Phantom Claus is coming to town

By STU CLAMPITT
news@readthereporter.com

On Dec. 6 at 6 p.m., four men who have played the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Tony Award-winning musical Phantom of the Opera are coming to the Palladium, 1 Carter Green, Carmel, for a night of music you don’t want to miss.

Brent Barrett, John Cudia, Franc D’Ambrosio and Ciarán Sheehan, under the music direction of Ryan Shirar, will bring you Broadway classics, including some select Phantom favorites, along with holiday songs to help get you into a Christmas state of mind.

The Reporter spoke to one former Phantom, Brent Barrett, about his musical career and what you can expect from the Dec. 6 show.

Barrett’s theatrical background includes playing the lead in Kiss Me Kate and Billy Flynn in Chicago, among many others.

Barrett told The Reporter his first opportunity to be in Phantom was when he was asked to portray Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny, in Toronto – a role he turned down. Later, in Las Vegas, he auditioned with Andrew Lloyd Webber. That audition was not his first with Webber, and certainly not the most interesting.

“I think the first time I auditioned for Andrew was for when they were bringing Aspects of Love to New York,” Barrett said. “And I’ll never forget it because it was at the Minskoff Rehearsal Studios, and I had stopped in, there was a little deli downstairs. I just wanted to get something to drink and I saw this natural ginger soda. I said, ‘oh, well that might be good.’ So I picked that up and I started drinking it. And then I got into the audition and all of a sudden that ginger soda started repeating.”

Barrett had chosen “Music of the Night” for that audition, and between line he was trying not to burb loud enough for Webber to notice.

“It was one of those auditions that I will never forget because of the absurdity of it,” Barrett told The Reporter. “Singing ‘Music of the Night’ and burping all the way through it and they don’t know.”

For the Dec. 6 performance, there will be no ginger soda before Barrett and three other former Phantoms wow audiences in Carmel with Broadway hits and Christmas classics.

Barrett told The Reporter while he has known Franc D’Ambrosio for many years and has worked with John Cudia, he has never done a show with any of them. Since Carmel is the first stop on the current Four Phantoms tour, those in attendance will be able to say they saw it first.

Because the show is in December and Chirstkindlmarkt will be right outside, you can expect holiday favorites like “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” among others.

Joining the Four Phantoms on stage will be Kaley Ann Voorhees, one of the youngest performers to play the role of Christine, the female lead in Phantom.

Tickets are available online at tinyurl.com/FourPhantoms or by calling the Fifth Third Bank Box Office at (317) 843-3800.

Please be aware that there are changes in traffic patterns around the Allied Solution Center for the Performing Arts now through Dec. 24 due to the many events taking place in and around Carter Green. There is a map on our website at tinyurl.com/ChristkindlmarktParking2024 to help you find you way to free public parking.

If you’d like a preview of Barrett’s live performances, Clips from “Life Is: The Music of Kander & Ebb” is available at tinyurl.com/BrentBarrettLifeIs, and clips of some Christmas songs can be found at tinyurl.com/BrentBarrettChristmas.