The play is about a character haunting the Paris Opera House. Have you experienced any hauntings yourself?
I’ve had a few ghostly experiences in my time. One would be while I was doing a production at the George M. Cohan theater in New York. I was sitting in the centre set piece and felt this extremely cold wind hit me. It was late at night and my friend and I were just talking on the set. One of the poles from which were holding a string of light just fell and crushed the set piece.
What is your personal interpretation of the Phantom?
This is a man who has lived in the bowels of the opera house his whole life. He doesn’t really know society. He doesn’t go outside. His education of what people do and how they live is through opera. It’s overly dramatic. It’s what he thinks people do for love. This dark side of him probably comes from being shunned but also from how he’s been educated in his life. He’s not mentally educated like how we have been in society. He’s a different animal.
Do you relate to the character then?
I understand where he comes from. I understand why he does the things he does. When you put things into perspective, I can absolutely see how a human being who has been put into that sort of situation can come out as dark as the Phantom. What’s great is the manipulation of musical theater which actually enables audiences to empathize with the character.
But are there any personal parallels between yourself and Phantom?
It’s because I’m dyslexic and I know what it was like to be called stupid and all these things from other people so I can relate to the character. I’ve had so many letters of things that people let out—as far as their own skeletons in the closet—that they’re finally able to release because of this show.
What about your love life—any parallels there?
I don’t know how many Christines I’ve had in my lifetime, actually! That said, I don’t know if that makes the Phantom a playboy!
The Phantom of the Opera is on through Sep 1, 8pm at The MasterCard Theatre, Tickets at $55-230 from Sistic.
