When Phantom of the Opera made  its London stage debut in 1986, it became a "must see" musical sensation unlike any other.  A Broadway opening was soon followed by a West Coast premiere at the Ahmanson Theatre in May of 1989 where it played to capacity crowds through August of 1993,  an unprecedented theatrical run that set a new record for Los Angeles.

As a special bonus in their thirty-seventh subscription season, Phantom of the Opera has returned to the Ahmanson for a limited engagement through December 6.  And as can be expected with all of their shows, this production is top notch and features a wonderful cast.

Although several different movie versions of Phantom have been made, non has quite captured the heart and imagination of a worldwide audience as this musical version, directed by the legendary Harold Prince, that's based on the 1911 novel by Gaston Leroux.  The songs of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Charles Hart, a then 25-year old who was discovered through a song writing  competition, are an enchanting marriage of melody and lyrics that are among the most beautiful and inspired in musical theater, not to mention catchy.  It's almost effortless to walk out of a show humming one of the tunes.

Phantom has allured the devotion of a legend of fans who have returned to see it again and again, and it's easy to understand why.  At its core is an audacious figure who, in spite of his physical afflictions, appeals to our romantic fantasies of courtship and love, and whose tragic past evokes compassion.  He's a scholar, an architect, an inventor, even a magician, but also a "loathsome gargoyle who burns in hell but secretly yearns for heaven," a beast who secretly dreams of beauty.  Music is his passion and he enraptures his beloved, and us, with songs filled with poetry.

Sure, he intimidates and murders a select few along the way but what the heck - they were jerks to begin with and deserve their comeuppance.

But it's also a love story that's imbued with plenty of eroticism, and while much of it seeps into our minds through the verse, it's also designed into the tasteful stagecraft.  The gold proscenium arch is decorated with figures of winged beast and partially clad maidens intertwined in passionate play.  Candelabras are grace with voluptuous female bust.  When the Phantom whisks his songstress away to his secret hideaway, he leads her to a mirror where she sees a vision of herself in a wedding dress, symbolic of the Victorian rite of passage into once forbidden pleasures.

Add to these elements some impressive visuals; a dazzling masquerade ball filled with colorful sumptuous costumes, a falling half-ton chandelier.

In one of the best sequences which happens early in the show, the Phantom appears to Christine in her dressing room and abducts her.  As they escape along elevated walkways, the stage turns into a fog-enshrouded lake where they soon appear riding on a gondola.  The waterway then transforms into the candlelit lair of the Phantom.  This stunning segment also features three great songs which are performed in succession: "The Angel of Music," "The Phantom of the Opera," and "The Music of the Night."  

Brad Little leads the 36 member company as a tall and hunky Phantom.  His love interest, Christine, is played with elegance by Lisa Vroman.  Both are compelling singers and create believable characters, but what makes this pairing a real standout is their remarkable sexual chemistry and the way they infuse their moments together with palpable sensuality.

One of the highlights of the evening was Little's tender and exquisite rendition of "The Music of the Night" that left listeners completely spellbound. It was magic moment where one could almost hear the collective sighs from all the female theatergoers.

In a terrific ensemble cast, D.C. Anderson plays the opera house manager, Monsieur Andre, with a delightful comic exuberance that's fun to watch.  With the winter season quietly approaching, Phantom is a romantic way to herald the long, cuddly nights ahead.  Bring someone special with you.

With music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart (with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe) and a book by Stilgoe and Webber (based on the novel "La Fantome de L'Opera" by Gaston Leroux), "The Phantom of the Opera" is every bit as lush, lovely, opulent and over the top as it was when it first opened at the Ahmanson in 1989 --in some respects, more so.

As you enter the theater, you realize that the stage of the Ahmanson has been transformed into a grand old Parisian opera house in 1911 -- well at least a pseudo-grand opera house with yards of scarlet curtains, a gilded proscenium, lots of draperies, a bevy of golden angels, scores of twinkling candles and one precariously swinging chandelier.

Credit Maria Bjornson for the eye-popping production design (costumes, sets and stage magic), Andrew Bridge for the effective lighting and Martin Levan for the sound -- all under the careful, astute direction of Harold Prince, with musical staging and choreography by Gillian Lynne.

