of the only other video of Warlow (mostly blind-shot) it's WONDERFUL to FINALLY get to see more of him.
First Set of Highlights: Anthony and Ana, featuring: the Mirror, title song, MOTN, I remember/Stranger, AIAOY Reprise, Why So Silent, Wandering Child/Bravo, Monsieur and Down Once More/the Final Lair. Judging off of the angle, looks to be shot from the right hand side of the balcony. Still, it's amazingly well shot (what I wouldn't give to know what camera this taper had!) There is an odd symbol that pops up in the upper right hand side of the screen during the Final Lair clip, but it doesn't block anything.
Second Set of Highlights: Anthony and Anna, featuring: the Mirror, title song, and Wishing. Appears to be shot from the orchestra. Stealing this description from the trader I got this off of because I honestly can't compete and it's true: Quality is practically proshot from a gorgeous angle. This is the clearest I think I've ever seen the doubles during the Title Song, kind of a fun easter egg!
Trades together as a single video.
If anyone has EVER found a FULL copy of EITHER of these videos, I'd be MOST interested in setting up a trade, and would even be willing to trade unfairly to get my hands on them.
AVI Files ONLY
A
Australia, May 22, 2009 (Adelaide)
Anthony Warlow, Ana Marina, Alexander Lewis, John O’May, Derek Taylor, Andrea Creighton, Jackie Rees, David Rogers Smith, Nadia Komazec
ACT I ONLY. Mostly full stage with some zooms. Cuts off before the chandelier. Audio only during the first bit of Christine's 'Think of Me' and half of 'Music of the Night'. Some zooms, but camera strays a lot; sometimes you can only see Christine's feet, other times just the top of the stage, and a few times it's not even focusing on the main characters! This is somewhat like a monitor video, filmed from the back of the theater. There are large screens on either side of the stage, and when they're visible, they offer a better view of the action. But I'll take anything of Anthony I can get!
VOB (no small files)
US Tour, August 19, 2010 (Cleveland, OH)
Tim Martin Gleason, Trista Moldovan, Sean McLaughlin, Kim Stengel, Luke Grooms, Paloma Garcia-Lee, Michael McCoy, DC Anderson, Anne Kanengeiser (u/s Mme Giry)
HIGHLIGHTS. Shot on a Kodak Camera (NOT A VIDEO CAMERA), so the quality isn't the best. Taper's comments: It's SHAKY. I mean SHAKY SHAKY. Don't say I didn't warn you.
The sound is excellent, however. Mostly wide to mid-zoom (likely the camera's limitation).
Includes Think of Me, Angel of Music, The Mirror, Phantom of the Opera [partial], Music of the Night, Notes I / Prima Donna [partial], All I Ask of You [audio only], All I Ask of You Reprise [audio only], Notes II [Partial], Twisted Every Way, Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again [mostly audio], Don Juan, Point of No Return, and the Final Lair. Interesting authoring job. Don't expect to click on a VOB and have it play - but if you go through the menu it works. Includes all small files.
However, worth it I think given how few videos there were of the last year of the tour. Artistkae's master.
C
US Tour, October 31, 2010 (Los Angeles)
Tim Martin Gleason, Trista Moldovan, Sean MacLaughlin, Kim Stengel, D.C. Anderson, Michael McCoy, Nancy Hess, Luke Grooms, Paloma Garcia-Lee
Closing performance for the US Third National Touring Company after a fantastic 18-year run. Not the best shooting around - whatever camera the taper used has some limitations. Colors look a bit "off", tons of spot washout. More mid-zooms than close-ups. The audience goes CRAZY after Tim's final line in the Final Lair. Includes Tim's speech at the end (Although there's a big blockout where Tim becomes very muffled), including Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sarah Brightman's appearances.
I'm wondering if there's a better copy out there somewhere ... the compression on the VOB is insane, it's less than 3 gb for the full show.
B+
London, September (3?) 2012
Marcus Lovett, Anna O’Byrne (alt), Simon Thomas, Lara Martins, Barry James, Gareth Snook, Cheryl McAvoy, Jeremy Secomb, Anna Forbes
LIMITED HIGHLIGHTS. Shot from a very odd angle - far right hand side of the balcony, I think. Some heads in the way.
Six clips, includes the Prologue/Overture, Think Of Me, The Mirror/Phantom Of The Opera, Masquerade, Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again, and Point Of No Return (ends after unmasking).
Possibly ripped off of Youtube (Total combined size is under 800 MB.)
A-
Broadway, November 10, 2012
Hugh Panaro, Trista Moldovan, Kyle Barisich, Andrew Galligan-Stierle, Kevin Ligon, Cristin Hubbard, Michele McConnell and Christian Sebek.
Full show. Final performance for several performers, including Trista Moldovan. Looks like it was shot high up in the balcony, some heads in the way at times. Includes goodbye speech and BCEFA speech after show.
A
Broadway, November 22, 2012
Hugh Panaro, Samantha Hill, Kyle Barisich, Michele McConnell, Tim Jerome, Jim Weitzer, Ellen Harvey, Christian Sebek, Kara Klein
Gorgeous shooting all around. Would be nearly perfect but for one thing ... someone near the taper talks at some inopportune moments (how annoying! Don't people go to the theatre to get lost in the show any more??)
A
Vienna, November 30, 2012
Christian Muller, Lisa Antoni, Oliver Arno, Reinhard Brussmann, Ramin Dustdar, Emilio Ruggerio
25th Anniversary Concert celebrating Phantom in Vienna. Actors are NOT in costume - no mask, in other words. This is not an officially released DVD. There's a bar in some shots, but very little in the way of obstructions. Includes several German news segments.
A
Broadway, February 21, 2013
Hugh Panaro, Sierra Boggess, Kyle Barisich, Michele McConnell, Christian Sebek, Jim Weitzer, Tim Jerome, Ellen Harvey, Kara Klein
Shot in widescreen. A LOT of mic contact noise. Lots of cover-ups. But when the video is there, it's so spot-on, so I'm splitting the grade.
Smalls are there, but it'll be heck putting it back together ... this is one of MANY I have where the VOB files were renamed. It SHOULD be a two disk set, but all the VOB's are in one folder. This is something I never made a real note of until I started burning disks again for a trader who prefers snail mail for video ... *Sigh*. If you're just going to download and watch on your computer it'll be fine, just throwing it out there.
A-/B
Broadway, March 9, 2013
Jeremy Stolle (u/s), Samantha Hill, Greg Mills (u/s), Michele McConnell, Christian Sebek, Tim Jerome, Richard Poole (u/s), Ellen Harvey, Kara Klein
Missing part of Act 1 (‘Stranger Than You Dreamt It’ to Il Muto), but otherwise complete. Some shakiness, nothing out of the ordinary though. Includes BCEFA speech after the show.
A
Broadway, May 9, 2013
Peter Joback, Elizabeth Welch (u/s), Kyle Barisich, Michele McConnell, Christian Sebek, Tim Jerome, Richard Poole (u/s), Ellen Harvey, Kara Klein
inallyourfantasies's master.
Fairly well shot in widescreen.
A
Hamburg, December 11, 2013
Mathias Edenborn, Valerie Link, Nicky Wuchinger
Filmed from the upper balcony, stage right, with some head obstruction. The taper did well shooting around though, by keeping it in mostly closer zooms. Some camera wandering from time to time. The far stage left corner is blocked, but the taper is able to get around that too. The colors are nice and rich in the bright scenes, but there's some washout in wider shots, and the darker scenes are a bit fuzzy. There's also a 'trailing' effect in some scenes, which makes me think that whoever filmed this used some setting on the camera to try to adjust for the lighting issues any taper has with this show. That only really seems to be an issue when there's quick movement though, or when the taper has to move the camera quickly to keep up with the actors. At any rate, half of it's nearly perfect, so I'm giving it a split grade for the moments there are 'issues'.
A/B+
Hamburg, January 19, 2014
David Arnsperger (alt), Valerie Link, Nicky Wuchinger, Debra Fernandes (u/s), Anton Rattinger, Guido Gottenbos, Linda Veenhuizen, Raymond Sepe, Theano Makariou
Filmed from the balcony, stage right position. Some spot washout in the typical places, and occaisional camera focus issues, but nothing out of the norm for the show. But there are some absolutely GEORGEOUS shots in here that more than make up for that - the kiss in the Final Lair in particular.
A-
Broadway, January 29, 2014 (matinee)
Paul A. Schaefer (u/s), Mary Michael Patterson, Jeremy Hays, Janet Saia (u/s Carlotta)
inallyourfantasies' master. Shot from center balcony with minimal obstruction, in widescreen, with a decent mix of wide and close shots.
A
Broadway, March 6, 2014
Hugh Panaro, Elizabeth Welch (u/s), Jeremy Hays
turnofthescorpion's master. Filmed from the balcony with heavy head obstructions, frequent cover-ups, and the camera regularly wanders. But when it's good, it's spot-on beautiful. The file download is HUGE - just under 13 gigs. (This is one of those few Mpeg's I don't need a VOB replacement on lol, the quality on them is excellent.)
MPEG format.
A-
Broadway, March 17, 2014
Laird Mackintosh (u/s), Sara Jean Ford, Jeremy Hays
Turnofthescorpion's master. Beautiful shooting, taper seems to know the show well. Shot from high in the balcony. Full show, includes curtain calls (Laird comes out in a green Top Hat for St. Patty's Day!) and Laird's BCEFA speech.
A
Broadway, May 17, 2014
Norm Lewis, Sierra Boggess, Jeremy Hays, Laird Mackintosh, Tim Jerome, Ellen Harvey, Heather Hill, Christian Sebek, Deanna Doyle
Beautifully shot in widescreen. Probably the earliest video of Norm Lewis's groundbreaking Phantom.
A
Broadway, November 6, 2014
Laird Mackintosh (u/s), Kaley Ann Voorhees (alt), Jeremy Hays, Michele McConnell, Richard Poole (u/s Andre), Tim Jerome, Ellen Harvey, Christian Sebek, Kara Klein
Sunsetblvd’s master, released 2016. There’s some occasional wandering/blurriness but otherwise a nice capture. Also some muttering from someone near the taper. Includes curtain calls and Laird’s BC/EFA speech. (The master didn’t note this as being the matinee, but Laird asks the audience to come back that night.)
A
Moscow, December 30, 2014
Ivan Ozhogin, Tamara Kotova, Eugeny Zaytsev, Irina Samoylova, Alexei Bobrov, Yuri Mazihin, Elena Charkviani, Valeriya Migalina
HIGHLIGHTS, includes: Hannibal ballet, 'Think of Me', 'Angel of Music', 'Little Lotte', 'The Mirror', 'The Phantom of the Opera', 'Music of the Night', 'Stranger Than You Dreamt It', part of Il Muto, 'All I Ask of You', 'Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again', 'Point of No Return' and 'Final Lair'. Appears to be shot from the balcony, judging by the angle of the wideshots. Very well filmed with plenty of closeups and very little to no obstruction, and a very steady hand. Some obvious coverups here and there. Given what the previous trader told me about the pitbull ushers in Russia, I'm not surprised at that. I'd honestly love to know what kind of video camera this taper used because the shots are gorgeous. An A+ is not a typical grade on a video coming from me (I've only used it two other times to date), but this one warrants it.
AVI Format only. But they're definitely high quality AVI's - the download will top 3GB.
A+
Hamburg, March 1, 2015
Mathias Edenborn, Daniela Braun (u/s), Nicky Wuchinger, Norbert Kohler (u/s), Anton Rattinger, Rachel Anne Moore, Raymond Sepe, Michaela Christl, Vanessa Spireti
Someone edited this video to brighten it, but some parts are still pretty dark and the lightening affects the picture quality a bit. There's a head at about center stage, but the taper did well with shooting around it. It does, however, block Christine out in MOTN after the faint - you can see the Phantom leaning down to her, but you can't see HER. A very highly charged performance - MOTN is almost downright steamy!
A
Broadway, March 26, 2015
James Barbour, Julia Udine, Jeremy Hays, Michele McConnell, Laird Mackintosh, Tim Jerome, Linda Balgord
Very well shot video, with a good mix of close-ups and wide shots. Some occaisonal blurriness, but nothing outside of the norm of camera adjustment blurs. Taper obviously knows the show quite well. One thing I noticed is that they managed to follow Barbour as he went for the noose - something I never managed during my taping days (I'd always lose focus or track of the Phantom.) The angle might have helped though - it was definitely shot from high in the balcony. Due to the angle you also can see the box on the back of the Throne - or at least you can in the shot right before he tells them to "GO NOW AND LEAVE ME."
Either I've been blind for years or it's something about the angle but ... has the stage on Broadway always been so shiny?
A
Russia, April 19, 2015
Andrey Shkoldychenko (u/s), Elena Bahtiyarova, Eugeny Zaytsev, Ekaterina Lehina, Sergei Sorokin (u/s Andre), Yuri Mazihin, Elena Charkviani, Valeria Migalina
HIGHLIGHTS. Four large .MOV files. The only thing from Act 1 is the All I Ask Of You Reprise, Act 2 is complete. Shot from the orchestra section. Includes shots prior to the beginning of Act 2, and after the curtain calls, so you get a feel for where this was shot from, and how truely ballsy this taper was. Mix of some amazing shots, and some blurriness - I suspect it might have been blind-shot in places.
MOV format only.
A
Russia, April 25, 2015
Andrey Shkoldychenko (u/s), Tamara Kotova, Eugeny Zaytsev, Irina Samoylova, Sergei Sorokin (u/s), Yuri Mazihin, Elena Charkviani, Anastasiya Efimova (u/s)
HIGHLIGHTS. In MP4 format. The following clips: 'The Mirror', 'All I Ask of You (reprise)', 'Wandering Child', 'Point of No Return', and 'Final Lair'. I suspect this may be the same taper as the April 19 video. Filmed from the orchestra. Some heads in the way - they block some shots, especially at the right side of the stage just left of the Organ. Still, given what I've heard about the ushers in Russia, it's amazed this was filmed at all, so I'll take whatever I can get! Possibly some mild compression involved with the mp4's, but nothing too bad considering (Windows Media played it initally at almost full screen, but there's a little fuzz that I'm not sure if it's compression or it's just the way the camera is in some lighting situations?) During wide shots, you can see the conductor's hand and part of the baton.
*NOTE* The file names are all written in what I assume is Russian Cryllic writing - I had to click and be glad I know the show backwards and forwards to know what I was seeing. Not the hugest of deals but if you're wanting to click on say, The Mirror ... just know you'll have to guess.
MP4 FIles only.
A-
Broadway, June 16, 2016
James Barbour, Rachel Eskenazi-Gold (Alt), Jordan Donica, Kara Klein, Rebecca Eichenberger, Michele McConnell, Laird Mackintosh, Craig Bennett, John Easterlin
One short blackout over the end of Think of Me and another over the beginning of Masquerade; the rest of the show is fully captured with just a few very quick dropouts in between each act. There is one head that can occasionally be seen, but never blocks the action. Includes curtain call and playbill scans. Hands down some of the best filming I've seen on the dark scenes - the AIAOY reprise is AMAZINGLY shot (coming from a former taper's perspective. I never could get it right.) Taper has a wonderful, steady hand and obviously knows the show very well.
Likely the earliest video of Donica's ground-breaking Raoul.
A
Broadway, July 21, 2016
James Barbour, Ali Ewoldt, Jordan Donica, Michele McConnell, Laird Mackintosh, Craig Bennett, Rebecca Eichenberger, John Easterlin, Kara Klein
Sunsetblvd’s master. This cast features actors who are the first Asian-American Christine and first African-American Raoul to play the roles. Very well shot by a long-running master maker. Some of the typical problems involved in taping this show, of course - periodic spot washout and some dark spots in the usual places, but nothing unexpected. Shot from the balcony (judging by the angle. Occaisional blockage by a moving audience member somewhere in front of the taper (I saw a split second in Think of Me, for example, so it's possible it happened in other spots.)
A
US Tour, November 16, 2016 (Cincinnati, OH)
Derrick Davis, Kaitlyn Davis (u/s), Jordan Craig, Trista Moldovan, Prince Waldman (Andre), David Benoit (Firmin), Tynan Davis (u/s Madame Giry), Phumzile Sojola (Piangi), Emily Ramirez (Meg)
Kradder32's master. No blackouts, minimal spot washout,minimal obstructions. One head that's visible in wide shots. Some scenes are darker than others due to the show's lighting. Filmed in 16:9 with a mix of wides, mediums, and close-ups. Includes curtain calls and BCEFA speech with major obstructions.
This is the first video of the restaged tour I've seen. It takes some getting used to.
A
Colm Wilkinson, Sarah Brightman
POTO in very early draft form. Pro-shot, as all of Lloyd Webber's workshops were. Only Act One was put on stage at the time.
This copy is actually slightly better than the one I had nearly a decade ago, but it's still in pretty bad shape. Nearly black and white with green bars that cut across the screen. TONS of generation loss from tapings and re-tapings, and the conversion from the original PAL tape, but for the age and circumstances, to be expected. The audio is tons better than my old copy was.
What is here is totally different from the show that is onstage today, in fact, different even than the show that was put to the London stage in 1986.
I'm sure when it was first taken, it was an excellent video, but time has ravaged it. If anyone has a better copy, I'm interested, but I don't hold out much hope.
D-
AVI Format only.
London, 1987
Michael Crawford, Rebecca Caine (ALT), Steve Barton
HIGHLIGHTS.
This is definitely a 'collectors only' type of video. The generation loss is BAD. And I do mean BAD. Almost no color left - mostly blacks, blues, greys and whites. Shot from high up in the right side of the balcony, it's more wide-shots than zooms. Facial features are long gone. There's also heavy head obstruction. The audio track, however, is in good shape. I'd LOVE to find an early generation copy of this crop up, because the shooting in Music Of The Night looks wonderful, and it'd be great to really see Crawford in action from this early on in his run. Quite possibly the only video of Rebecca Caine in London.
Act I goes from the chandelier to Notes I; Prima Donna through the rooftop is audio only with still images on the screen. Act II starts with Masquerade and goes through the end of Notes II.
Also included are some clips: the pro-shot music video of POTO with Sarah Brightman and Steve Harley, a POTO-related TV commercial and about 30 minutes or so of TV clips related to the LA production (with Michael Crawford and Dale Kristien).
D (live performance) / A (Clips)
Broadway (?), 1987
Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman, Steve Barton, Harold Prince
OBC REHEARSAL FOOTAGE.
About 40 minutes of rehearsal footage. It starts with "those who have seen your face" of Phantom of the Opera and continues through MOTN with some interruptions from the creative team (it's a riot watching Michael remove his invisible cape and hat). Then it's to the beginning of Masquerade, a slight tape pause then a cut to the dance towards the end of Masquerade, another tape pause, and then Red Death makes his appearance. More Masquerade work after that segment. Then they work on Notes I and a section of Prima Donna but the taper generally stays focused on the production crew, not the actors. It's interesting if you're into behind the scenes to see how the production crew works, and the footage of the OBC is priceless.There's definite generation loss in this (buzzing in the audio, the 'fuzzy bar' at the bottom of the screen, some color bleeding) but given the age, and how long this likely spent on VHS before being transferred to a DVD it's in better shape than many boots from this time period out there, so I'm giving it a split grade.
B/C
London, 1988
Cast Dave Willetts, Jan Hartley Morris, Michael Ball
Missing most of the prologue - begins at "Perhaps we may frighten away the ghost ..." and missing a chunk out of the Overture and Hanibal scene. Also missing the scene in act II after Masquerade, and the Entr'acte, and may be missing other minor points, but nothing major. Tons of generation loss on this one, which given it's age, the PAL to NTSC transfer, and the VHS to DVD transfer, this isn't surprising. However, it is the only video out there of Willetts' Phantom, and only known video of Ball's Raoul (There should be a joke in there somewhere ... oh wait that was Michael Crawford who joked about showing his "Raoul" ... Kudos if you get it.) I said this over a dozen years ago, but it's still true today ... if an earlier generation copy ever does pop into existance, I'm VERY interested!
D+
Tokyo, Japan, 1988
Masachika Ichimura, Ryoko Nomura, Yuichiro Yamaguchi
PROSHOT
Obvious generation loss issues, however unlike many videos of the time there's no shakiness. Faces are a blur in far shots. Unlike many "proshots" this one goes into close up.
B
Broadway, April 1988
Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman, Steve Barton, and full OBC.
Given it's age, the fact it spent a long time on VHS and the obvious generation loss issues that will go hand in hand with it being traded down Heaven knows how many times ... I didn't expect to give a better grade.
C+
Los Angeles, 1989 (?)
Michael Crawford, Dale Kristen, Steve Barton
Starts during the bidding for the Monkey (just before "25 Francs".) Faces are pretty much blurred out, colors have started bleeding into each other. There's buzzing in the audio track. And some mild horizontal distortion across the screen. In other words, given the age, the typical generation loss problems - this video got traded around on VHS a LOT before someone finally transferred it to DVD (due to waiting on the technology), and the loss isn't helped by the fact that somewhere along the way, someone re-used a tape when they copied it (possibly more than once, as evidenced by a short clip of something I can't identify in the "VTS_01_3" file.
But it's obvious that this was decently shot with plenty of mid-range zooms and even some closer shots - it captures the action VERY well in most places. The taper did have some problems in some of the dark bits (the AIAOY reprise for example.) Which makes the generation loss bit a damn shame - I'd have loved to have seen an earlier generation copy of this. Still ... it's one of the better quality bootlegs of Crawford and Barton out there.
Date is a best guess. The exact time frame of Steve's fill-in period as Raoul in Los Angeles has been debated, and one of the most known audios generally goes with either an '89 or a '91 date. However, with Crawford having performed his final in April 1990, lends creedence to the '89 date. Still, after all these years, we'll likely never know for sure an exact date.
C+
Vienna, 1989
Alexander Goebel, Luzia Nistler, Alfred Pfeifer, Priti Coles, Sergio Lombana, Jack Poppell, Wolfgang Pampel, Diana Bennet, Alexandra Young-Schmidt
Pro-shot highlights. Includes Overture to TOM, AOM to STYDI, Prima Donna to Il Muto and WHYBUH to AIAOY, second act has Masquerade/Why So Silent and Final Lair. Multiple cameras used. Some dual exposure of one camera overlapping the other - reminds me a LOT in that way of a much much later US tour multicam.
Also included are lots of clips from other productions.
Extra clips: A news feature with Alexander Goebel (directly following a performance, curtain calls and stage door are briefly shown); ZDF feature with Peter Hofmann and Anna Maria Kaufmann (clips from the title song, MOTN, Masquerade; interview with Peter and Harold Prince); news feature from the Hamburg premiere (includes clips of Hannibal and MOTN); Jill Washington and Michael Cormick singing AIAOY in costume for an English TV telethon "Children in Need" and Dave Willets talking about donations from fans (the host mentions the London production is 5 years old); German TV show with teenage contest winner Lena Miller meeting and working with Tim Tobin and Renee Knapp then performing the title song with Tim ; Stil Gefühl TV feature with Alfred Pfeifer (interview and clips of the unmasking and title song); a 1993 CNN feature on the Broadway production (just over 2,000 performances) with Mark Jacoby; a brief ZDF feature on the ballet company.
B+/B
Broadway, 1989
Cris Groenendaal, Rebecca Luker, Steve Barton
Almost black-and-white video with constant flickering lines. Dark and tons of generation loss and washout.
C-
Hamburg, Germany, 1990
Peter Hofmann, Anna Maria Kaufmann, Hartwig Rudolz
Scattered highlights of a proshot video, incldues parts of Hannibal, Angel of Music, Little Lotte, The Mirror, STYDI, Il Muto, and the Final Lair.
*2 MKV Files.*
Los Angeles, 1990 (?)
Michael Crawford, Mary D’Arcy (us?), Reece Holland
Begins with Raoul's line, "A collector's peice indeed."
Quite a bit of generation loss - some color loss and bleeding, blurry lines through the picture and static. There were some gorgeous shots in here though - you can still make out some of D'Arcy's facial features in "Think Of Me" when the taper had zoomed in on her. This is another one I wish that an early generation copy would crop up, but I know it won't happen *Sigh*. It looks to be very well shot - Crawford's movements in Music of the Night, especially.
Also includes an MC/POTO photo montage set to Michael singing Music of the Night (from the OLC or some-such recording). Includes curtain calls.
Date is a best guess, but if the year is correct it's before April 29. At any rate, the 1990 date has been in use for this recording for over a dozen years now. Also I'm fairly certain that Mary D'Arcy wasn't a principal, as my recollection is that Dale Kristen was principal for the entire run. I also seem to recall an interview somewhere that mentioned there not being an alternate for Los Angeles ... whether or not D'Arcy was officially an understudy or not is questionable.
C+
Canada, 1991? (1) (Toronto)
Colm Wilkinson, Rebecca Caine, Byron Neese
Very choppy highlights, runs approximately 50 minutes. One of only two known videos of Colm as the Phantom (the other being the Sydmonton Video).
All of the generation loss issues you'd expect from any Phantom video from the early 90's are here, of course. Buried in the issues though is a gem in the form of some excellent shooting by the taper (what I wouldn't give to come across a first-generation copy of this, but I know it's not very likely *Sigh*)
The exact date will likely also always be in question - throughout the years I've seen both 1990 and 1991 used. Since I believe Colm was there until at least 1992 ...
C
Canada, 1991 (2) (Vancouver, BC. Canadian Tour Production)
Jeff Hyslop, Patti Cohenour, David Rogers? (Byron Neese?)
Extended highlights, mostly the Phantom's parts. Runs about 70 minutes. Act I is mostly complete - some minor skips here and there, other than AIAOY but Act II starts with Wandering Child. Transfer from VHS. Color is fairly washed out (but I've seen worse) and and the picture is overall dark/not very clear, but facial features are distinguishable sometimes. Pretty shaky, as well. Patti has a very original Think of Me cadenza - I've never heard anyone else sing it quite that way.
