Many faces of the Phantom

Young Chang

Ted Keegan guesses that he’s probably Phantom No. 14.

There was the most lauded of Phantoms, Michael Crawford. Then

there was Davis Gaines and his 2,000-plus performances in the title

role for “Phantom of the Opera.” And so many others.

“So I can’t worry about that,” said Keegan, who is the latest

Phantom for Cameron Mackintosh/Really Useful Theatre Company Inc.’s

production of the classic Andrew Lloyd Webber-Charles Hart-Richard

Stilgoe musical at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. “You

have to bring pieces of yourself to make it work. Each one of them is

different.”

Keegan has never even seen Michael Crawford’s Phantom, which was

acclaimed in the ‘80s. But the New York actor has his own strategy

for playing the famous role of a composer who is ashamed of his face,

wears a mask, spooks the performers at the Paris Opera House and

falls in love with an opera singer named Christine.

The Phantom, whose name is Erik, tries to make Christine love him

and lures her into his underground world. The ending to the love

story is famously tragic, with a bit of personal redemption that

renders the character more than just a haunting face.

Actor D.C. Anderson, who has been with the company on and off for

13 years in the role of opera house manager Monsieur Andre, credits

the story line, based on the book by Gaston Leroux, for creating such

a broad and lasting appeal.

“I think the combination of romance and mystery and a little

suspense -- I think those three together make the show an exciting

and appealing show across the board,” said the actor, whose local

experience includes performing in Garden Grove and Laguna Beach.

Keegan, who broke into Broadway in the role of Anthony in a

revival of “Sweeney Todd,” says the “larger than life” character of

the Phantom gives him the chance to let go as an actor.

“I think that first of all he is a human being, which a lot of

people tend to forget,” Keegan said. “I think he’s misunderstood. His

concepts and his realities are different from everyone else’s, pretty

much because of what his life has been.”

“Phantom” will run at the Center through Aug. 25.

Keegan, who’s claim to fame in the role is performing in front of

the largest “Phantom” audience ever at Madison Square Garden during a

1998 NBA All-Star game’s halftime, landed the part 2 1/2 years ago.

He had seen a production of the musical in Toronto and experienced

more than the average viewer would.

“It’s hard, in this business, not to go see a show and think, Is

there anything in this show I could do? It was one of those shows

where I thought somewhere down the road, I’m going to have an

association with this,” he said.

A couple of years later, he auditioned and was cast as the

understudy for the Phantom. More than two years now of playing the

title role and singing the famous “Music of the Night,” Keegan says

the part is one he never tires of because the character is so

layered, so off kilter, so intelligent and so able to “snap at any

second.”

“I believe the whole show is a transformation for him,” the actor

said. “In the end, he’s gone through a transformation that, to a

certain extent, even surprises him. Personally, playing the role is

an incredible journey to take every night. It’s about endurance,

creating something that honestly touches people.”

Keegan added that part of the chronic appeal of “Phantom” might be

its universal themes.

“Every one of us have had a time in our life when we felt alone or

left out, and so I think we can empathize with that,” he said.

“There’s history there. It’s something that has been a part of our

culture for so long.”