As you probably know, "Phantom" tells the story of Christine Daae (the lovely, lyrical Lisa Vroman), a young and inexperienced member of the opera company, and her "capture" by the mad, lonely, disfigured Phantom (the wonderful Brad Little), who haunts the Paris opera house.

The Phantom falls in love with Christine and engineers her debut as the company's prima donna and then spirits her away to his lair across a mysterious lake into a secret grotto.  But she loves the opera's wealthy patron Raoul (the impressive Tim Martin Gleason).

The battle between the Phantom and Raoul brings the story to it's climax, but not before we are treated to Webber's lush music, including the popular songs "The Music of the Night," "All I Ask of You" and "Think of Me."

Within these familiar Gothic romance trappings, Webber and Stilgoe manage to send up operatic conventions of the 18th and 19th centuries.

In the sublimely silly Meyerbeer parody "Hanibal," Webber captures every cliche of 19th century opera: the Carthaginian queen in antique bustle (Kim Stengel is first-rate as diva queen Carlotta Gludicelli), the fatuous tenor-without-a-clue Ubaldo Piangi (a fine Jimmy Smagula), a ballet of dancing slave girls and even a mechanical elephant.

Offering strong support are David Cryer and D. C. Anderson as the opera's impresarios Firmin and Andre, respectively Patti Davidson-Gorbea as the mysterious Madame Girey, the ballet master and Kate Wray as her ballerina daughter, Meg.

Redlands' Brad Little is unmasked as he talks about the Phantom, the Yankees and seven Christines

Brad Little arrived in Southern California at the beginning of October to begin a new run in the title role of the National Tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera." Last week, Little was gracious enough to greet me in his dressing room before a performance at the Ahmanson Theater to discuss the character, the show, his New York success and his ties to Redlands.

Little will perform with the National Touring company through Jan. 11, when he will leave the run in Arizona to perform a concert in Hawaii. Little will also put down his mask over Thanksgiving weekend when he will journey to Washington, D.C., to sing with the National Symphony.

"The concert things are just kind of like a nice side job. They're easy, quick, they pay the rent that month and you go in with songs you already know," said Little.

Early Singing

Though today he calls New York his home (he was rooting for the Yankees on his laptop when I arrived), Little is considered by many to be a Redlands hometown hero. A 1982 graduate of Redlands High School, Little received much of his early music and theater training here.

"My music training really came through my high school choir teacher, Roger Duffer," said Little. "He is really who got me turned on to music."

Duffer is now director of the Inland Master Chorale. Little will perform a special concert with them in May.

In high school Duffer had Little singing bass/baritone. After moving to New York, Little developed the upper range necessary for playing roles such as the Phantom.

"I went to New York wanting to sound like Robert Goulet," Little said. "I had a voice teacher come to me and say: Honey, you ain't no Robert Goulet you're not even a bass/baritone."

The teacher was Marge Ribbingston.

"She brought in an upper range to my singing," said Little. "All the rest of this has been on the job training."

Before the Phantom

Before moving to New York, Little made an attempt to break into the business in Los Angeles. Working for the local Mervyn's when he graduated high school, Little was able to secure a transfer to their store in Eagle Rock. Before long he was offered an opportunity to sing with Mary Martin's Wildwood Institute. The gig would mean having to quit his job with Mervyn's.

"I had to quit, but I could only give 10 days notice and Mr. Bee (the manager) came back and said: You realize you will never work for Mervyn's again,' " said Little.

"Everybody laughs about that now, but I was devastated," he continued. "But I said I've got to do this,' and I quit."

His move back East first brought Little to an off-off Broadway production of "They're Playing Our Song," where he portrayed one of the alter egos in Pennsylvania. The job paid him roughly $110 per week.

"But it was theater," said Little.

Living with three other guys in a one-room appartment, Little had a small corner to call his own and one-quarter of the bathroom. From there he ventured into New York and landed a job through his very first audition.

"I haven't had to have a side job (other than theater) since 1986. Which is amazing," Little said. "It's just a God-given gift I have and I really don't have much training at all."

Becoming the Phantom

Before becoming the Phantom, Little portrayed the role of Raoul in the show for a number of years first on Broadway and then on tour. Though he enjoyed playing Raoul, the Phantom is one of his favorite roles to play. Musical theater is his love.