Some question about Raoul's identity - the video came to me with the question mark beside it. Honestly though, Byron Neese doesn't make sense - wouldn't he have still been with the original Toronto production?
B-
Vienna, Austria 1991 (1)
Ernst-Dieter Suttheimer (alt), Colleen Besett (alt), Timothy Breese (alt), Dietrich Hergt, Horst Reeh (u/s), Linda Healy (alt.), Claudia Rose Golde (u/s), Sergio Lombana, Eva-Maria Weber (u/s)
Shot from right box, and some of the stage left action is blocked but it’s saved by great close-ups. Some flickering into b&w but otherwise, gorgeous picture and color for its age. Sound is fed in through the soundboard so some of the Phantom’s voiceovers as well as the monkey music box are inaudible. Last show for some performers (Suttheimer, Breese, Golde) they get flowers in the end.
I've had some questions about this date for a while. If 1991 is indeed correct, it might not have remained Suttheimer's final performance (although it's always possible he left and came back, as we know many others have done the same over the years - Brad Little, Hugh Panaro, anyone?) Possibly the same tape that was once traded as August 25, 1991. At any rate, I had it as 1993 for some time, but I'm re-evaluating the date. I doubt we'll ever know for sure unless whoever mastered this came forward (and I think that unlikely after over 25 years.)
B
Vienna, Austria, 1991 (2)
Alexander Goebel, Colleen Besett, Andrew Hambly-Smith, Jack Poppell, Dietrich Hergt, Robin Lee, Diana Bennett, Vittorio Giammarrusco (u/s), Alexandra Young
MONITOR VIDEO with audio from the soundboard, black and white. The sound is gorgeous and clear. Not very clear, spotlight washout, but with a bit more detail/contrast than the 1992 Saverine monitor video, but not by that much.
C
Vienna, Austria 1992 (1)
Nicholas Saverine, Colleen Bessett, Thorsten Tinney
Someone somewhere got a hold of a very early generation copy of this and did a transfer, because this is much better quality than the VHS copy I had nearly a dozen years ago! Some minor color bleeding, likely from a PAL to NTSC transfer, but nothing too far out there.
Whoever taped this could give most of today's tapers a run for their money as far as filming quality goes. Nice clear close ups, next to no loss of focus. I'm fairly sure this was shot on a tri-pod, possibly by someone working for the show, which could explain all that. Shot from the upper far right balcony with nice zooms. Due to the location of the camera, however, there are some obstructions (stage left, on the right side of the screen.) Nothing major though, no heads in the way, just the angle makes you miss a few minor details in the stage setup.
OMG. Saverine is a Phantom God. 'Nuff said.
A
Vienna, Austria, 1992 (2)
Nicholas Saverine, Luzia Nistler, Andrew Hambly-Smith, Jack Poppell, Peter Vorwerg, Robin Lee, Diana Bennett, Sergio Lombana, Alexandra Young
MONITOR VIDEO with sound patched through the soundboard. 1000th performance in Vienna.
Not sure if it was once in color, but it's now black and white. No zooms, you get a full-stage shot for the entire video. Recommended for collectors only. There's lots of spotlight washout, definiteve generation loss and very little detail (Don't expect to see anyone's facial features), but it's a good video for study of everyone's movements.
Sound is clear underneath, but there's this buzz over the whole thing - I suspect it happened during the transfer. If I were better at audio editing, I'd honestly rip the audio off of this and clean it up, and we'd finally have that gorgeous soundboard audio of Saverine the trading world deserves.
C
US Tour 1992-93 (Three dates as follows) 2NT
Philadelphia June 25, 1992
Philadelphia, June 26, 1992
Detroit 1993
Kevin Gray, Teri Bibb (1993)/Dodie Petit (u/s - 1992), Nat Chandler (1993)/Keith Buterbaugh (1992), David Hunerjaeger
This DVD contains *THREE* performances on ONE digitally enhanced DVD with beautiful menus, chapter selections and special features (interviews, news clips...etc)
Philadelphia videos: Obvious generation loss, but no where *near* what I was expecting to see from a video of this age – obviously who ever put this to DVD found a lower generation video than some of the ones floating around. Filmed from the upper balcony, I've watched part of the June 25 video thus far – there is a head, but it's not too much in the way. Good zooms for this time period, but there's a bit of spot-washout. Taper obviously knew the show rather well. I was surprised to see how clear the AIAOY reprise was – you can make out quite a bit of Gray's facial features. Contrary to popular description these are *NOT* complete. They are Phantom-heavy highlights running about 80 minutes for 6/25 and 45 minutes for 6/26. 6/26, unfortunately, is missing a few chunks of MOTN. They were filmed from the balcony, but still in full color. PRICELESS FLUB in the 6/25 video where the noose breaks during Final Lair. There *is* one thing though that I seriously wonder about in the 6-25 video . . . you have to watch closely, but at the end of Why So Silent, when the Phantom disappears – he goes through a trap door. Did this *Ever* happen on tour???
Detroit video: Wow. That's all I can say. Definitely loads better than the VHS copy I had previously which this replaced. If I were grading that one on a sliding scale with age factored in, I'd have to call it an A because there's almost NO generation loss . . . only a little. And some of the best zooms I've seen in a video – it gives some of my early vids a run for their money. And the AIAOY reprise . . . lordy. Shot from a rather odd angle in the orchestra – but I like it. Facial features are niiiice and clear throughout, although there are points where the shot will go a little blurry, still, no worse than some newer videos. The DVD is worth it for this performance alone. Highlights, mostly the phantom parts running about 35 minutes
Gray’s Phantom is great, a wonderfully smooth tenor voice that swings from seductive to hysterical in a split second. He nearly flips over the Angel during the Reprise from his fury.
A/B-
Vienna, June 30, 1993
Alexander Goebel, Luzia Nistler, Thorsten Tinney
Final performance of the show in Vienna. Astonishing quality for its age, just the slightest bit saturated. Facial features are easily visible on close-ups, and there are a lot of them. The zooms seem to “jump” sometimes, from very far to very close, and vice versa, as if the taper had presets on his camera. Most likely this was shot on a tripod - it's extremely steady. A couple ad lib's during Masquerade, and another occurs during Don Juan rehearsal, when Reyer says to Piangi, “Once more…like the last 1364 times,” which was the number of performances the show played in Vienna. The dancing during Masquerade is also much more elaborate than Broadway. Cast and orchestra get flowers and a good ten minutes of applause at curtain call. A good friend of mine called Alexander Goebel an "orgasm auf Deutsch", and I have to agree.
B+
US Tour, July/September? 1993 (Pittsburg, PA)
Franc D'Ambrosio, Tracy Shayne, Ciarán Sheehan
HIGHLIGHTS, mainly the Phantom's parts. Runtime of the main portion is just about 50 minutes (not counting any bonus features.)
Quality wise, this featues anything you'd expect for a video of this age, generation loss wise. Color loss, dark spots, and some 'light' bleeding. Facial features aren't completely obliterated though - during MOTN for example there's a few shots where Tracy's face can be made out. It's harder ot see Franc's, though, until the 'classic MOTN pose'. More wide shots than close-ups. Taper didn't have the steadiest hand, but given the equipement of the day, not a complete surprise.
The exact date has been a question mark for years now, but according to my old notes, the tour was in Pittsburgh between July 23 and September 25 in 1993. The only known video of D'Ambrosio's Phantom, and if I'm not mistaken, the earliest video of Shayne as Christine.
There are some bonus features in this copy, including a Toronto commercial and a couple of TV spots with Kevin Gray, as well as the (possibly accidental) bonus of a few minutes of the 1993 Detriot Hightlights with Kevin Gray and Teri Bibb (the Mirror, part of the title song, and most of MOTN, all of which is A- quality, as described int he review for that video).
Of interest to note: Franc used "Far from my FATHERING gaze" as far back as this performance during Wandering Child.
C+
Los Angeles, August 28, 1993
Davis Gaines, Dale Kristien, Michael Piontek, Calvin Remsberg, Norman Large, Leigh Munro, Barbara Lang, Gualtiero Negrini, Elizabeth Stringer
MONITOR VIDEO. Sound is patched through the soundboard. Not one hundred percent sure if this was matinee or evening, but if there were two shows that date that would make this either the third or fourth to last performance before the close of the production the next day. As it's a monitor video, there's no zooms, everything is full stage shot. The only time there are any heads is when the crowd gives a standing ovation for Gaines as he appears for curtain calls. Given the age, however, it's in excellent shape with very minor generation loss. Video begins with about 11 or 12 minutes of local TV spots denoting the ending of the production. Curtain calls are included, and there is a speech by both Davis Gaines and Andrew Lloyd Webber at the end.
This has been circulated around for quite some time as one of the August 29th videos (I myself originally had it as the Evening performace, before I took a closer listen to the speech), but if you listen to Davis's speech, he clearly denotes that the production is closing the next day.
A-
Los Angeles, August 29, 1993 (Matinee)
Davis Gaines, Dale Kristien, Michael Piontek, Calvin Remsberg, Norman Large, Leigh Munro, Barbara Lang, Gualtiero Negrini, Elizabeth Stringer
MONITOR VIDEO of the final matinee in LA recorded from Gaines' dressing room. Full stage shot that doesn't move. Color is good, with soundboard audio, very dark, though. Although there are no closeups, the wide shot is a nice simulation of sitting in the theater. Davis is fabulous, both vocally and physically (although his voice does crack on "be" in MOTN).
A-
Canada, 1994 (Toronto)
Peter Karrie, Teresa DeZarn, David Rogers
HIGHLIGHTS. captures mostly the Phantom's parts. Said to be the only video of Peter in the role. There's what I think of as the typical "transfer line" at the bottom of the screen from the VHS-to-DVD transfer. There are some focus issues here and there (but nothing too atypical) and it is a bit shaky (forgivable when you think that camcorders in the early part of the 1990's were a LOT larger than today's cameras). There is some generation loss, not unexpected when you think this spent at least 10 years being traded on VHS before it was transfered to DVD, it could have been in a LOT worse shape. Facial features are still very distinguishable when they're not in a spotlight washout area. Some of the colors had started to fade, however. Decent mix of wide shots and zooms. Taper knew the show well and doesn't miss much of the action at all. Includes an interview with Peter Karrie after the video, which includes a pro-shot MOTN and POTO clip of Karrie and DeZarn.
One thing to note. Having gone through the other Canadian videos I have, Peter is the ONLY one to catch Christine at the end of MOTN and carry her to the bed, a very nice touch, but I know it was a rare thing for any non-London production by this point.
B
Japan, April 6, 1994 (Sapparo, Japan Tour)
Eiji Akutagawa, Hisako Hanaoka, Kanji Ishimaru
Superb quality for the age of this video, very minimal generation loss. Almost makes me wonder if the date I got with it is wrong, because it almost seems to be digital quality.
A
London, 1995
Ethan Freeman, Jill Washington, Simon Bowman
A RUG video. Faces are blurry and there are very few close-ups, also spotlight washout, and slight color bleeding, likely from a PAL to NTSC transfer somewhere along the way. Nevertheless, still watchable.
C
Canada, 1995 (Toronto)
Cris Groenendaal, Tereza DeZarn, David Rogers
60 minute highlights. For the age, it's in great shape. A little snow at the bottom (typical of many VHS to DVD transfers.) A little color qashout, but facial features are clear and the sound is good. Also some occaisonal 'flickering'. Focus suffers from time to time, but nothing out of normal ranges. Someone added "credits" to the beginning - I'd love to know if that was done when this was put onto DVD, or if it was a feature the master put on the original tape, but we'll likely never know now, more than 20 years later. There's some decent zooms. Taper sadly doesn't have the steadiest hand - but given the likely weight of the camcorder, it's forgiveable.
B
Broadway, January 26, 1998
Thomas James O'Leary, Tracy Shayne, Gary Mauer
HIGHLIGHTS. Runs just under 37 minutes. Very hard to grade. Quite shaky and blurry at times, with what I think of as the 'transfer' bar at the bottom. Includes most of The Mirror, most of POTO, half of MOTN, all of I Remember/STYDI, most of the AIAOY reprise, all of Why So Silent, all of Wandering Child, all of PONR, part of Down Once More, all of the Final Lair, and part of the curtain calls (including TJOL giving Tracy a rose). Also includes a very brief news clip about the anniversary, which helps verify the date - the rose in Tracy Shayne's hand in the curtain call footage from the clip matches the the video, except the angle of course.
I don't know if it's a flub or just very in character, but when Tracy feels his mask under the hood at the end of PONR she says something like "Oh, God..." or "Oh, no!" Another couple minor flubs are TJOL tripping a little on his way up to the organ in the final lair and Tracy slipping when she's kneeling in front of the throne.
B+
Broadway, Summer 1998
Thomas James O Leary, Sandra Joseph, Gary Mauer, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews, Patricia Hurd, Leila Martin, Frederic Heringues, Geralyn DelCorso, Ted Keegan (Reyer.)
