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Michael Crawford
On the stage, Michael Crawford's name is synonymous with "The Phantom of the Opera," the classic gothic tale of musical seduction and unrequited love. But in real life there are also parallels between the actor and the character he plays - Erik, the disfigured musical genius who lives beneath the Paris Opera House.
"Wearing that mask helped me complete a transition in my career," said Crawford, who has made the Phantom famous to a generation of theater lovers. "That role came at just the right time."
Before Phantom came along, Crawford had been more well known for his comedy.
"I had been doing comedy since the time I got a part in the Neil Simon play "Come Blow Your Horn" on the West End when I was 20 years old," Crawford said. "For me it was comedy from that point on."
Crawford is possibly just as well known in Britain for his role as Frank Spencer on the television comedy "Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em" (1973-75) as he is as the Phantom - people there still stop him on the street and call him Frank. It was a role he was offered during a brief period of unemployment, which he turned into the lead character on one of the most popular British TV series of all time.
But fearing typcasting and a one-way road for his career, Crawford abruptly quit the show at the height of its popularity, saying that he wanted to concentrate on his singing.
"I did 20 shows, then quit," he said. "I remember thinking, 'I can't go on doing this.' I wanted to go back to the theater, which in Britain is an easier move than it is in the U.S."
After roles in "Flowers for Algernon" and Cy Coleman's "Barnum" (1981), he won the lead role in "Phantom of the Opera," which opened in 1986.
"Looking back on it, it was the perfect role for me at that time of my career," he said. "Wearing that mask and makeup helped me lose the comedy character, and transition back to singing, and acting on the stage.
"Wearing that mask helped me complete a transition in my career," said Crawford, who has made the Phantom famous to a generation of theater lovers. "That role came at just the right time."
Before Phantom came along, Crawford had been more well known for his comedy.
"I had been doing comedy since the time I got a part in the Neil Simon play "Come Blow Your Horn" on the West End when I was 20 years old," Crawford said. "For me it was comedy from that point on."
Crawford is possibly just as well known in Britain for his role as Frank Spencer on the television comedy "Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em" (1973-75) as he is as the Phantom - people there still stop him on the street and call him Frank. It was a role he was offered during a brief period of unemployment, which he turned into the lead character on one of the most popular British TV series of all time.
But fearing typcasting and a one-way road for his career, Crawford abruptly quit the show at the height of its popularity, saying that he wanted to concentrate on his singing.
"I did 20 shows, then quit," he said. "I remember thinking, 'I can't go on doing this.' I wanted to go back to the theater, which in Britain is an easier move than it is in the U.S."
After roles in "Flowers for Algernon" and Cy Coleman's "Barnum" (1981), he won the lead role in "Phantom of the Opera," which opened in 1986.
"Looking back on it, it was the perfect role for me at that time of my career," he said. "Wearing that mask and makeup helped me lose the comedy character, and transition back to singing, and acting on the stage.
Lon Chaney's 1925 film depiction aside, Crawford is the definitive Phantom - for which he won an Olivier Award (Best Actor in a Musical), a Tony Award (Best Performance By An Actor in a Lead Role, Musical), a New Yorker's Drama Desk Award and a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Distinguished Achievement in Theater (Lead Performance).
"If we could bottle the formula for that production we wouldn't have any failures," he said. "It's hard to describe the show's popularity. It's a wonderful opportunity for high romance; basically it's 'Beauty and the Beast.'
"Erik is true and honest; I played him as a very real human being, and I think that resonated with people. It was the music and the lyrics and the director who allowed me to do that, which I never forget.
Crawford, in fact, started a concert series entitled "The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber" following Phantom's Los Angeles run in 1990. It was Webber who had scored the Phantom.
On Saturday, Crawford makes his first trip to Lake Tahoe for his show "An Evening With Michael Crawford," at the Harrah's Casino South Shore Room.
"It's kind of a mixture of things," Crawford said of the show. "There's a big segment of it devoted to Phantom, songs from other various Broadway shows, and other things from my career," he said. "It's an opportunity for me to do some reminiscing, and sing some of my favorite music."
And Crawford has a lot from which to reminisce, having worked with performers such as Gene Kelly, Barbra Streisand, Zero Mostel, Steve McQueen and even Buster Keaton, the latter with whom he appeared in the 1966 film version of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum."
Crawford is also currently preparing a career retrospective for PBS television. And after a final stop with "An Evening with Michael Crawford" on the current tour, in Seattle, he plans to partake in another one of his great loves.
"I'm going to do some sailing," he said. "That's how I wind down."
"If we could bottle the formula for that production we wouldn't have any failures," he said. "It's hard to describe the show's popularity. It's a wonderful opportunity for high romance; basically it's 'Beauty and the Beast.'
"Erik is true and honest; I played him as a very real human being, and I think that resonated with people. It was the music and the lyrics and the director who allowed me to do that, which I never forget.
Crawford, in fact, started a concert series entitled "The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber" following Phantom's Los Angeles run in 1990. It was Webber who had scored the Phantom.
On Saturday, Crawford makes his first trip to Lake Tahoe for his show "An Evening With Michael Crawford," at the Harrah's Casino South Shore Room.
"It's kind of a mixture of things," Crawford said of the show. "There's a big segment of it devoted to Phantom, songs from other various Broadway shows, and other things from my career," he said. "It's an opportunity for me to do some reminiscing, and sing some of my favorite music."
And Crawford has a lot from which to reminisce, having worked with performers such as Gene Kelly, Barbra Streisand, Zero Mostel, Steve McQueen and even Buster Keaton, the latter with whom he appeared in the 1966 film version of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum."
Crawford is also currently preparing a career retrospective for PBS television. And after a final stop with "An Evening with Michael Crawford" on the current tour, in Seattle, he plans to partake in another one of his great loves.
"I'm going to do some sailing," he said. "That's how I wind down."
An Evening with Michael Crawford comes to Harrah's Lake Tahoe on Saturday, March 17 at 7:30 p.m. in the South Shore Room.
Price: $150 + tax.
Reservations: 1-800-786-8208
Q & A with Michael Crawford
Q: Have you ever been to Lake Tahoe?
A: This will be my first visit. I'm looking forward to being in Tahoe very much. I've done several shows in Las Vegas, and have heard a lot about Tahoe from the people there, but have never had the chance previously to go there. I hear that it's such a beautiful place.
Q: What do you think of the U.S. in general?
A: The U.S. has been very good to me; I'm having a terriffic time here, and always have whenever I've been here. It's such a vast country, with so many features and cultures. It's amazing to fly from L.A. to New York and see all of the different landscapes and imagina all of the millions of different lives. As far as America politically, I won't even touch that. It's a great land of opportunity.
Q: How did you start in music?
A: Music always gave me great pleasure as a kid. I was involved in opera and school choirs from an early age, growing up in Britain; got to know some beautiful music right away. I went into radio plays at the age of 15, which led to about 500 radio broadcasts. Singing was a big part of that.
Q: Describe the rigors of live theater.
A: You have to lead a very disciplined life to do eight shows a week. People don't do that much anymore. In the old days stars like Carol Channing, Shirley McLain and Mary Martin would do it, but shows aren't really built around star names anymore. Now, producers want the music itself to sell, so you don't have to do eight shows a week. But if you love it, it's worth it.