"It's an amazing feeling to stand in front of a full symphonic orchestra, but give me the story and the character and everything, over just standing in front of an orchestra any day," said Little.

He approaches the character of the Phantom as an actor, rather than a singer. His goal is to give the classic monster an edge that other performers might forego.

"Singing is secondary with this role," he said. "Let's give (the audience) something else. Let's scare them a little."

He describes the character as sexy, scary, dangerous, frightening and "absolutely pitiful."

"He has to be mysterious," said Little. "Something I take great pride in is telling this story, and I find that extremely important."

In questioning loyal fans about their reasons for returning to see the show again, Little has discovered that most women express a desire to take care of the Phantom. Men relate to his outcast status, and even admit to letting tears flow at the end of the show.

"And yet I think that it is a huge, dark secret turn-on for a lot of people," said Little. "He learns to love enough to let go," he said.

One of the most difficult parts of playing the role comes with the popular song "Music of the Night." Presenting the most challenging vocal requirements of the role, it is a song that many singers can sing, but not night after night and twice on Saturdays and Sundays.

"I don't know if I even really have an answer (to how it is done), other than a lot of prayer every time I come up to that note," said Little.

"Every night it's a question: Will I be able to hit it? And I would say that 98 percent of the time I do. But then there are those times when I don't we're human," he said.

To keep his voice protected, Little gets a lot of sleep, drinks plenty of water and tries his best not to talk during the day not an easy task for a performer.

"It's tough, but I just flat out have to do it," said Little.

Time Off

For relaxation Little watches and listens to a lot of sports. On occaision he gets out to play a round of golf, or participates in a softball game.

When we met, the professed Oakland Raiders fan was wearing a brand new Seattle Seahawks shirt.

"I got caught," he said while explaining that the tour had just come from Seattle, where Seahawks coach Mike Holgrem provided Little with a special tour of the team's camps and facilities.

The shirt was a gift. Being on tour and living out of a hotel room, the shirt also happened to be Little's only piece of clean clothing.

"You would never find me in a Denver (Broncos) shirt, or Kansas City (Chiefs)," he said.

Another Favorite

One of Little's favorite characters to portray on stage comes from another Andrew Lloyd Webber hit, "Jesus Christ Superstar." Little played Jesus on the European tour and won international acclaim with his portrayal.

"Really the first time that I understood the story of Christ was through that show," said Little. "It makes it so human and real and dark and dirty dirty as in like earth dirt."

His brother played the soundtrack for him as a teen, and he became immediately enthralled with the score.

"Suddenly what was a church being, if you will, this cartoon in my mind as a child this fictional character suddenly this show made me feel the pain, made me feel the real hatred that people had toward him and the real controversies of the time that I never really got from church," said Little.

Not a role for a bass/baritone, Jesus is one of the highest singing roles in musical theater.

"I never had a voice teacher who said I can't do it," said Little. "I just get out there and I scream. I mean I'm just bloody out there screaming. That's what the role just asks for," he said.

Naysayers warn Little that such vocalizing can damage his vocal chords. But after singing the role over 1,700 times in four years, Little says he sounds exactly the same as when he started.

"I have an attitude of why not do it until I can't do it," he said. "It's amazing what the human body will do when somebody says you can't' or you shouldn't' to you because you believe it. And once we believe (it), we then can't do it."

Changing Christines

Another difficult part of playing the Phantom comes from working with different leading ladies. The current cast includes Lisa Vroman in the role of Christine. Behind Vroman, opera-trained Marni Raab portrays Christine for select performances. A third Christine, actress Sarah Lawrence, performs the role at special performances or when the others cannot.

"It makes it challenging," said Little. "I've done it here (Ahmanson Theatre) where I never had the same Christine twice for almost seven shows in a row. It is very bizarre"

The trust and comfort level that must be developed between the performers is essential to the show. Each performer has her own subtle differences in movement style and interpretation as well. The level of dynamics can change from one Christine to another.

"Seven Christines may be a lot of men's fantasies, but not mine," Little said.

