For Immediate Release
December 14, 2015
Contact: Daniela Medina
DMedina@TPAC.org
615-782-4081
ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER’S
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
IN A SPECTACULAR NEW PRODUCTION BY
CAMERON MACKINTOSH
NASHVILLE PREMIERE ENGAGEMENT COMES TO TPAC
MARCH 9-20, 2016
Vanderbilt Blair School of Music Graduate
Chris Mann Takes Phantom Role
Tickets on sale Friday, December 18, at 10:00 a.m.
NASHVILLE – Cameron Mackintosh’s spectacular new production of Andrew Lloyd
Webber’s THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA premieres at the Tennessee Performing
Arts Center’s Andrew Jackson Hall March 9-20, 2016. With newly reinvented staging
and stunning scenic design, this new version of PHANTOM is performed by a cast and
orchestra of 52 people, making this one of the largest productions on tour in North
America.
Tickets for PHANTOM go on sale Friday, December 18, at 10:00 a.m. CT online at
TPAC.org, by phone at 615-782-4040, and at the TPAC Box Office, 505 Deaderick
Street, in downtown Nashville. For group tickets, please call 615-782-4060.
“It’s wonderful to have a new production of PHANTOM touring America now that the
show has celebrated 27 years on Broadway,” said Andrew Lloyd Webber. “Director
Laurence Connor has done an amazing job, and this production has received huge
critical acclaim in the U.K.”
“With PHANTOM still the reigning champion as the longest-running production on
Broadway after 27 phenomenal years, with no end in sight, I’m delighted that this
spectacular new production of PHANTOM has been as well received in the U.S. as the
brilliant original,” said Cameron Mackintosh. “With an exciting new design and staging,
retaining Maria Björnson’s amazing costumes, the new PHANTOM is thrilling audiences
and critics alike all over again – the music of the night is soaring to dazzling new
heights.”
Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music graduate Chris Mann takes on the leading
role as the Phantom. Mann earned notability as a finalist on NBC’s The Voice. Since
then, his debut album, Roads, hit #1 on Billboard's Heatseekers Chart, and he starred in
his own PBS television special: A Mann For All Seasons. Mann has performed with the
National Symphony for President Obama, at Christmas in Rockefeller Center and
headlined his own symphony tour across the country.
Mann is joined by Katie Travis as ‘Christine Daaé,’ Storm Lineberger as ‘Raoul,’
Jacquelynne Fontaine as ‘Carlotta Giudicelli,’ David Benoit as ‘Monsieur Firmin,’
Edward Staudenmayer as ‘Monsieur André,’ Anne Kanengeiser as ‘Madame Giry,’
Phumzile Sojola as ‘Ubaldo Piangi’ and Morgan Cowling as ‘Meg Giry.’
The Ensemble includes Krista Buccellato, Nick Cartell, Dan Debenport, Steve
Czarnecki, Tynan Davis, Mark Emerson, David Foley, Jr., Celia Hottenstein,
Christopher M. Howard, Edward Juvier, Ted Keener, Jay Lusteck, Laura Mann, Kathryn
McCreary, Shane Ohmer, Quinto Ott, Rebecca Robbins, Eric Ruiz, Allan Snyder, Travis
Taylor and Marguerite Willbanks. The Corps de Ballet includes Sarah DeBiase,
Christina Dooling, Julie Eicher, Abigail Mentzer, Lily Rose Peck, Alexandra Pernice,
Tara Sweeney and Micki Weiner.
The brilliant original production of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA last played the
Andrew Jackson Hall stage 14 years ago, and this engagement of the spectacular new
production holds a significant place in the nonprofit performing arts center’s history. “In
TPAC’s 35-year history, no other Broadway production has played more weeks or sold
more tickets than THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, and it remains one of the most
requested shows in our audience surveys,” said Kathleen O’Brien, TPAC’s president
and chief executive officer. “Presenting it for the first time in 1994 put our Broadway
series on a new level, and we’re thrilled to present again this magnificent newly-staged
production with its beautiful music, haunting characters, and, of course, the majestic
chandelier.”
Cameron Mackintosh’s spectacular new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s THE
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is presented by Cameron Mackintosh, The Really Useful
Group, and NETworks Presentations. Directed by Laurence Connor (who co-directed
the new production of Les Misérables currently running on Broadway and around the
world, as well as the award-winning new production of Miss Saigon now playing in
London and coming to Broadway in 2017 and national tour in 2018, and the stage
version of the movie School of Rock now playing at Broadway’s Winter Garden), with
choreography by Scott Ambler, set design by Paul Brown, Tony Award®-winning
original costume design by Maria Björnson, lighting design by Tony Award®-winner
Paule Constable, sound design by Mick Potter, and musical supervision by John Rigby.
The production is overseen by Matthew Bourne and Cameron Mackintosh. THE
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA: music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; lyrics by Charles Hart
(with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe); book by Richard Stilgoe and Andrew Lloyd
Webber; orchestrations by David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Based on the classic novel Le Fantôme de L’Opéra by Gaston Leroux, PHANTOM tells
the story of a masked figure who lurks beneath the catacombs of the Paris Opera
House, exercising a reign of terror over all who inhabit it. He falls madly in love with an
innocent young soprano, Christine, and devotes himself to creating a new star by
nurturing her extraordinary talents and employing all of the devious methods at his
command.
For more information on the production, visit ThePhantomOfTheOpera.com/ustour/.
Follow PHANTOM on Facebook (Facebook.com/ThePhantomOfTheOpera), Twitter
(Twitter.com/PhantomOnTour), and Instagram (Instagram.com/PhantomTour).
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is the fifth production featured in the 2015-16
HCA/TriStar Health Broadway at TPAC season, with one week presented as a special
engagement to meet audience demand. Performance schedule, prices, and cast are
subject to change without notice. The season is supported by The HCA Foundation on
behalf of HCA and the TriStar Family of Hospitals, and media sponsors for the season
include NewsChannel 5 and The Tennessean. Institutional sponsors for TPAC include
Nissan North America and Coca-Cola. TPAC is funded in part by support from the
Tennessee Arts Commission and the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission.
TPAC is an accessible facility that provides a variety of services including wheelchair
accommodations, accessible parking, and assistive listening devices. Open captioning,
American Sign Language, audio description, and large print and Braille programs are
offered at the Sunday matinee performance of each Broadway Series and Broadway
Special show. For more information about accessible services, contact Lori Ward at
(615) 782-4077.
TPAC reminds ticket buyers that the only official place to buy tickets online is TPAC.org.
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Over three decades, the Tennessee Performing Arts Center has welcomed more than 11 million audience
members and served more than 1.6 million students and educators with performances at TPAC,
resources for teachers, classroom residencies, and enrichment programs for adults. Founded in 1980,
TPAC serves several hundred thousand audience members each year with the HCA/TriStar Health
Broadway at TPAC season, a variety of special engagements, and the productions of the three resident
artistic companies – Nashville Ballet, Nashville Opera, and Nashville Repertory Theatre.