Redefining Musicals - The Phantom of the Opera
The Broadway and West End hit musical The Phantom of the Opera is one of the big four musicals and the most epic shows of all time. Widely regarded as the ’jewel in the crown’ of world-renowned composer Andrew Lloyd Webber in terms of music, plot and stage-sets, it has been seen by more than 52 million people worldwide. Testament to the success of the show, Phantom has achieved in excess of 99 percent of potential capacity wherever it has been performed.
The musical opened at Her Majesty's Theatre on 9 October 1986 with Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman in the leading roles. Since that time, there have been more than 20 productions worldwide, grossing in excess of US$1.5 billion.
Aside from the West End and Broadway production, The Phantom of the Opera is currently touring the US. It is also undergoing a worldwide tour, which commenced in April 2004 in Cape Town, South Africa, and then played in Shanghai, China, from December of 2004 to March, before going to Korea.
The Composer
Andrew Lloyd Webber is the composer of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; Jesus Christ Superstar; By Jeeves; Evita; Variations and Tell Me On A Sunday later combined as Song & Dance; Cats; Starlight Express; The Phantom of the Opera; Aspects of Love; Whistle Down the Wind, The Beautiful Game and The Woman in White.
In summer 2002 in London he presented the groundbreaking A R Rahman musical Bombay Dreams and in 2004 he completed the film version of The Phantom of the Opera directed by Joel Schumacher.
His awards include seven Tonys, three Grammys, six Oliviers, a Golden Globe, an Oscar, an International Emmy, the Praemium Imperiale and the Richard Rodgers award for Excellence in Musical Theatre.
The Story
This larger-than-life production revolves around a man who is forced to cover his misshapen face with a mask and hide away from the world. A beautiful young chorus girl, Christine Daae, is thrust into the spotlight after the opera diva Carlotta leaves the production. Christine sings like an angel. Her voices wins over the opera crowd and reignites the interest of her childhood sweetheart, Raoul.
Christine believes the benign spirit of her father is guiding her, but in reality it is The Phantom. Driven to madness, The Phantom is enraged when the love of his life falls for Raoul. Soon Christine is in the middle of a deadly love triangle. Should she choose the handsome young man she knew since childhood or the deformed man who has guided her singing career and who now wants to make her his wife?
The Logistics
OOCL has earned the reputation of being the premier ocean carrier to sponsor West End and Broadway musicals.
OOCL is official ocean carrier of The Phantom of the Opera, moving the stage sets, props and costumes on the Asia and Australian legs of the world tour. The show moved from Australia to Shanghai, then Seoul in Korea, ending up in Taipei in Taiwan. In support of the tour, the supplies have to arrive at every destination on time - in keeping with showbiz motto: 'the show must go on'. OOCL has deployed over 20 units of 40' containers to carry the supplies and uses its industry-leading IT to co-ordinate the entire cargo process.
The production team is personally updated at every stage of the transportation chain, ensuring every procedure is transparent and perfectly managed. Through OOCL's spirit of ‘We Take It Personally’, the OOCL team ensures that the right vessel is reserved, the right equipment is ordered and advance information is provided to the production team of the show to ensure everyone is informed of the progress of the containers.
As the saying goes ‘In front of stage, timing is everything!’ But behind the stage, timing is just as important to ensure that all the equipment and props get to their final destination in time for the show to go on without a hitch.
Orient Overseas Container Line Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong Stock Exchange listed Orient Overseas (International) Ltd. OOCL headquartered in Hong Kong, is an international container transportation and logistics service provider. Linking Asia, Europe, North America, the Mediterranean, the Indian sub-continent, the Middle East and Australia/New Zealand, the company offers transportation services to all major east/west trading economies of the world. OOCL is one of the leading international carriers serving China, providing a full range of logistics and transportation services throughout the country. It is also an industry leader in the use of information technology and e-commerce to manage the entire cargo process. Website: www.oocl.com