Little's Leading Lady

The true leading lady in Little's life is his wife Barbara McCulloh. Also a performer, McCulloh hails from the Baltimore area. Together, the two of them share a New York apartment. They also own a home on the river in Pennsylvania.

Still, as a working actor, Little lives his craft for the love of the art, not the money. His limited contract to play the Phantom is worth less than $20,000. His average income is approximately $40,000 per year.

"You have to save and plan wisely because there is a lot of time when you are unemployed," said Little.

Currently the couple have no children and there are no immediate plans to start a family. For now they are content with their cat, Boo-Boo.

"The other day I was telling someone that poor Boo-Boo Little is staying with friends, and my wife said: Boo-Boo Little? I don't think so It's Boo-Boo McCulluh," said Little.

Little is filled with that type of humility. He considers himself very lucky to be where he is and he enjoys the anonimity that comes when he removes his famous mask.

"Nobody knows who I am outside of Redlands," he said.

Drawing his attention to the more than 77,000 hits to his website, he replies: "That's my dad, sitting there hitting the button over and over again."

Redlands Roots

Little's father is Paul Little, former University of Redlands theater arts professor, now the pastor of a church in Michigan.

"I had the best of both worlds with my father being the theater professor," said Little. "I also had the major in at the university, so in a way I felt like I went to college even though I didn't."

Little credits his father's performance as King Arthur on the stage of the Redlands Bowl with his first fascination with theater. Later when he saw his brother play the role of El Gallo in a UR production of "The Fantasticks," he knew he wanted to become a performer himself.

In high school, Little performed a number of roles on the stage of Clock Auditorium. Usually he was cast in the older parts because he was always tall. Today he enjoys seeing that Clock is still there, whenever he returns to Redlands.

"What I really miss about Redlands, I miss whenever I'm in Redlands I miss the orange groves," said Little.

"As a child the one thing I will always remember is the smell of orange blossoms, and there is no smell like it," he said.

Little also mentioned the now-absent smell of smoking smudge pots and memories of playing army in the groves with his friends.

"The difficult thing for me is that I lived there (Redlands) for 12 years, but people think that I lived there for 30 years," Little said. "I went from elementary school to high school there and I was gone."

"Because of my father, my job, the fortune I have had in my work I was always still kind of there, even though I wasn't there," he said.

He misses the quaint, small town atmosphere he says existed during the '70s, when everybody knew everybody.

"It's a whole different town from when I lived there," he said.

Fans From Our Town

During the Phantom's run in Los Angeles, Little hopes to find a free day to journey into Redlands to see old friends. In his dressing room he keeps a list of people who are coming out to see him in the show. Long-time friend Tom Harrigan assisted Little with keeping guests organized.

"He's been a great a help and I really want to thank him," said Little.

Of the people on the list, Little is most pleased that former Our Town Editor Nelda Stuck is coming to see him. "Lady Nelda," as he calls her, is someone special to Little.

"She was the Barbara Walters of the Daily Facts," Little said. "I expect to see her back here with a pen and a pad of paper in her hand after the show, because that's what she's used to having every time we see each other," he said.

Others on the list include old friends from school and fellow performers who shared the stage of the Redlands Bowl with Little in countless productions for the Redlands Community Music Association.

But Stuck sticks out in Little's mind.

"I'm just thrilled that Nelda's coming," he said. "The fact that Nelda's coming and she doesn't have to write a story that just makes my day."
 
 

"The Phantom of the Opera" ' should have run its course by now in Los Angeles.

It had a record-setting four-plus-year stand at the Ahmanson Theatre beginning in May 1989 and has been back in the area since then with touring companies.

Nevertheless, Andrew Lloyd Webber's most popular and critically acclaimed musical has returned to the Ahmanson for an eight-week run. Theatergoers with fond memories of the first run with Michael Crawford in the title role will not be disappointed.

For those who need a refresher, the musical adaptation of Gaston Leroux's novel is the story of a mysterious masked figure dwelling in the catacombs of the famed Paris Opera House in the 1880s. While the Phantom (Brad Little) terrorizes the company and crew with mischievous -- sometimes deadly -- acts and demanding missives, he takes interest in one particularly talented member of the corps, Christine Daae (Lisa Vroman), mesmerizing her while awakening her vocal gifts. Christine believes he is the "angel of music" ' her father promised her on his death bed.

