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Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/292443
" As love stories go, Phantom doesn't follow the rule of thumb." — LAURENCE CONNOR continued on page 62 PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALASTAIR MUIR T he title character of The Phantom of the Opera may be a murderer, but he's a misunderstood one. Perhaps for the first time since he emerged from the pages of Gaston Leroux's 1911 novel, the Phantom, an elusive masked figure haunting the bowels of the Paris Opera House, is benefiting from a charitable character study as part of a newly reimagined version of the blockbuster musical—on view at the Boston Opera House from June 26 to July 20. Commissioned for the show's 26th anniversary, the new produc- tion of The Phantom of the Opera is unlike anything audiences have seen before. "We wanted to really get underneath the skin of it all," says director Laurence Connor. The result is a grittier Phantom for a whole new generation. After helming a critically acclaimed anniversary production of Les Misérables, Connor turned his attention to Phantom, working closely with composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and producer Cameron Mackintosh. It was a risky proposition considering that the juggernaut original has racked up more than 70 awards, been seen by 130 million people in 30 countries, and grossed more than $5.6 billion. "I started life as an actor, and as an actor you strive to find your own version of the character; you want to apply a truth to that," Connor says. For him, it was the Phantom's backstory—what led the masked figure to a life of solitude beneath the opera and to an obsessive fixation with the ingénue performer Christine. "The story tells us that his mother turned her back on him at a young age. He was in a freak show, caged and beaten," Connor explains. "There's a vulnerability that comes with that, as opposed to [the idea of ] a homicidal maniac who tears around murdering people. He doesn't understand any other way." Phantom: Modern and Explained THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA ENJOYS A MAKEOVER ON THE SET AND INSIDE THE HEAD OF THE INFAMOUS MAN WITH A MASK. BY JARED BOWEN An ensemble dance scene in Laurence Connor's new production of The Phantom of the Opera. 60 BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM HOTTEST TICKET 060-062_BC_SC_HT_LteSpr14.indd 60 4/7/14 5:07 PM