There's some gen loss and color bleeding during the show, as well as some spot washout. Also more wide shots than I would have liked. The close-ups that are there are good, though. Taped from the far left balcony from the looks of the camera angle, and one of only a few video's I've seen where there are no annoying heads in the way. All around though, some excellent work went into this, the taper took shots from the front of the theatre, and even added "credits" into the end, by taping the playbill.
This video has also recently been traded with a date of "July, 1998" as well, but "Summer, 1998" has been the longer standing date - it's how it was marked more than a dozen years ago when I first got a hold of this video. The two dates ARE the same video - I've done comparisons on them. The only differences are in the DVD authoring, but the generations are close if not the same.
B-
Hamburg, Germany, March 31, 1999
Jerzy Jeszke, Carla Nicholson, Bjorn Olsson, Linda Bruske, Vera Barisova
Sound is a little muffled, and sometimes is missing from one channel or the other, but it's not constant all the way through. Some balcony rails in the way at times, but the taper stays zoomed in for most of it to compensate. Possibly shot by the same person as the other Jerzy Jeszke video from this year (I've got two dates for it, 1-4 or 4-1) Filming is steady, and the filmer knows the show well. Some color bleeding from the transfer (whether it is simply a PAL to NTSC or a VHS to DVD or both is questionable.)
B+
Hamburg, Germany, April 1, 1999?
Jerzy Jeske, Lori Zeglarski (alt), Björn Olson, Anders Sahlmann, Reinhard Schulze
A little dark and saturated from the PAL transfer, but nothing unexpected. Some spotlight washout in places, again, typical for the show. Balcony bars in the way, but this almost never matters since the camera is zoomed in. Missing the small files. Possibly filmbed by the same taper as the March 31st video from this year, but they ARE different performances (I've compared to be sure. There are different shots and noises, and the Christines are definitely different.) Taper knows the show VERY well.
Some question on the date. Most sites do have it as April 1 (I even had it that way on my old site a dozen years ago when I first aquired it), but I have found at least one older trader who had it listed as January 4 (And before anyone says it, it was a site of a trader who was usually good about conveying all info they had). This could be typical European/American misdating. I'm going to leave this in the April 1 spot as that's the typically accepted date on most contemporary sites, but just want it noted there IS a question.
B+
Hamburg, August 22, 1999?
David Hunerjaeger (u/s), Valentina Kozhanova (u/s), Kyle Gonyea, Laurie Ann McGowan, Linda Bruske, Marcello Roncietto, Sabrina Harper, Stephan Drakulich, Eberhardt Neitzel
Only boot known to exist of David in the title role (he was usually Firmin). The video's edges are fuzzy (especially on the left and bottom) and there is the slightest bit of color bleeding. There are lots of good zooms and the tape is remarkably steady. No cover-ups that I saw and virtually no head obstructions. Occasional remarks from either the taper or someone sitting quite near him/her. Scenes that are often dark (example, the Phantom during Il Muto) are well-lit and quite viewable. Starts at the auction scene. Cuts off after the chandelier crash mid-laugh. Blue screen for several seconds before coming back with the Entr'acte music, ends with the last note of the show (no curtain calls, unfortunately). The first act was taped on the left side of the theater with the second act being taped on the far right side of the theater (which results in a little obstruction, nothing major)
I've seen this listed as both 1998 and 1999.
B
Belgium, April 2000
Hans Peter Janssens, Inneke van Klinken, Michael Shawn Lewis, Ann Lauwereins, Ernst Van Looy, Marc Meersman, Stephanie H. Tschïppe
Some generation loss - some color bleeding, mildly fuzzy, and of course the fuzz bar at the bottom of the screen from the analog transfer this underwent at some point. However, there are some bloody AMAZING close-ups. This taper knew the show VERY well. I'd LOVE to get a hold of a first-gen copy, but that ship probably sailed years ago. On the rare side (if I had this back in the day it was unlisted.)
B-
London, 2000
Scott Davies, Charlotte Page, Matthew Cammelle
Once upon a time, this could only be found on VHS in black-and-white, it was traded VERY heavily within the first four years of it's life on tape. Then some wonderful person got a hold of a very early PAL copy and put it onto DVD without the massive generation loss of the widely circulated copy. The result is a low-gen video with some beautiful close-ups throughout. It is, however, shot from an interesting angle.
Typically traded as "Summer, 2000".
A-
London, March 9, 2000
Scott Davies, Meredith Braun, Matt Cammelle
Lovely show, with nice close-ups. Head obstruction. Filmed from the orchestra (which explains all the heads), but the taper does a pretty good job working around them. A few seconds here and there are just black because of all the heads, but nothing too serious is missed. There are some simply orgasmic close-ups! You can see the spit glisten on Scott's lips.
*Missing Smalls Files*
A
Hamburg, 2001
Ian Jon Bourg, Olivia Safe (u/s), Kyle Gonyea
Absolutely gorgeous close-ups and excellent sound. Taper definitely knew the show well and had a very steady hand. Whoever transferred this from the VHS tape left the tape running, so there's a whole bunch of 'dead air' after the Final Lair. But they obviously had a very early generation tape - there's very little generation loss. No curtain calls. The exact date is in question, but it's definitely before June 30 (when the production closed.)
A-
Mexico, January 14, 2001
Juan Navarro/Saulo Vasconcelos (Phantom), Claudia Cota/Irasema Terrazas (Christine), Jose Joel (Raoul)
MOST OF THE SHOW. Final performance of the Mexican production. The alternate cast performs the first act, principal cast the second. Looks to be shot from the right hand side of the balcony. Not always the steadiest of hands on the camcorder. I only viewed from Wandering Child on ... There's at least two skips in Wandering Child, then a big chunk missing between Bravo Monsier until the beginning of PONR. Chunks missing out of the Final Lair, and out of the curtain calls. Part of the Speeches at the end are there, but only about 30 seconds worth. In act 1 I viewed most of the first Lair scene. Some more close shots than in act 2 but still more zoomed. Act 1 is definitely better quality. More wide shots thatn close ups throughout. Definitely suffers from generation loss.
B/B-
Hamburg, June 30, 2001 (Final Matinee)
Michael Nicholson (alt), Olivia Safe (u/s), Christopher Morandi (alt), Reinhard Schulze (u/s?), Anders Sohlmann, Evelyn Werner (u/s), Linda Bruske, Charlie Serrano, Kate Lawrence
Final matinee performance in Hamburg and the final performance open to the public. Shot from the balcony. The rail gets in the way at times, but only during wide shots. Some color bleeding and generation loss - likely from the PAL to NTSC transfer or the VHS to DVD transfer, or the remaster from a 2-disk set to a single disk (which would have obviously compressed the video. Yes, I know this was done. I used to have the two-disk set). Still, it's good quality considering what it went through to get to DVD. Some video issues during the auction and constant camcorder noise. Funny closing ad libs: the center skull from Robert le Diable is wearing sunglasses, the marksman is in the pit applauding Christine after ToM, crazy cadenzas during Il Muto. Also, a flub-up in the show, the backdrop never falls in “Hannibal”. Also includes bonus clips from German TV (One with Tim Tobin and Renee Knapp, the other two unidentified) Moving menus and scene selection.
B+
Hamburg, June 30, 2001 (Final Evening)
Ian Jon Bourg, Colby Thomas, Kyle Gonyea, David Hunerjaeger, Anders Sohlmann, Vera Borisova, Linda Bruske, Marcello Roncietto, Kate Lawrence
Stunning and beautifully clear video of the final performance in Hamburg! This is the version with the Curtain Calls & Medley included, plus a few minutes at the stage-door. Done by a different taper from the other video of this performance, and filmed from stage right. No color saturation from PAL transfer but the filming can be pretty shaky.
A-
Madrid, Spain, 2002
Luis Amando, Felicidad Farag, Armando Pita, David Venacio Murio, Enrique R del Portal, Teresa Castal, Ana Argemi, Carlos Fernández (u/s), Evangelina Esteves
PRO-SHOT.
At one time, I had a much better copy of this one *Sigh*. This one has a sound issue that the early copies didn't have - a mechanical buzz throughout. Also some color bleeding (did someone at some point convert from PAL to NTSC and this was the result?) Also it's much further compressed than the original copy I had was. *Sigh again*.
A few seconds of MOTN (Looks like a tape change???), the Rooftop, and Don Juan missing. A wonderful and unique production of Phantom. First, the chandelier is pretty much free falling. Second, both Carlotta and Piangi are *thin* (Piangi also doesn’t hit his high note during Hannibal). Third, Luis walks right into the boat during the end of the Title Song (although I must say he covered admirably).
Still, it's in a lot better shape than many older videos.
B
Broadway, March 27, 2002
Howard McGillin, Elizabeth Southard, Michael Shawn Lewis, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews,
Rebecca Eichenberger, Marilyn Caskey, David Gaschen [u/s], Joelle Gates
Can be very shaky at points (Taper's first video ever), but the close-ups are incredible. Southard was on for a short time while Sarah Pfisterer left for her second maternity leave. One of only two known videos of Southard from her Broadway days, and quite probably the first recording of her as Christine.
RECENTLY UPGRADED! I got my hands on the two-disk copy made from a first-generation VHS tape that was floating around *years* ago, this one doesn't have the compression issues my old copy had. Video is FULL SHOW and includes curtain calls and Howard's BC/EFA speech that my previous copy was missing.
A-
Broadway, July 31, 2002 (matinee)
Howard McGillin, Elizabeth Southard (alt), Michael Shawn Lewis, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews, Wren Marie Harrington (u/s), Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Joelle Gates
Very dark, with a fair bit of generation loss. (I know for a fact that it spent quite some time on VHS before someone transferred it to DVD. Mildly fuzzy, with a hissy audio. The Prologue and the beginning of Act II are audio only. The taper doesn't follow the show as well as they could - lots of good shot opportunities lost. One of only two videos of Southard from her time on Broadway.
B
Budapest, 2003
Attila Csengeri, Renata Krassy, Gabor Bot
Somewhat shaky video of the first non-replica production. It's definitely been compressed (less than 3gb for the full video). Mix of wide to mid-range zooms (Which given the production's newness helps you see everything.
Given the compression I highly suspect this was ripped from Youtube and turned into VOBs. I'm not 100% sure on that (only because there is the possibilty that if it were mastered straight to DVD in 2003-2004 the master may not have had access to "good" master software. My first DVD creation software in 2004 SUCKED as evidenced by the compression rate of one of my early masters.) But at any rate, I'm throwing it out there.
B
Budapest, 2003
Sándor Sásvari, Andrea Mahó, Gabor Bot
Supposely from a Dress Rehearsal, which would explain the lack of heads. Likely shot on a tripod, given how steady it is. Good mix of zoom and wide shots. The audio is very skewed to the right - there's almost nothing in the left channel. Slightly grainy, and very compressed - the entire video is less than 3 gb. And it is full show.
Given the compression I highly suspect this was ripped from Youtube and turned into VOBs. I'm not 100% sure on that (only because there is the possibilty that if it were mastered straight to DVD in 2003-2004 the master may not have had access to "good" master software. My first DVD creation software in 2004 SUCKED as evidenced by the compression rate of one of my early masters.) But at any rate, I'm throwing it out there.
B
Stuttgart, Germany, 2003
Roy Weissensteiner (u/s), Marion Wilmer (u/s), Carsten Lepper
Monitor video - better quality than the one with Maike Switzer from 2004. Full stage shot and soundboard audio.
Spotlight washout, facial features not discernable, but you don't actually miss any of the action. Colors seem muted.
B
Broadway, May 20, 2003
Hugh Panaro, Lisa Vroman, John Cudia
Decent picture and quality, some washout in wider shots. Taper obviously knows the show very well. Not a true digital though - I happen to know that the master originally sent this to someone on a VHS and that person transferred it to a DVD. Would LOVE to come across a copy of the original Master's DVD but I know that's VERY unlikely. Once upon a time, this was rediculously rare ...
Ravenquest's master.
A
Broadway, October 7, 2003
Hugh Panaro, Julie Hanson, Jim Weitzer (?)
Very nice shots throughout. Some struggling with the camera clearing up after zooms. Oh and the typical spot washout issues in the normal places.
Taped by PuppetMan.
A
US Tour, November 18, 2003 (Los Angeles, CA)
Brad Little, Marni Raab, Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer (Firmin), D.C. Anderson (Andre), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), (?) Jimmy Smagula (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Mme. Giry), Kate Wray (Meg)
Audio is a little on the quiet side. Mic adjustment noise in the Overture. "LeFevre" repeats a line in Hannibal (I'm not sure if it's an overlap from the recording or if it really happened that way, I'll have to check the video closer.) Reyer's mic goes out in Hannibal as well. Some of the orchestration during Carlotta's "Think Of Me" is so low it's almost inaudible. Also sounds like the Auctioneer is played by a cover – it's not the same guy as on the tour audios I have prior and after this engagement. I'm pretty sure this is Smagula as Piangi, which would make it the first recording of him after he took over the role. There are some good shots here, but mostly mid-range zooms, and there is pixilation from the digital zoom when the taper DID zoom in. Also intermittent talking through out – VERY annoying. Earliest known video of Raab as Christine.
B
Stuttgart, Germany, November 28, 2003
Steve Lucas (u/s), Maike Switzer, Carsten Lepper, Stefan Mueller-Ruppert, Marko Woytowicz, Barbara Grey Nystrom, Anette Kuhn, Marcello Ronchietto, Lara Glew
Very nice close-ups, some bad focus moments but nothing out of the norm for the cameras of the time period. Taper knows the show well.
A
Budapest, Hungary, 2004?
Sasvári Sándor, Renata Krassy, Zoltan Miller
Highlights, runs 70 minutes.
Attila Csengeri, Eszter Biro, Zsolt Homonnay
Highlights, runs 20 minutes.
VERY interesting angle on both videos- filmed from the right side of the stage (behind the lights) with just a little bit of obstructions but nothing too terrible. Given the angle, though, there are some AWESOME shots in here. The picture is nice and crystal clear.
The first highlights covers both acts and catches all of the principal material plus quite a smattering of ensemble pieces.
The second highlights only covers act 1, and misses most of the principal material, instead seeming to concentrate on ensemble scenes - Hanibal, Notes 1/Prima Donna, Il Muto. Nothing from the first lair at all - very disappointing, but what can you do? Most of the Rooftop is there (it ends partway through the AIAOY Reprise.)
I noted years ago that Christine was a blond in this production ... apparantly that holds for Renata, but NOT for Eszter.
As to the question mark by the date ... it's probably accurate, but given there's two performances on here I can't guarantee with any degree of certainty that they were both the same timeframe. I didn't delve too deep into Hungarian videos years ago, and I never had this one, so ...
A
US Tour, January 11, 2004. Matinee. (Orlando, Florida.)
Brad Little, Elizabeth Southard (Alternate), Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer (Firmin), DC Anderson (Andre), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), Jimmy Smagula (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Giry), Kate Wray (Meg), William Patrick Dunne (Understudy, Bouquet)
Digital – Master. My first tape, so I was pretty shaky. The reason for the downing of the grade follows Missing the Prologue. The Overture is mostly audio only, as is the beginning of Hannibal up until mid-way through Think Of Me. Most of the title scene and the Graveyard scene are also audio only, I had trouble getting shots. Quite a few more cover-ups than I would have liked due to ushers getting too close. The audio is perfectly intact and in FULL except for parts of the Prologue. The shots I did get however; are perfectly clear, though I did have some problems with the optical zoom on occasion. Brad Little's second-to-last performance with the tour.
DAT or AVI formats. (My DVD is MIA.)
B
US Tour, January 11, 2004. Evening. (Orlando, FL)
Brad Little (Final Performance), Rebecca Pitcher, Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer (Firmin), DC Anderson (Andre), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), Jimmy Smagula (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Giry), Kate Wray (Meg)
Digital – Master. Missing the beginning of the Prologue, the Entr'acte, and the first minute of Act Two before Masquerade, everything else is there. Title scene is mostly audio only as I had difficulty getting a shot. Wishing and Wandering Child are very dark as well. Still a little shaky, but not as bad as the Matinee show. Brad gets choked up as he sings "It's over now ..."
A
Stuttgart, Germany, March 2004
Roy Weissensteiner (2nd u/s), Maike Switzer, Carsten Axel Lepper
Monitor video, full stage shot, quite a bit of color bleeding and exposure. Soundboard audio which gives out sometimes.
Now HERE is a walk down memory lane for me ... I originally had this on VHS and transferred it. Thank you to whoever put it into VOB format for keeping my original "credit" scenes :-)
B
US Tour, June 6, 2004 (Salt Lake City)
Tim Martin Gleason (U/S), Sarah Lawrence (U/S), Peter Lockyer (U/S), David Cryer (Firmin), DC Anderson (Andre), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), Jimmy Smagula? (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Giry), Kate Wray (Meg)
VHS TRANSFER. Missing all but the very last word of the prologue. When the chandelier lights and begins its assent, there is video disturbance, as well as audio disturbance. Video is non-existent in the beginning of the Angel Of Music scene, and there are a few cover-ups in Hannibal. Missing the beginning of "I Remember" . . . picks up at Christine's line "Who is that shape in the shadows?" (My guess is they switched tapes. As a taper I know it's NOT necessary!) Magical Lasso has no video, and the beginning of the first notes scene also seems to be a cover-up. During Il Muto, Piangi's voice is very hard to hear. Also there are no shots of the Phantom on the Proscenium during Il Muto – very disappointing! There's one point where you can tell the taper tried to get a shot but was foiled by the chandelier. There's a disturbance in both the audio and video portion at the beginning of the Rooftop scene. Also the taper went for digital zoom about halfway through – only for a moment – but there's pixilation in that moment. Missing the Entr'acte (not a big deal, if you've heard it once etc . . . ) And almost all of Masquerade up until the final portion with the cast on the staircase before the Phantom comes down. *Sighs* And I really wanted to see Lawrence and Lockyer in that scene! Portion of the scene between Giry and Raoul is missing. The rest of the video is basically standard POTO . . . usual darkness during Wishing and Wandering Child, etc, but nothing really to note missing or badly shot. This was taped by the same tapers as the Brad Little Los Angeles videos. My old notes mention that the transfer to VHS from the mini-DV tape was very sloppy, and that the trader I got that VHS tape off of was known for sloppy work.
B+/B-
London, October 15, 2004
John Owen-Jones, Rachel Barrell, Oliver Thornton, Anthony Cable (u/s), Sam Hiller, Sally Harrison, Emma Edwards (u/s), Rohan Tickell, Claire Tilling(?)
This video was ahead of it's time, when it was filmed it was considered by most Phantom traders to be the best Phantom video out there. Shot from obstructed seats in the right dress circle, so sometimes you can’t see some action on the right, including the Phantom in the mirror, the Red Death on the stairs, and some of the bench during PONR. Sometimes shaky and sometimes scratchy sound. But the pictures is incredibly clear, with many tight zooms that maintain their integrity without pixellation. Also, scenes that one generally expects to be dark (and aren't always visible: such as the AIAOY reprise and Wandering Child) are very visible.
A
US Tour, February 11, 2005 (Ft. Myers, FL)
Peter Lockyer (U/S), Rebecca Pitcher, Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Laureen Vigil (U/S Carlotta), John Whitney, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Sarah Spradlin-Bonomo
MASTER. HIGHLIGHTS due to only having one battery for the camcorder. Breakdown follows:
No Prologue. Overture is there, but is shaky. Hannibal cut out until when Christine sings "Think of Me." Part of the Backstage scene cut out. Angel of Music, Little Lotte, The Mirror, POTO, Music Of The Night, and Stranger Than You Dreamt It are all shot, though the title song is mostly audio only until they come out on the boat. Cut out Magical Lasso and the Manager's Office scene. Comes back in Il Muto as Carlotta comes on stage, and filmed through the end of Act I.
Act II – Comes in at the very end of Masquerade, just before Red Death comes out. Cut the scene with Giry and Raoul. Comes back in Note's II around Carlotta's line "Precious little flower." Cut the Rehearsal scene. Comes back during Wishing. Wandering Child is dark, but it's there. Cut the Before the Premiere, and the beginning of Don Juan Triumphant. Comes back in for Point of No Return through the end of the Final Lair. Curtain calls were not taped – I was lucky the battery made it through the lair. Some minor cover-ups, but nothing extensive, I'm amazed I was able to film at all the way the ushers were.
Chock full of close ups, even though it was taped from the balcony.
Lockyer flubs part of the AIAOY reprise after PONR – stops singing, and then comes back with the proper second line. He also flubbed when removing the cape and removed his jacket as well - leading him to sing MOTN in shirt sleeves and a vest.
A
US Tour, February 13, 2005 (Ft. Myers, FL)
Peter Lockyer (U/S), Elizabeth Southard (Alt), Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Laureen Vigil (U/S Carlotta), John Whitney, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Sarah Spradlin-Bonomo
Digital – Master - Highlights:
I made the mistake of playing with the light meter in some scenes: Breakdown follows:
Act one starts at Think of Me. Missing some dialogue between TOM and Angel of Music. Short cut just before Little Lotte, then includes the entire sequence from The Mirror to the end of the first Lair. Only the Phantom's parts of Il Muto were taped. Includes the entire Rooftop.
Act two starts at the last verse of "Masquerade" for "Why so Silent." Cuts made in Notes II – begins at "Raoul I'm frightened." Cut out the Rehearsal, and the Before the Premiere scenes, and video picks back up at Point Of No Return. Mode switch for DOM, and back to normal for the Final Lair. Curtain calls were not taped.
Problems in Title song, Il Muto, AIAOY Reprise, Wishing, Wandering Child, and DOM – I decided to try out a different mode on the camera that supposedly helps with low lighting situations but have discovered after reviewing the tape that it distorts the picture. Essentially, everything is blurred when it moves. I can send a video clip before we trade so you can see what the exact nature of the problem is. After the title song, switched back to normal mode, so the problem doesn't exist through MOTN or I Remember scenes, and I didn't use it for AIAOY, just the reprise. I also cut out the ballet from Il Muto this time – good thing too because that night vision runs the battery down quicker. This is the cause for the split grade – because these scenes ARE so blurry, and do not deserve an A.
Some minor cover-ups, but nothing extensive, I'm amazed I was able to film at all the way the ushers were.
Chock full of close ups, even though it was taped from the very back of the balcony.
One of only two videos of Lockyer as Phantom.
A/B
US Tour, February 17, 2005 (Ft. Myers, FL)
Tim Martin Gleason (U/S), Rebecca Pitcher, Peter Lockyer (U/S), John Kuether (U/S Firman), DC Anderson, Joan Sobel (U/S Carlotta), John Whitney, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Sarah Spradlin-Bonomo
MASTER. HIGHLIGHTS.
Act One: Begins at Carlotta's "Think Of Me" and runs through the end of "Stranger" with only minor cuts. In "Il Muto" Only the Phantom's parts are included. Rooftop runs from "All I Ask Of You" through to the chandelier crash.
Act Two: Begins at the very end of Masquerade right before the Red Death comes out. Includes "Wandering Child", and everything from "Point Of No Return" through to the end of the final Lair. Curtain calls were NOT taped.
Shot from the lower left hand side of the Balcony. A few notes: During Il Muto, the Phantom does not move around on the Proscenium - this is because the ceiling at Barbara Mann is so low that the Phantom would have literally had to crawl to get to his next cue - so they kept him stationary for this venue (Gary Mauer had informed me of this earlier in the run before I had access to the camera). Also, In the Final Lair, the Chair doesn't come out until Raoul is already in the Lair – a little bit of a funny, but if you know POTO well, you'll note that Gleason almost misses his timing getting the Lasso around Raoul's neck because he's not quite in the right place – due to the chair coming out, he's further downstage than normal.
Complete digital audio available of this performance
RARE cast – probably the last video of Gleason's Phantom on tour before he left to take over Raoul on Broadway.
CONTRARY TO WHAT IS ON OTHER LISTS, KATE WRAY DID NOT PLAY MEG! THIS IS THE CORRECT CAST LIST!
A-
US Tour, February 18, 2005 (Ft. Myers, FL)
Stephen R. Buntrock (U/S), Rebecca Pitcher, Peter Lockyer (U/S), David Cryer, DC Anderson, Joan Sobel (U/S Carlotta), John Whitney, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Sarah Spradlin-Bonomo
MASTER. HIGHLIGHTS.
Act One: Starts with Christine in Think of Me (Missing I think the first line or so – I almost didn't tape at all, there was an usher RIGHT beside me!) Short cut in between TOM and Angel of Music. Includes AOM, Little Lotte, The Mirror, POTO, Music of the Night, I Remember/Stranger than you Dreamt It, part of Il Muto (the Phantom's parts), and the entire Rooftop. Title song is dark, of course (blurry through the beginning with odd shots when I could get them until the boat comes out.)
Act Two: Very end of Masquerade and all of Why So Silent. Wandering Child (though it's dark, and Buntrock keeps going into shadow – the foot of the Angel getting slightly in the way), Point of No Return through the end of the Lair.
Curtain calls were NOT taped. The overall shooting seems to have improved. I had a lot more luck with the title song, the AIAOY reprise, and Wandering Child than I've had on previous nights at this venue.
There's a malfunction with the Chandelier's lights on its way down at the end of act one.
Buntrock flubs a few words in Point of No Return. (I'm shocked I didn't notice it that night, but I noticed when reviewing the tape.) After he says "Make your choice", someone near me in the audience says the word "Jerk" . . . probably in reference to the Phantom (Well, the Phantom is being a jerk at that point!)
A
US Tour, February 24, 2005 (Ft. Myers, FL)
Gary Mauer, Rebecca Pitcher, Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, John Whitney, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Sarah Spradlin-Bonomo
MASTER. HIGHLIGHTS.
Act One: Begins during "Little Lotte" and continues through the end of the first Lair. Parts of Little Lotte, however, are blind shot. Clears up by the Mirror. Includes the entire rooftop scene
Act Two: Begins during Masquerade, but most of the scene is blind-shot, until Red Death. Also includes the entire Graveyard scene, and from PONR through to the end of the Lair. Curtain calls were NOT taped.