Christine achieves great professional success with the Phantom's help, but she is torn between meeting his jealous demands and her desire for a conventional romance with Raoul (the charming Tim Martin Gleason), the opera's handsome patron.

Little and Vroman bring their Broadway experience with the roles to the Los Angeles stage, resulting in compelling chemistry and vocal ease.

Little has a commanding presence behind the mask that withers in the final scene as he is revealed as a pitiful creature acting out of the pain of rejection. He rises to the challenge of Lloyd Webber's score, from the depths of the title song to the iridescent final note of "The Music of the Night." '

Vroman is an appealing Christine, with a clear, sweet soprano that captures the purity of the role. She may have been off her game slightly at Sunday's opening, though, when she went sharp during "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again." '

Director Harold Prince has let the moments of comic relief shine brighter than before, showcasing the witty exchanges between opera owners Monsieur Firmin (David Cryer) and Monsieur Andre (D.C. Anderson), as well as the wonderful duo of Kim Stengel and Jimmy Smagula as prima donna Carlotta and her corpulent tenor, Ubaldo Piangi.

The sets, particularly the legendary chandelier, remain impressive to established "Phantom" ' fans, as well as newcomers to the musical.
 
 

The Redlands High School graduate will reprise the title role at the Ahmanson Theatre, Oct. 12-Dec. 6

LOS ANGELES  Redlands native Brad Little returns to the Ahmanson Theatre as the Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Phantom of the Opera," for a limited engagement Oct. 12 - Dec. 6.

Little's professional theater credits include recent appearances as the Phantom on Broadway and the off-Broadway musical "The Prince and the Pauper."

Little, a 1982 graduate of Redlands High School, has been a part of the "Phantom Family" since 1994, when he joined the touring company as a member of the chorus. Since then he has played the role of Raoul and now the Phantom.

Little's other Broadway and national tour credits include "Cyrano The Musical," Topol in "Fiddler on the Roof," "Anything Goes" and an award-winning performance as Jesus in "Jesus Christ Superstar."

Throughout the nation, Little has performed such roles as Jekyll and Hyde in the musical of the same name, Lt. Cable in "South Pacific" and Che in "Evita," for which he won Pennsylvania's Barrymore Award for "Best Actor in a Musical."

Little's costar is Lisa Vroman, who joins the national tour from playing Christine on Broadway. Her other Broadway credits include both Cosette and Fantine in "Les Miserables" and "Aspects of Love."

The Ahmanson Theatre is located at the Los Angeles Music Center, 135 N. Grand Ave. Performances of "The Phantom of the Opera" are scheduled through Dec. 6. Performances are held Tuesday through Friday at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Weekday matinees are Oct. 16, Nov. 26, Nov. 28, Dec. 1 and Dec. 4. Tickets are priced from $30 to $85. Information and reservations: (213) 628-2772.
 
 

THERE'S NO SINGLE reason why "The Phantom of the Opera" continues to attract a huge following 17 years after its debut. You'll have to trust Brad Little on that.

The former Redlands actor, who is playing the title character during the Los Angeles run of Andrew Lloyd Webber's blockbuster musical, has done plenty of checking into it.

"I" ve asked a number of fans, 'What is it about the show that makes it so intriguing that you have to come back?' It was kind of interesting the different responses that I got,'' Little says. "The guys said they loved the technical aspects of it. The women loved the story of it, the love story. And one of them said, 'I come back because I always want to take care of you." ''

Whatever the reason, "Phantom" ' playing at the Ahmanson Theatre through Dec. 6 continues to draw huge crowds in towns big and small.

"It" s astounding the legs that this thing has,'' says Little, who joined the "Phantom" s'' national tour in 1996. "I don" t know of any other tour that stays in every city for a minimum of four weeks. That's our minimum stay -- even in these small towns of Greenville and Appleton, Wis.''

When the tour reached Tucson, Ariz., a year ago, the Tucson Citizen gushed that the show generated nearly $10 million for the local economy -- a figure that included ticket sales, dinner outings, hotel stays and visits to Starbucks.

