THIRTY young actors and actresses from the Harlequins Drama Group are set to take to the stage at Redditch’s Palace Theatre in a production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic Phantom of the Opera.
With members aged from 14 to 21, the successful Redditch group is nearing its tenth anniversary under the directorship of Jonathan Southall, and in the past have staged highly successful productions of audience pulling shows such as Les Miserables and Beauty and the Beast, amongst many others.
The Harlequins produce a variety of musicals and pantomimes, always ensuring there is something for everyone of all ages, both on and off stage. To add to this the group runs an annual summer school, where participants create a musical in just two weeks!
Lloyd Webber’s masterpiece tells the emotive story, through spectacular music of course, of a deformed and bitter man, known only as the Phantom, who lives in the sewers underneath the Paris Opera House. He falls in love with obscure chorus singer Christine, and privately tutors her while terrorising the rest of the opera house and demanding Christine be given the lead roles.
The lead in the Harlequins production is played by New Yorker Eric Lopez, 21, who read about the show on-line and came all the way from the States to Redditch for the audition – and got the part!
Audiences are set for a real treat as the Harlequins pride themselves in attention to detail. This is quite simply the most commercially successful stage musical ever, and performances of Phantom of the Opera can be seen at Redditch’s Palace Theatre from Thursday to Saturday, June 9-11 (7.30pm nightly) with a matinee on Saturday at 2.30pm. Tickets are £15 (£13 concessions) from the box office on 01527 65203 or book on-line at www.redditchpalacetheatre.co.uk/