Taped from 13th row, center orchestra. A few cover-ups where I was nearly sure I was caught taping. Absolutely AMAZING close-ups. Part of the right hand side of the stage is obstructed by a head in the way. I did my best to shoot around it, but it does block some otherwise good shots (The Phantom at the organ, for example.)
I swear that in the final Lair scene, after Christine hands back the ring and he tells her he loves her, as Christine runs away, I SWEAR Mauer whispers "Stay". You have to jack the volume up VERY high, but I swear it's there. Pitcher continues to improve little by little.
Complete digital audio available of this performance
CONTRARY TO WHAT IS ON OTHER LISTS, KATE WRAY DID NOT PLAY MEG! THIS IS THE CORRECT CAST LIST!
(Temporarily NFT - MIA)
A
London, February 26, 2005 (Evening)
John Owen-Jones (final), Rachel Barrell, Oliver Thornton, Richard Hazell, Sam Hiller, Sally Harrison, Heather Jackson, Rohan Tickell, Claire Tilling
One of the best videos out there, shot from third row orchestra and therefore has incredible close-ups, you're right under the actor's noses. Some heads as a result but they almost never get in the way. No video during Overture or first half of Title Song. Hard to see the Phantom during the Reprise because of the angle, and first act ends before the chandelier falls. JOJ is on fire obviously, especially his Final Lair. His "Go now and leave me" is extraordinarily protracted. But awesome. Definitely awesome.
Finally upgraded to VOB's, but I know there's a two-disk PAL version out there which I'd love to upgrade to. This version is a one-disk that's only just barely over two gigabytes in size. This one is definitely a VHS transfer - the 'tape' symbol shows at the end. I don't remember if the copy I had years ago did that.
VOB or WMV format.
A
Broadway, March 2, 2005
Hugh Panaro, Julie Hanson, John Cudia
Lovely quality video, nice color and details, but filmer didn’t know show very well, resulting in more wideshots than might be usual. Some mic contact noise here and there.
A
US Tour, March 31, 2005 (Boston, MA)
Gary Mauer, Elizabeth Southard (alt), Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, John Whitney, Kate Wray
Taper says: MOST of the show, starts at Carlotta's “Think of Me”. On the shaky side. Audio was fed in through an MD recorder using binaural mics, creating a surround sound effect. Unfortunately some synching problems cause half-second late audio lags during the second act. 2nd show and Southard's first performance of the Boston tour stop. Quirks: the curtain never goes up after Think of Me for Christine to take her bows, and the curtain during curtain call takes quite awhile to go up as well (you can hear the creaking as the technicians raise it manually).
Some seriously awesome shots in this one, taper knew the show well. The first released video of Gary and Beth, but it's halfway through their run on the tour so they've settled into the roles well - their chemistry together is simply AMAZEING. JStarz master.
A
Broadway, April 2, 2005 (matinee)
James Romick (u/s), Marie Danvers (alt), John Cudia, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews, Anne Runolfsson, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Kara Klein (u/s)
MOST of the show. Includes Romick's BC/EFA speech. Starts when the backdrop falls in "Hannibal" and missing Magical Lasso and Notes. Filmed from the very last row of the front mezz on an aisle seat, so there are a few brief cover-ups on the Rooftop and one each during Wandering Child and PONR because of ushers. Nothing life-threatening is missed. Obstructions: one head in the center of the stage that was shot around well. Remains in mid-zoom or close-up shots for the entire show. Rare video of Marie as Broadway alternate.
A-
US Tour, April 3, 2005 (Boston, MA)
Gary Mauer, Elizabeth Southard (alt), Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, John Whitney, Kate Wray
Taper says: "FULL SHOW, yay! A bit on the darkish side since my light meter messed up. A brief cover-up for a few seconds during Hannibal. A *crazy* audience that applauds at every available moment. Also a funny flub where the monkey sits tipped over on its side for almost all of Final Lair. Mauer very smoothly fixes it when he’s screaming at Christine and Raoul to go.
Good mix of close and wide shots. Taper knew the show like the back of her hand.
Jstarz master.
A-
US Tour, April 17, 2005 (Boston, MA)
Gary Mauer, Elizabeth Southard (alt), Tim Martin Gleason, John Keuther (u/s), DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, Rebecca Judd (u/s), John Whitney, Kate Wray
EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS. First Act shot from the orchestra, starts from announcement to turn off cell phones and runs until the end of Magical Lasso. Picks up again in the middle of the Rooftop and runs till the end of the act. Second Act shot from balcony (after the taper was caught and had to hand over the 'tape in the camera' that happened to be the blank tape that should have recorded act 2) runs from Point of No Return through Mauer's hilarious BC/EFA speech. Starts out shaky in the beginning and some blockage from a large moving head, but otherwise definitely some good shooting. Mid to close-close-ups all the way through.
Jstarz master. "Evening" was denoted on this one ... which makes me wonder if she'd taped both shows. Which would not suprise me a bit, I know there were a bunch more videos she made in Boston than were ever released.
A
Broadway, June 6, 2005
Hugh Panaro, Sandra Joseph, Tim Martin Gleason, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews,Anne Runolfsson, Marilyn Caskey, David Gaschen (u/s), Kara Klein
Taper says: Filmed from left rear mezz, full show including curtain calls. Act Two starts in the middle of Masquerade. Sporadic blockage from spastic people sitting in front of the taper. First video of TMG on Broadway as well as Keller's first show back from vacation
Mildly fuzzy at points, but includes some awesome close ups
=(JStarz master, if IIRC. Once upon a time I could have been sure ...)=
A
Broadway, June 22, 2005
Hugh Panaro, Julie Hanson (alt), Tim Martin Gleason, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews, Anne Runolfsson, Marilyn Caskey, David Gaschen (u/s), Kara Klein
Taper says: Filmed from right rear mezz, full show including curtain calls. A cover-up during the Overture and about five minutes of Hannibal because of latecomers being seated around me. A bit shakier than 6/6 because of more heads to shoot through.
A
Broadway, August 10, 2005 (Matinee)
Tim Martin Gleason (u/s), Susan Owen (alt,u/s), Stephen R. Buntrock (u/s), Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews, Anne Runolfsson, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Kara Klein, James Romick (Don Attilo)
Rare video of Susan Owen as Christine (she was bumped to alternate for this week but was usually an understudy) or Stephen as Raoul. Tim’s 2nd as Phantom on Broadway. Shakier than taper’s other recent vids because of the Evil Moving Head from Hell in front of her. Filmed from center rear mezz. About five minutes of cover-ups because of ushers, missing the first minute of Il Muto, nothing life-threatening missing. Includes curtain calls.
A-
Broadway, August 13, 2005 (matinee)
Stephen R. Buntrock (u/s), Rebecca Pitcher (u/s), Fred Rose (u/s), Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews, Anne Runolfsson, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Kara Klein, David Gaschen (Auctioneer), Tim Jerome (Don Attilo)
Lots of usher activity, so five minutes of cover-ups, including: most of the Overture, half of ToM, half a minute of Bravo Monsieur, most of Seal My Fate, and half a minute of PONR. One of only two videos of Buntrock's Phantom. Can get pretty shaky at times, but the picture is nice and clear when the shot is steady. The color switches from full to sort of washed out throughout the entire show which can get frustrating.
A-
US Tour, September 10, 2005 (Atlanta, GA)
Gary Mauer, Marie Danvers, Michael Shawn Lewis, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, John Whitney, Kate Wray
From DIGITAL MASTER; matinee; Taper says: "Begins at Piangi's high note in Hannibal. First video of the new touring cast." Jstarz master.
A
Broadway, October 1, 2005
Hugh Panaro, Sandra Joseph, Tim Martin Gleason, James Romick (u/s), George Lee Andrews, Anne Runolfsson, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Kara Klein
Hugh Panaro's last performance prior to taking on the role of Elton John's Lestat, includes curtain call and speeches at the end. Beautiful, clear picture with great detail and quality, and the entire cast was on fire. Filmer definitely knows show very well.
I'd taken a vow when redoing my list (since I lost so much and gained others over the past decade) to skip most of the cast reviews, but I can't help myself on this one.
Hugh Panaro's Bravo Monsieur ... friggen GENIUS. He looks like he's having the time of his life, but it's this psychopathic look to his face and sound in his voice ... how the HECK did I not notice this YEARS ago???
Full audio also available.
A
Essen, Germany, December 17, 2005
Thomas Borchert, Anne Gorner, Christopher Morandi, Laurie Ann McGowan, Ernst van Looy
Incredible video out of Essen. No head obstructions, gorgeous detail and color, wide screen. Taper obviously knew the show like the back of their hand. Comes with a cast listing in the beginning.
Raoul was originally mislabeled as Nikolai Alexander Brucker. Whoever mastered the Essen videos took care to add credits to the beginning.
A+
London, 2006
Matthew Cammelle (SB?), Rachel Barrell, David Shannon
One hour of footage that had been packed onto another recording at some point in time. Includes the title song to 'Prima Donna', 'Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again' to 'Wandering Child', and 'Point of No Return' to the end of Act 2. Incredible quality, freaking awesome closeups and no obstructions. Also whoever put this together edited the 'scene cuts' seamlessly ... if you didn't know the show, you wouldn't know where the skips were.
Three VOB files, no small files included.
*CURRENTLY NFT - MIA*
A+
London, January 2006
Earl Carpenter, Rachel Barrell, David Shannon, David Lawrence (u/s), Sam Hiller, Wendy Ferguson, Emily Harvey (u/s), Rohan Tickell, Heidi Ann O'Brien
Some seriously awesome close ups - I've never seen quite such a good angle during the AIAOY reprise as I saw here, you can really make out Earl's facial features.
A
London, February, 4, 2006 (evening)
Earl Carpenter, Rachel Barrell, David Shannon, James Barron, Richard Sidaway (u/s), Wendy Ferguson, Emily Harvey (u/s), Rohan Tickell, Heidi Ann O'Brien, David Erik (u/s Passarino)
HIGHLIGHTS, runs about 80 minutes, focused on the main trio. Shot from obstructed view seats in the balcony, so the far left quarter of the stage cannot be seen, this includes: Christine handing back the mask at the end of "Stranger" and the kiss (Focus is on Raoul's reaction instead). Earl couldn't get the Chinese robe on in time for I remember/Stranger so he does it in shirtsleeves, with his tie coming askew - YUM! PONR starts with Rachel's "thoughts of joy" and cuts directly to Earl dragging her across the stage at the end of the number. Taper knew the show well, and shot around the moving heads from hell as best they could, but there are moments nothing could be done. Other than that and some random spotlight washout (typical) this is a beautifully shot video, and was definitely one of the better videos of it's time.
Missing the small files.
A
US Tour, April 6, 2006 (Dallas, TX)
Gary Mauer (Final), Beth Southard (alt, Final), Jim Weitzer, John Jellison (Final), DC Anderson, Kim Stengal, John Whitney, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Kate Wray
Camera 1 (Balcony): Jstarz
Camera 2 (Orchestra): Music In The Stars
MULTI-CAM (Two video tapers coordinated efforts and shots before the show to put together this masterpiece. One from the orchestra, the other from the balcony. Audio comes from a third taper using an MD recorder from front-Orchestra section.) Amazingly well edited video with amazing shots throughout. Beth tears up during both Think of Me and WYWSHA. See Beth's shadow on the curtain during PONR. Gary has a heart-breaking near-crack during MOTN (the emotion was obvious he choked juuuust a little.) Amazing performances from all the cast members. Curtain calls included in the video.
No words could possibly describe the power-house of this performance. If you only want one video of Gary and Beth, this performance is the one to go for.
A
US Tour, April 6, 2006 (Dallas, TX)
Gary Mauer (Final), Beth Southard (alt, Final), Jim Weitzer, John Jellison (Final), DC Anderson, Kim Stengal, John Whitney, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Kate Wray
MASTER
NOT THE MULTI-CAM VERSION. Full copy of unedited Camera 2 video that is seen in the multi-cam (this is the camera that was in the orchestra section - the one with the close-ups.) Much of the focus is on Beth when both she and Gary were onstage, with the exception of during PONR when I focused on Gary (because both of us had agreed I had an interesting way of filming that showcased those fabulous hands!) The audio is also mildly different from the multi-cam version, as the multi-cam version used a separate audio source from an MD recorder.
Video includes bonus features at the end - four music videos edited from this video.
A
US Tour, April 7, 2006 (Dallas, TX)
John Cudia (1st), Marie Danvers, Jim Weitzer, Bruce Winant, DC Anderson, Kim Stengal, John Whitney, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Kate Wray
MASTER. HIGHLIGHTS.
Mostly Phantom-centric. John Cudia's first performance as Principal Phantom in the Tour, he'd just taken over from Gary Mauer.
Quality is similar to the Ft. Myers videos from 2005, I used the same camera to tape this as I used in those. Complete credits at the end of the video of course.