Look for that number to be somewhat higher in Los Angeles, where the Webber musical is making its fourth visit to the area. The first time, it was nothing short of a "Phantom" ' frenzy.

The show opened an expected six-month run on May 1, 1989, at the Ahmanson and wound up sticking around for an extra four years, generating nearly $156 million in ticket sales. Later, national touring companies visited the Pantages Theatre and the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

But this will be Little's first time performing the role in the area where he grew up. Two years after graduating from Redlands High School in 1982, he moved to New York -- the place he wanted to be as an up-and-coming stage actor.

"My parents have lived (in Redlands) since 1970 ... and they wanted me to come to L.A. to play some leading role sometime," ' Little says. "Finally it" s happening, and about three months ago they moved to Michigan. The irony of it all.''

Despite moving away, Mom and Dad are certain to make the trek to Los Angeles to catch the show. What they'll see is a romantically charged story about a deformed composer who wears a mask and lives in the catacombs under the Paris Opera. He falls in love with a beautiful soprano, Christine, whom he coaches in singing and later abducts. Battling the Phantom for the singer's affections is the young aristocrat Raoul.

Little, Lisa Vroman, who plays Christine, and Tim Martin Gleason as Raoul have already enchanted audiences in San Francisco and Seattle during the current tour.

In its review, The Seattle Times offered words of praise: " 'Phantom" delivers the goods on several fronts: spectacular scenic effects, a romantic melodrama, an intricate dissonant musical score with pastiche parodies of opera, a couple of singable songs and a plot that incorporates mythical elements from both 'Beauty and the Beast' and the art-versus-love conflict of 'The Red Shoes.' ''

All of that magic -- including the crashing of a half-ton chandelier -- and the music of the night are not all that easy to stage.

"This is probably the most exhausting of all the roles," ' says Little, who counts "Cyrano the Musical," ' "Fiddler on the Roof" ' and "Anything Goes" ' among his Broadway and national tour credits. "It" s exhausting mainly because of both the physicality and the emotional waves that you come across in the show. I was kind of astounded at how exhausting it was.''

Little was particularly surprised at the role's extreme challenges because he had seen Davis Gaines as the Phantom so many nights up-close on Broadway.

"When I played the role of Raoul, I was talking to another guy ... who was a former Raoul," ' Little says. "We recalled giving the Phantoms a hard time because Raoul actually has more stage time. We would harass them about, 'How can you be so tired?" Now we're eating crow because, man, until you play this role, you just don't understand the demands.''

Those demands really are great, especially after Little's nearly 1,650 performances as the Phantom.

"Lisa and I were just talking about ... where we get this drive, and the fact that we go out there and try to make it different every night," ' Little says. "For one, we love the show. Two, we love what we do. And the two of us, we are two energies that will refuse to let the other one settle. So if one is starting to go down, like if I" m starting to go away, she will pick me up and vice-versa.''

Little has another theory for the popularity of "Phantom" ' -- a more personal one.

"I" m extremely dyslexic, and the pain that I went through as a child -- people making fun of me and not understanding me -- really came out in my feelings for this character,'' he says. "I think we all have those skeletons somewhere in our lives, and I think a lot of people relate to this man in some way." '

Little continues to struggle with dyslexia, which helped keep the onetime high school honor roll student out of college. Although he held a 3.5 grade point average, his Scholastic Aptitude Test scores were extremely low.

"At school, I was fine because the teachers understood, and they helped me along," ' he says. "But the SATs, because they were timed, I had to read through them quickly and that just was not a format I could do." '

Watch and listen to Little as the Phantom and you'll never guess he struggles with dyslexia -- although there is a page on his Web site ( www.bradlittle.com devoted to the subject.

"For me, it" s kind of like a person who stutters, but my stuttering is my reading,'' says Little, who wears a tinted pair of glasses when he reads that for him seems to take the white off the page and bring out the black lettering.

Little, who rejoined the tour after a three-year hiatus when he did some regional theater, is signed with the show through mid-December. By that time, "The Phantom of the Opera" s'' Los Angeles run will be over and the show will be in New Orleans.

While he doesn't know how much longer he'll be wearing the mask, one thing is certain: "I" m addicted to my craft,'' Little says. "It doesn" t matter what it is, where it is or how much I get paid.''