After 13,981 performances, Broadway’s Phantom of the Opera came to an end in 2023. Only a year later, NASH Fall Musical Director David Schmiech jumped on the newfound opportunity for this classic show to appear on the North Allegheny stage. 

Auditions were held at the end of the 23-24 school year. This resulted in the casting of NASH seniors Grace Durzo (Christine Daaé), Ryder Boles (The Phantom), Sam Coffman (Raoul), and 38 other cast members in major roles and ensemble spots.

“We chose this show because we have an amazing cast that will make this show sound fantastic,” Bob Tozier, the producer and technical director, said.

Year after year, the directing team customarily chooses the musicals after auditions so that the cast fits each show perfectly. As shown by the annual audience turnouts, the process works. 

Tozier went on to say, “We also chose this show for the fall because it fits well with the number of students who would like to participate in the fall show,” which is more than any previous year in the fall. 

41 students will perform on the stage, but over twice as many will take part in some of the many available ways. The pit orchestra, for instance, is filled almost entirely with NA high school students.

“We’ve got a bigger cast than usual, and we’re going to have a bigger pit than usual,” Schmiech said. “I think there will be a bigger audience than usual, and those are all really cool things to experience.” 

The director added, “I think that Phantom of the Opera has a name draw that is unusual for musicals. It has to be the most famous musical. It’s just a show that everybody knows, and there is an excitement to that. I think that energy is infectious. It’s motivating, and it gets a lot of people wanting to be part of what we do here.”

The stage crew employs even more students as they need to run everything from lights to backstage props, costumes, and set pieces to sound quality and management for the cast and pit.

“You have to make everything work,” said Tozier, who works closely with every aspect of the technical side of the show. 

“The script and the score only tell us so much about how the show needs to go on,” Schmiech explained, “and so we have a director to link together the choices made from casting to costuming to staging to choreography, to who’s in a scene, to what the scene should look like, and even to how scenes should move from one to the other.”

Boles has the male lead role as The Phantom himself. He couldn’t be more excited for the show, but he also recognizes the work required to pull off this specific musical. 

“It’s not an easy show,” he said. “There’s a lot of vocal gymnastics. It’s a ton of practice, so I need to make sure to keep myself and my voice healthy. It’s a big show and a big cast, so figuring stuff out is pretty difficult, but it’s nothing we can’t do.”

There are challenges from behind the scenes, too.

“We are trying to hang a chandelier from the stage and also off of the catwalk,” Schmiech said, “so that it can hang over the pit and swing down and crash onto the stage, so that’s a huge tech challenge.” 

Tozier separately stated, “I am worried about pulling off the chandelier, but I’m excited, and I know we’ll be able to do it.”

Despite all of the other challenges the show presents, like scene-specific and layered lighting, smoke and fog in incredible amounts, and difficult musical moments, the producer recognizes that “they are all fun challenges to have.”

Every actor, musician, dancer, and crew member is enthused about how special this show is.

“This show is different in almost every conceivable way,” Boles said. “I don’t think this is like any other show that I’ve done.”

Tozier is looking forward to audience reception.

“The Phantom of the Opera is usually a dark show, but for some reason it has a family element to it that a lot of people can relate to,” he said. “I’ve now seen the first two rehearsals, and I think we chose a show that fits the awesome ability that the cast has.”

Schmiech wholeheartedly agreed.

“It is music that will stick with you,” he said. “This show is on another level than anything that we’ve done in the fall slot.”

Tickets will go on sale in early October on namusical.com. Phantom of the Opera will be performed on the NASH stage from November 6th to the 10th.