A
Essen, April (20? 30?), 2006
Ethan Freeman (last), Anne Görner, Nikolai Alexander Brucker, Ernst van Looy, Fernand Delosch, Karen Buck, Bonifacio Galvan, Gabriele Ramm, Annabel Knight
I'm pretty sure all the Essen videos were done by the same taper - another fantastic video in widescreen. The picture is mildly grainy, and the taper is still a little shaky, but the colors and picture otherwise are gorgeous. There's some head obstruction on the wider shots, mostly in the left side and lower center. You can also hear either the taper or someone very close breathing loudly through the show.
Some question on the exact date - I recieved it as the 20th but I've seen it listed as the 30th.
A-
Essen, July 15, 2006
Uwe Kröger, Beatrix Reiterer, Lucius Wolter, Laurie Anne McGowan, Ernst van Looy, Fernand Delosch, Gabriele Ramm, Daniel Brenna, Annabel Knight
Done by the same taper as the December 2005 video with Thomas Borchert, which means again it's in gorgeous widescreen. Some amazing close ups, but slightly shaky. Taper knows the show well and captures this beautifully.
Either Uwe is on the short side or Beatrix is on the tall side because they're about the same height.
A
Las Vegas, August 28, 2006
Anthony Crivello, Elizabeth Loyacano, Tim Martin Gleason, Elena Jeanne Batman, John Wolfe, Lawson Skala, Rebecca Spencer, Brianne Morgan, Larry Morbitt
Good color and sharper detail than the other Vegas video below. Some missed shots due to a head in the way to the right of the screen. Filming is also a bit steadier; filmer catches the chandelier fall, for one thing. First video to come out of the Las Vegas show.
A
Las Vegas, August 30, 2006
Brent Barrett, Sierra Boggess, Tim Martin Gleason, Geena Jeffries Mattox, John Wolfe, Lawson Skala, Rebecca Spencer, Brianne Morgan, Larry Morbitt
Fuzzy and rather dull capture of the Las Vegas show. Shot from quite far back in the theater, so filming is shaky, tends to stray, and is obstructed by several heads. Earliest video of Sierra's Christine.
B
Broadway, May 9, 2007 (evening)
Gary Mauer, Jennifer Hope Wills, Jason Mills (u/s), George Lee Andrews, David Cryer, Patricia Phillips (u/s), Roland Rusinek, Sally Williams (u/s), Heather McFadden, James Romick (u/s), Julie Schmidt (u/s), Emily Adonna
Looks to be filmed from the center mezzanine. Well shot wit a typically clear picture, except in those places where it's nearly impossible to get good shots. Any fan of the show knows what I mean. One of only two videos of Gary's short run on Broadway as Phantom. Filmed in Widescreen.
A
Broadway, May 12, 2007 (evening)
Gary Mauer, Jennifer Hope Wills, Michael Shawn Lewis, David Cryer, George Lee Andrews, Patricia Phillips (u/s), Kris Koop (u/s), Jimmy Smagula (u/s), Heather McFadden
Shot in widescreen, from what looks to be high up in the balcony. Begins at end of auction but difficulty getting a good shot until right before Think of Me. Act Two begins in the middle of Masquerade. Multiple coverups and several massive heads-from-hell that all tapers dread in the middle of some scenes which causes a lot of blurry shots as the taper attepts to refocus around it. When the taper can get around the obstruction, the shots are EXCELLENT. That last known recording of Gary's Phantom.
A-/B+
US Tour, August 2, 2007 (Washington, DC)
John Cudia, Marni Raab, Greg Mills, D. C. Anderson, Bruce Winant, Laureen Vigil (u/s), Rebecca Judd, John Whitney, Polly Baird
Wide screen (I think this might have been one of the earliest wide screen videos, IIRC.) Beautiful filming, nice zooms throughout. Taper obviously knew the show well.
A
Australia, April 22, 2008 (Brisbane)
Simon Pryce (s/b), Ana Marina, Alexander Lewis
Very well shot in wide screen, gorgeous colors. MOST of the show. Missing most of the Final Lair - cuts off right as Raoul was entering. If there is a copy out there with the missing bits, I'd be very interested in it.
*Missing Small files*
A
Broadway, May 12, 2008
Howard McGillin, Elizabeth Loyacano (alt.), Jeremy Stolle (Raoul u/s)
A few coverups, mostly due to people being seated late, and of course some bulldog ushers. There's a head on the left side of the screen in places. The dark scenes are audio only for the most part. Somewhat shaky. Still, it's one of the last videos of Howard. And there are some good shots, although it's more mid-range than close-up.
A-
Las Vegas, August 8, 2008
Anthony Crivello, Kristi Holden, Andrew Ragone, Geena Jeffries Mattox, John Leslie Wolfe, Lawson Skala, Tina Walsh, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Brianne Kelly Morgan
Sunsetblvd’s master, released 2016.
Nice color, good mix of zooms. Some blurring while the camera switches from one zoom to the next - only lasts a few seconds each time. Some mild, brief spotlight washout in the places you'd expect it most (for those familiar with the typical state of Phantom bootlegs.) A few brief coverups (notably during the classic MOTN pose!) Overall though, probably the best quality capture of the Vegas production, especially given the lack of videos of this production!
A
US Tour, August 19, 2008 (Portland)
Richard Todd Adams, Kelly Jeanne Grant, Greg Mills
Act 1 only. Steady filming, mostly mid-zoom. Sound could be better. *FINALLY upgraded to a complete copy of Act 1.
A
London, September 9, 2008
Ramin Karimloo, Gina Beck, Simon Bailey, Kate Radmilovic, Barry James, Gareth Snook, Heather Jackson, Rohan Tickell, Tori John
Wide screen There are some awesome shots in this video ... and there are some not-so-great shots here. An example - The taper was obviously indecisive during the Trio - tried to switch between actors and the camera's focus couldn't seem to keep up. But when it is good, it is VERY good so I'm giving it a split grade.
A/B
Australia, 2008/2009
Anthony Warlow, Ana Marina/Anna O'Byrne, Alexander Lewis
HIGHLIGHTS of two different performances. Both are high quality captures, but suffer from some pixelation due to AVI formatting. Which isn't a problem when I view on my 19 inch computer monitor, but if I were to want to watch it on my 42 inch TV it'd show for sure. Which sucks just slightly because the two clips from the Mirror scene have some of the BEST friggen shots of the Phantom behind the Mirror I've seen. And given the shape of the only other video of Warlow (mostly blind-shot) it's WONDERFUL to FINALLY get to see more of him.
First Set of Highlights: Anthony and Ana, featuring: the Mirror, title song, MOTN, I remember/Stranger, AIAOY Reprise, Why So Silent, Wandering Child/Bravo, Monsieur and Down Once More/the Final Lair. Judging off of the angle, looks to be shot from the right hand side of the balcony. Still, it's amazingly well shot (what I wouldn't give to know what camera this taper had!) There is an odd symbol that pops up in the upper right hand side of the screen during the Final Lair clip, but it doesn't block anything.
Second Set of Highlights: Anthony and Anna, featuring: the Mirror, title song, and Wishing. Appears to be shot from the orchestra. Stealing this description from the trader I got this off of because I honestly can't compete and it's true: Quality is practically proshot from a gorgeous angle. This is the clearest I think I've ever seen the doubles during the Title Song, kind of a fun easter egg!
Trades together as a single video.
If anyone has EVER found a FULL copy of EITHER of these videos, I'd be MOST interested in setting up a trade, and would even be willing to trade unfairly to get my hands on them.
AVI Files ONLY
A
Australia, May 22, 2009 (Adelaide)
Anthony Warlow, Ana Marina, Alexander Lewis, John O’May, Derek Taylor, Andrea Creighton, Jackie Rees, David Rogers Smith, Nadia Komazec
ACT I ONLY. Mostly full stage with some zooms. Cuts off before the chandelier. Audio only during the first bit of Christine's 'Think of Me' and half of 'Music of the Night'. Some zooms, but camera strays a lot; sometimes you can only see Christine's feet, other times just the top of the stage, and a few times it's not even focusing on the main characters! This is somewhat like a monitor video, filmed from the back of the theater. There are large screens on either side of the stage, and when they're visible, they offer a better view of the action. But I'll take anything of Anthony I can get!
VOB (no small files)
US Tour, August 19, 2010 (Cleveland, OH)
Tim Martin Gleason, Trista Moldovan, Sean McLaughlin, Kim Stengel, Luke Grooms, Paloma Garcia-Lee, Michael McCoy, DC Anderson, Anne Kanengeiser (u/s Mme Giry)
HIGHLIGHTS. Shot on a Kodak Camera (NOT A VIDEO CAMERA), so the quality isn't the best. Taper's comments: It's SHAKY. I mean SHAKY SHAKY. Don't say I didn't warn you.
The sound is excellent, however. Mostly wide to mid-zoom (likely the camera's limitation).
Includes Think of Me, Angel of Music, The Mirror, Phantom of the Opera [partial], Music of the Night, Notes I / Prima Donna [partial], All I Ask of You [audio only], All I Ask of You Reprise [audio only], Notes II [Partial], Twisted Every Way, Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again [mostly audio], Don Juan, Point of No Return, and the Final Lair. Interesting authoring job. Don't expect to click on a VOB and have it play - but if you go through the menu it works. Includes all small files.
However, worth it I think given how few videos there were of the last year of the tour. Artistkae's master.
C
US Tour, October 31, 2010 (Los Angeles)
Tim Martin Gleason, Trista Moldovan, Sean MacLaughlin, Kim Stengel, D.C. Anderson, Michael McCoy, Nancy Hess, Luke Grooms, Paloma Garcia-Lee
Closing performance for the US Third National Touring Company after a fantastic 18-year run. Not the best shooting around - whatever camera the taper used has some limitations. Colors look a bit "off", tons of spot washout. More mid-zooms than close-ups. The audience goes CRAZY after Tim's final line in the Final Lair. Includes Tim's speech at the end (Although there's a big blockout where Tim becomes very muffled), including Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sarah Brightman's appearances.
I'm wondering if there's a better copy out there somewhere ... the compression on the VOB is insane, it's less than 3 gb for the full show.
B+
London, September (3?) 2012
Marcus Lovett, Anna O’Byrne (alt), Simon Thomas, Lara Martins, Barry James, Gareth Snook, Cheryl McAvoy, Jeremy Secomb, Anna Forbes
LIMITED HIGHLIGHTS. Shot from a very odd angle - far right hand side of the balcony, I think. Some heads in the way.
Six clips, includes the Prologue/Overture, Think Of Me, The Mirror/Phantom Of The Opera, Masquerade, Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again, and Point Of No Return (ends after unmasking).
Possibly ripped off of Youtube (Total combined size is under 800 MB.)
A-
Broadway, November 10, 2012
Hugh Panaro, Trista Moldovan, Kyle Barisich, Andrew Galligan-Stierle, Kevin Ligon, Cristin Hubbard, Michele McConnell and Christian Sebek.
Full show. Final performance for several performers, including Trista Moldovan. Looks like it was shot high up in the balcony, some heads in the way at times. Includes goodbye speech and BCEFA speech after show.
A
Broadway, November 22, 2012
Hugh Panaro, Samantha Hill, Kyle Barisich, Michele McConnell, Tim Jerome, Jim Weitzer, Ellen Harvey, Christian Sebek, Kara Klein
Gorgeous shooting all around. Would be nearly perfect but for one thing ... someone near the taper talks at some inopportune moments (how annoying! Don't people go to the theatre to get lost in the show any more??)
A
Vienna, November 30, 2012
Christian Muller, Lisa Antoni, Oliver Arno, Reinhard Brussmann, Ramin Dustdar, Emilio Ruggerio
25th Anniversary Concert celebrating Phantom in Vienna. Actors are NOT in costume - no mask, in other words. This is not an officially released DVD. There's a bar in some shots, but very little in the way of obstructions. Includes several German news segments.
A
Broadway, February 21, 2013
Hugh Panaro, Sierra Boggess, Kyle Barisich, Michele McConnell, Christian Sebek, Jim Weitzer, Tim Jerome, Ellen Harvey, Kara Klein
Shot in widescreen. A LOT of mic contact noise. Lots of cover-ups. But when the video is there, it's so spot-on, so I'm splitting the grade.
Smalls are there, but it'll be heck putting it back together ... this is one of MANY I have where the VOB files were renamed. It SHOULD be a two disk set, but all the VOB's are in one folder. This is something I never made a real note of until I started burning disks again for a trader who prefers snail mail for video ... *Sigh*. If you're just going to download and watch on your computer it'll be fine, just throwing it out there.
A-/B
Broadway, March 9, 2013
Jeremy Stolle (u/s), Samantha Hill, Greg Mills (u/s), Michele McConnell, Christian Sebek, Tim Jerome, Richard Poole (u/s), Ellen Harvey, Kara Klein
Missing part of Act 1 (‘Stranger Than You Dreamt It’ to Il Muto), but otherwise complete. Some shakiness, nothing out of the ordinary though. Includes BCEFA speech after the show.
