Phantom of the Opera hits the boards in Waipawa

Phantom of the Opera will be on stage in Waipawa

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA – Waipawa Musical and Dramatic Society.

In less than two weeks' time, the small town of Waipawa will be abuzz as the epic stage production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's production of The Phantom of the Opera hits the boards.

The musical is famously based on Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera which was originally published as a poorly received serialised novel in 1909.

Lloyd Webber premiered The Phantom of the Opera in 1986, inspired by the novel. He wrote the part of Christine for his then-wife Sarah Brightman, who played the role in the original London and Broadway productions alongside Michael Crawford as the Phantom.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of this much-loved musical.

The show is produced by Waipawa Musical and Dramatic Society and directed by CHB local Lisa- Jane Easter – who last directed Next to Normal for the society in 2014.

She is supported by the creative team comprising Helen Walker as musical director, Wendy Waldrom as choreographer and John Harding (a former resident of CHB) who has been welcomed back to his old drama club, to pass on his skills and share some knowledge as the concept and set designer for this production.

Harding (now based in Akaroa) is one of New Zealand's top set designers having worked on films such as Avatar, King Kong and the LOTR trilogy. His creative design for this "non-replica" production of the Phantom is the talk of the town.

The Phantom is a massive undertaking for this small but brave society; it is estimated that this show will incorporate around 15,000 volunteer hours, with approximately 80 people who are involved both on stage and off.

Club president Vicky Mavin says, "We have committed to bringing a theatrical experience to CHB. We want this show to be an experience, an event and something that the CHB community will cherish and talk about for years to come".

*Tickets for the show are available online from Eventfinda, or from the CHB Municipal Theatre, Waipawa. The show runs from June 13-23, 2018.