For the first time in its twenty-five-year history, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s soaring West End musical Phantom of The Opera is coming to Harrogate! St John Fisher Catholic High School in Harrogate is one of the first schools in the UK to present the hit West End musical, following licence changes by The Really Useful Group earlier in the year.
The dramatic show, which will remain true to the original script, score and costume, will be staged at St John FisherHigh School, Hookstone Drive, Harrogate on 27th, 28th, 29th and 30th November.
Directed by Karl Hansen, Head of Drama, with musical direction from Craig Ratcliffe,Head of Music and choreographed by Claire Noonan, Head of Dance, the musical features a cast of forty St John Fisher students, with leading roles for Michael McGeough as The Phantom, Matthew McKernan as Raoul and Esme Varley as Christine. The school’s award-winning string, brass and woodwind players have joined forces for the first time to support the cast with a combined orchestra of thirty-five.
St John Fisher’s Head of Music, Craig Ratcliffe is determined to present a dramatic and authentic production and is working with the cast to produce sets that will result in a temporary transformation of the school hall. “One of our long-standing teachers Teresa Carmody is making many of the period costumes and we are hiring some fantastic props that were recently used on Strictly Come Dancing. A group of students are also working hard threading over 14,000 beads for the custom made chandelier!
Head of Music, Craig Ratcliffe said:
We are extremely excited and proud to have been granted the first licence to stage Phantom of the Opera in Harrogate, and are pulling out all the stops to make it our best ever show. As part of our curricular offering, we are committed to providing all our music, dance and drama students with the best opportunities to perform in public. Being part of this amazing production will be a fantastic experience for the whole cast and we are very much looking forward to showcasing some of the great talent we have here at St John Fisher.
For more information and tickets, please contact Carey Hueget at St John Fisher Catholic High School. 01423 887254.
We are very interested in hiring your chandelier for our production of Phantom March 20th – 23rd.
I would be grateful if you could let me know if it is available for hire and if you have any other props we could use.
With thanks
Kevin Williams
We will be performing Phantom in October In Halifax. Do you still have your chandelier and any props ??