A
Broadway, May 9, 2013
Peter Joback, Elizabeth Welch (u/s), Kyle Barisich, Michele McConnell, Christian Sebek, Tim Jerome, Richard Poole (u/s), Ellen Harvey, Kara Klein
inallyourfantasies's master.
Fairly well shot in widescreen.
A
Hamburg, December 11, 2013
Mathias Edenborn, Valerie Link, Nicky Wuchinger
Filmed from the upper balcony, stage right, with some head obstruction. The taper did well shooting around though, by keeping it in mostly closer zooms. Some camera wandering from time to time. The far stage left corner is blocked, but the taper is able to get around that too. The colors are nice and rich in the bright scenes, but there's some washout in wider shots, and the darker scenes are a bit fuzzy. There's also a 'trailing' effect in some scenes, which makes me think that whoever filmed this used some setting on the camera to try to adjust for the lighting issues any taper has with this show. That only really seems to be an issue when there's quick movement though, or when the taper has to move the camera quickly to keep up with the actors. At any rate, half of it's nearly perfect, so I'm giving it a split grade for the moments there are 'issues'.
A/B+
Hamburg, January 19, 2014
David Arnsperger (alt), Valerie Link, Nicky Wuchinger, Debra Fernandes (u/s), Anton Rattinger, Guido Gottenbos, Linda Veenhuizen, Raymond Sepe, Theano Makariou
Filmed from the balcony, stage right position. Some spot washout in the typical places, and occaisional camera focus issues, but nothing out of the norm for the show. But there are some absolutely GEORGEOUS shots in here that more than make up for that - the kiss in the Final Lair in particular.
A-
Broadway, January 29, 2014 (matinee)
Paul A. Schaefer (u/s), Mary Michael Patterson, Jeremy Hays, Janet Saia (u/s Carlotta)
inallyourfantasies' master. Shot from center balcony with minimal obstruction, in widescreen, with a decent mix of wide and close shots.
A
Broadway, March 6, 2014
Hugh Panaro, Elizabeth Welch (u/s), Jeremy Hays
turnofthescorpion's master. Filmed from the balcony with heavy head obstructions, frequent cover-ups, and the camera regularly wanders. But when it's good, it's spot-on beautiful. The file download is HUGE - just under 13 gigs. (This is one of those few Mpeg's I don't need a VOB replacement on lol, the quality on them is excellent.)
MPEG format.
A-
Broadway, March 17, 2014
Laird Mackintosh (u/s), Sara Jean Ford, Jeremy Hays
Turnofthescorpion's master. Beautiful shooting, taper seems to know the show well. Shot from high in the balcony. Full show, includes curtain calls (Laird comes out in a green Top Hat for St. Patty's Day!) and Laird's BCEFA speech.
A
Broadway, May 17, 2014
Norm Lewis, Sierra Boggess, Jeremy Hays, Laird Mackintosh, Tim Jerome, Ellen Harvey, Heather Hill, Christian Sebek, Deanna Doyle
Beautifully shot in widescreen. Probably the earliest video of Norm Lewis's groundbreaking Phantom.
A
Broadway, November 6, 2014
Laird Mackintosh (u/s), Kaley Ann Voorhees (alt), Jeremy Hays, Michele McConnell, Richard Poole (u/s Andre), Tim Jerome, Ellen Harvey, Christian Sebek, Kara Klein
Sunsetblvd’s master, released 2016. There’s some occasional wandering/blurriness but otherwise a nice capture. Also some muttering from someone near the taper. Includes curtain calls and Laird’s BC/EFA speech. (The master didn’t note this as being the matinee, but Laird asks the audience to come back that night.)
A
Moscow, December 30, 2014
Ivan Ozhogin, Tamara Kotova, Eugeny Zaytsev, Irina Samoylova, Alexei Bobrov, Yuri Mazihin, Elena Charkviani, Valeriya Migalina
HIGHLIGHTS, includes: Hannibal ballet, 'Think of Me', 'Angel of Music', 'Little Lotte', 'The Mirror', 'The Phantom of the Opera', 'Music of the Night', 'Stranger Than You Dreamt It', part of Il Muto, 'All I Ask of You', 'Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again', 'Point of No Return' and 'Final Lair'. Appears to be shot from the balcony, judging by the angle of the wideshots. Very well filmed with plenty of closeups and very little to no obstruction, and a very steady hand. Some obvious coverups here and there. Given what the previous trader told me about the pitbull ushers in Russia, I'm not surprised at that. I'd honestly love to know what kind of video camera this taper used because the shots are gorgeous. An A+ is not a typical grade on a video coming from me (I've only used it two other times to date), but this one warrants it.
AVI Format only. But they're definitely high quality AVI's - the download will top 3GB.
A+
Hamburg, March 1, 2015
Mathias Edenborn, Daniela Braun (u/s), Nicky Wuchinger, Norbert Kohler (u/s), Anton Rattinger, Rachel Anne Moore, Raymond Sepe, Michaela Christl, Vanessa Spireti
Someone edited this video to brighten it, but some parts are still pretty dark and the lightening affects the picture quality a bit. There's a head at about center stage, but the taper did well with shooting around it. It does, however, block Christine out in MOTN after the faint - you can see the Phantom leaning down to her, but you can't see HER. A very highly charged performance - MOTN is almost downright steamy!
A
Broadway, March 26, 2015
James Barbour, Julia Udine, Jeremy Hays, Michele McConnell, Laird Mackintosh, Tim Jerome, Linda Balgord
Very well shot video, with a good mix of close-ups and wide shots. Some occaisonal blurriness, but nothing outside of the norm of camera adjustment blurs. Taper obviously knows the show quite well. One thing I noticed is that they managed to follow Barbour as he went for the noose - something I never managed during my taping days (I'd always lose focus or track of the Phantom.) The angle might have helped though - it was definitely shot from high in the balcony. Due to the angle you also can see the box on the back of the Throne - or at least you can in the shot right before he tells them to "GO NOW AND LEAVE ME."
Either I've been blind for years or it's something about the angle but ... has the stage on Broadway always been so shiny?
A
Russia, April 19, 2015
Andrey Shkoldychenko (u/s), Elena Bahtiyarova, Eugeny Zaytsev, Ekaterina Lehina, Sergei Sorokin (u/s Andre), Yuri Mazihin, Elena Charkviani, Valeria Migalina
HIGHLIGHTS. Four large .MOV files. The only thing from Act 1 is the All I Ask Of You Reprise, Act 2 is complete. Shot from the orchestra section. Includes shots prior to the beginning of Act 2, and after the curtain calls, so you get a feel for where this was shot from, and how truely ballsy this taper was. Mix of some amazing shots, and some blurriness - I suspect it might have been blind-shot in places.
MOV format only.
A
Russia, April 25, 2015
Andrey Shkoldychenko (u/s), Tamara Kotova, Eugeny Zaytsev, Irina Samoylova, Sergei Sorokin (u/s), Yuri Mazihin, Elena Charkviani, Anastasiya Efimova (u/s)
HIGHLIGHTS. In MP4 format. The following clips: 'The Mirror', 'All I Ask of You (reprise)', 'Wandering Child', 'Point of No Return', and 'Final Lair'. I suspect this may be the same taper as the April 19 video. Filmed from the orchestra. Some heads in the way - they block some shots, especially at the right side of the stage just left of the Organ. Still, given what I've heard about the ushers in Russia, it's amazed this was filmed at all, so I'll take whatever I can get! Possibly some mild compression involved with the mp4's, but nothing too bad considering (Windows Media played it initally at almost full screen, but there's a little fuzz that I'm not sure if it's compression or it's just the way the camera is in some lighting situations?) During wide shots, you can see the conductor's hand and part of the baton.
*NOTE* The file names are all written in what I assume is Russian Cryllic writing - I had to click and be glad I know the show backwards and forwards to know what I was seeing. Not the hugest of deals but if you're wanting to click on say, The Mirror ... just know you'll have to guess.
MP4 FIles only.
A-
Broadway, June 16, 2016
James Barbour, Rachel Eskenazi-Gold (Alt), Jordan Donica, Kara Klein, Rebecca Eichenberger, Michele McConnell, Laird Mackintosh, Craig Bennett, John Easterlin
One short blackout over the end of Think of Me and another over the beginning of Masquerade; the rest of the show is fully captured with just a few very quick dropouts in between each act. There is one head that can occasionally be seen, but never blocks the action. Includes curtain call and playbill scans. Hands down some of the best filming I've seen on the dark scenes - the AIAOY reprise is AMAZINGLY shot (coming from a former taper's perspective. I never could get it right.) Taper has a wonderful, steady hand and obviously knows the show very well.
Likely the earliest video of Donica's ground-breaking Raoul.
A
Broadway, July 21, 2016
James Barbour, Ali Ewoldt, Jordan Donica, Michele McConnell, Laird Mackintosh, Craig Bennett, Rebecca Eichenberger, John Easterlin, Kara Klein
Sunsetblvd’s master. This cast features actors who are the first Asian-American Christine and first African-American Raoul to play the roles. Very well shot by a long-running master maker. Some of the typical problems involved in taping this show, of course - periodic spot washout and some dark spots in the usual places, but nothing unexpected. Shot from the balcony (judging by the angle. Occaisional blockage by a moving audience member somewhere in front of the taper (I saw a split second in Think of Me, for example, so it's possible it happened in other spots.)
A
US Tour, November 16, 2016 (Cincinnati, OH)
Derrick Davis, Kaitlyn Davis (u/s), Jordan Craig, Trista Moldovan, Prince Waldman (Andre), David Benoit (Firmin), Tynan Davis (u/s Madame Giry), Phumzile Sojola (Piangi), Emily Ramirez (Meg)
Kradder32's master. No blackouts, minimal spot washout,minimal obstructions. One head that's visible in wide shots. Some scenes are darker than others due to the show's lighting. Filmed in 16:9 with a mix of wides, mediums, and close-ups. Includes curtain calls and BCEFA speech with major obstructions.
This is the first video of the restaged tour I've seen. It takes some getting used to.
A
Related Videos
The Phantom Follies
Melbourne, Australia - 1992 or 1993
Rob Guest, Marina Prior, Dale Burridge, Maree Johnson, Caroline Ferrie, and more
The cast and crew of the Australian production put on skits, parodies, and spoofs for the benefit of charity. Runs over two hours long. Quite funny, especially the snarky version of All I Ask of You. Some of the skits/parodies - "Beauty School Dropout," "The Three Raoul Amigos," "I'm Too Sexy," a rock version of Il Muto, a rap/dance version of Think of Me, many more. Ripped from an old tape, has generational issues, a few skips that were in the tape, some color bleeding due to PAL to NTSC conversion, but still watch-able. The "Midnight at Erik's" segment has a date of 1993, I'm not sure if this was part of the Phantom Follies or if it's from something else and added onto this tape. The Follies seem to be complete, the Midnight at Erik's segment cuts off when Mme Giry is tangoing with an Erik.
DVD (B/B-)
Love Never Dies
London, April 29, 2010
Ramin Karimloo, Sierra Boggess, Joseph Millson, Summer Strallen, Liz Robertson, Richard Linnell
Pre-changes. According to most traders, missing about 25 minutes from Act 1, but is otherwise complete. (I admit to not knowing LND well enough to know that on my own.) Other typical boot issues anyone who's ever watched a 'dark' show knows well - spotlight washout during the bright bits, camera going out of focus in spots, also a bar blocks some of the action from time to time. Appears to be filmed from up in the balcony, so that's not too much a surprise. But given the fact it was filmed and likely put right to DVD, there's no (or next to none) generation loss.
A-
Melbourne, Australia - 1992 or 1993
Rob Guest, Marina Prior, Dale Burridge, Maree Johnson, Caroline Ferrie, and more
The cast and crew of the Australian production put on skits, parodies, and spoofs for the benefit of charity. Runs over two hours long. Quite funny, especially the snarky version of All I Ask of You. Some of the skits/parodies - "Beauty School Dropout," "The Three Raoul Amigos," "I'm Too Sexy," a rock version of Il Muto, a rap/dance version of Think of Me, many more. Ripped from an old tape, has generational issues, a few skips that were in the tape, some color bleeding due to PAL to NTSC conversion, but still watch-able. The "Midnight at Erik's" segment has a date of 1993, I'm not sure if this was part of the Phantom Follies or if it's from something else and added onto this tape. The Follies seem to be complete, the Midnight at Erik's segment cuts off when Mme Giry is tangoing with an Erik.
DVD (B/B-)
Love Never Dies
London, April 29, 2010
Ramin Karimloo, Sierra Boggess, Joseph Millson, Summer Strallen, Liz Robertson, Richard Linnell
Pre-changes. According to most traders, missing about 25 minutes from Act 1, but is otherwise complete. (I admit to not knowing LND well enough to know that on my own.) Other typical boot issues anyone who's ever watched a 'dark' show knows well - spotlight washout during the bright bits, camera going out of focus in spots, also a bar blocks some of the action from time to time. Appears to be filmed from up in the balcony, so that's not too much a surprise. But given the fact it was filmed and likely put right to DVD, there's no (or next to none) generation loss.
A-