Ken Hill's "PHANTOM OF THE OPERA" Steve Blanchard 1989 Cleveland, Ohio Flyer

Description

This is a rare single-page advertising handbill (flyer) promoting the one-week,
National Tour engagement of the
KEN HILL musical "THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA" at the Palace Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio beginning September 19th, 1989. (The American premiere took place on March 18th, 1987 at the Repertory Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri. This tour
kicked off August 29th, 1989 at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C
.) .....
Ken Hill's
Phantom of the Opera
premiered on July 26th, 1976 at the Duke's Playhouse in Lancaster, England with a book by KEN HILL and a modern score by IAN ARMIT. In 1984, Hill revised the show, discarding the modern score and writing original English lyrics backed by 18th, 19th and early 20th century opera arias, creating a musical that reflected the era in which the original novel was written. This updated version was first produced jointly in Newcastle, England and London in 1984 ....
. The National Tour starred STEVE BLANCHARD in the title role, REBECCA BAXTER as "Christine Daae", MERWIN FOARD as "Raoul" and
WILIAM LINTON as "Richard"
and featured
SUZANNE GRODNER,
WAYNE HOFFMAN, JOHN-CHARLES KELLY, EILEEN McNAMARA,
SERENA SOFFER,
VINCE TRANI,
SAMUEL E. WRIGHT and LAURIE FRANKS
..... Side note: ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER, his wife SARAH BRIGHTMAN and producer CAMERON MACKINTOSH attended a performance of Ken Hill's
Phantom of the Opera
at London's
Theatre Royal Stratford East in May 1984. Prompted by the good reviews, they approached Hill about the possibility of collaborating on a grand scale version of his
Phantom of the Opera
in the West End. But in the end, Lloyd Webber chose to pursue the musical on his own, and the rest is history
..... CREDITS: Book, Music and Lyrics by KEN HILL based on the original novel by GASTON LEROUX; Music by VERDI, GOUNOD, OFFENBACH, MOZART, WEBER and DONIZETTI; Sets and Costumes designed by SARAH-JANE McCLELLAND; Directed by KEN HILL; Produced by ALLEN SPIVAK and LARRY MAGID in association with JONATHAN REINIS, INC., BRAD KRASSNER and MAGIC PROMOTIONS
..... DETAILS: Advertising handbills (heralds) were distributed or inserted into the playbills of other productions to help generate ticket sales for upcoming shows and events. This single page, one-sided handbill measures 4 7/8" X 8 1/2" inches and includes wonderful graphics, promotional text, excerpts from several reviews, performance schedule and ticket prices on the front. The backside is blank ..... CONDITION: With the exception of light edge wear, this rare flyer is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any theatre aficionado or historian. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective, carded sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard.