Ron Bohmer as

Read Ron's Personal Comments on playing "The Phantom"

Read Kristine's Review of seeing Ron as The Phantom in Chicago

Ron's Personal Comments on Playing
  "The Phantom"

What did you do to make the role of "The Phantom" your own?  How did your portrayal reflect your interpretation of the Phantom's motivations for his actions?  Is the Phantom to be sympathized for his disfigurement and love of Christine -- or is he to be hated because of his evil deeds that he commits to "show" his love?

RON:  The Webber version, as with all Webber, takes what might be viewed as monstrous behavior and shows us the tragic, human motivation behind it.  Webber, I think, is drawn to sympathetic "monsters" - The Phantom, Norma Desmond, Eva Peron - Fallen "Angels", victims of a cruel world that used them or abused them.  Webber wants us to see the good in them and feel compassion.  My perception of the Phantom came from the Leroux novel; that, above all else, this is a man.  A man who has suffered great pain at the hand of others.  A man whose genius and talents should outweigh his disfigurement, but in a society of appearances, they cannot.  A man DESPERATELY in love with Christine.  A man who will do anything for that love.  There is no right or wrong for him.  There is only what is and what he needs.

Did you go through any special voice training or practice to prepare for the vocal demands of this role? How did you mentally prepare for this passionate, engrossing role each night?

RON:   Vocally, this is a role that you work up to.  Singing it is one thing.  Singing it 8 times a week is another.  For me, it was a matter of stamina over talent and abiliity.  This just took time.  As far as the emotion of the character, you simply have to tell the truth.  We've all felt unloved, ugly at times in our life.  Those feelings are strong in all of us if we look for them. I look every night. They are not always the same feelings, but they are the truth.

Which of the Phantom's songs was your favorite to sing?   Why?  Which song represents the Phantom the best?  Which scene did you enjoy performing each night the most?  Why?

RON:  My favorite song to sing was "The Point of No Return".  Such unbridled passion.   The Phantom is best represented by the "morning after" "Music of the Night" when Christine removes his mask, fully thinking that this man must be beautiful underneath, only to find an unbearable sight.  He sings "Stranger than you dreamt it?  Can you even bear to look?"  A beast who dreams of beauty.   My favorite scene to perform is the Final Lair.  The highest possible stakes.  All or nothing.

What did you do to keep your performance "fresh" and "new" every night for the audience? What did you do to make the your portrayal of the Phantom "fresh" for audience members who may have seen the show 10, 20, or even 50 times?

RON:  I never give the same performance twice.  I am not "married" to any line reading, any bit of stage business, any interpretation of the role.  Stanislavsky says to always leave room for spontaniety, for the choice you did not know that you were going to make until that very moment.  Life is spontaneous.  Life is exciting.  Art should be too.

If you had to give one word to best describe the Phantom, what would it be?

RON:   Passionate

In general, how did audiences react to your performance as "The Phantom"?  How did you deal with inevitable comparisons between your performance and the performances of other well known, "favorite" Phantoms of audience members who have seen the show many times?

RON:   Overall, the response made me feel great.  I know that there are many longtime fans of this show and everyone has a favorite "Phantom".  I'm always thrilled when people tell me that they saw things in my interpretation that they've never seen before.  In a "favorite" musical, with many repeat customers, this is a high compliment.

To you, what was the best thing about getting to play "The Phantom"?

RON:  This is a role that demands that you give the audience everything you have to give.  Vocally, emotionally, physically.  There can be no holding back.  Meeting this challenge every night was cathartic and extremely rewarding.

Special thanks to Ron Bohmer for taking the time to share his thoughts
on playing "The Phantom" with visitors to his web site!

Surrender
Ron Bohmer as The Phantom of the Opera
Original Artwork by Lea Sheler

Ron Bohmer and Sandra Joseph
in The Phantom of the Opera
Photo by Joan Marcus

Ron Bohmer as "The Phantom"
in The Phantom of the Opera
Photo by Joan Marcus

Review of Ron Bohmer as

Chicago Civic Opera House

April 4, 1998

By Kristine M. Kulage

The Civic Opera House
Chicago, Illinois

...I knew his voice so well.  Though I hadn't seen Ron perform for almost a year, I had come to love his singing - the distinct qualities of his beautiful, delicate, yet powerful voice on his solo CD, everyman.  In the Civic Opera House, I sat with such anticipation of finally getting to hear Ron's voice live again and discover what his "Phantom"would sound like that I found it difficult to watch and enjoy one of my personal favorite songs in the musical, "Think of Me".  Rita Harvey was simply entrancing as "Christine Daae", possessing the beautifully operatic voice and passion required for the role.  But I must admit that I was a little partial and ultimately was there to see and hear Ron.

When I first heard the Phantom's voice echo through the theatre lusciously singing "Christine, Christine", I knew I was going to remember this performance forever.   Over the past six months working on Ron's home page, I had not only come to know more about and admire Ron personally, but I had come to know his voice by heart from publishing the 30 second audio clips of his songs on everyman on the internet to share his talent with the world.  I derived sheer pleasure from finally hearing and immediately recognizing his voice in the theatre that afternoon.

For those of you who haven't had the great fortune of seeing Ron as the Phantom yet (and I HIGHLY suggest you take the opportunity if you can), Ron's "Phantom" is passionate, strong, forceful, sexual, yet possesses a softness and tenderness I've never seen in previous Phantoms - a softness that made me pity the Phantom as never before.   In fact, I had never completely enjoyed or understood a performance of The Phantom of the Opera until seeing Ron in the lead.   His every sound, note, movement, and hand gesture was precise and deliberate and filled with subliminal meaning.  It is obvious that his Phantom has been crafted and refined in every way.  Ron's Phantom is emotionally, physically, and sexually appealing and, for the first time, I could completely see the reason for Christine's attraction to the Phantom, even after what's beneath the mask has been revealed.  To me, Ron's hands spoke words on their own, gliding over his head, down his body, across Christine, beckoning her, commanding her, controlling her.  The strong physical and sexual qualities of Ron's Phantom were evident as he appeared to pounce about the stage; how he slowly pulled his body across the floor toward Christine; the way he forcefully pounded on his organ, body swaying.  His sexually charged physical actions helped to convey the Phantom's drives and motivations effectively.

My particular favorite moments of Ron's performance were his entire "Music of the Night" and "The Point of No Return"; the way he held his ears and cried out "no" when, at the end of Act One, the Phantom hears Christine and Raoul singing "All I Ask of You" in the distance; the way he sang, "Christine, I Love You" both at the end of "The Point of No Return" and at the very end of the musical; the way he showed the character's vulnerability as he slid onto his knees like a small child in front of the music box playing "Masquerade".  Having watched the entire show in wonder and awe, my hands clasped together to contain my excitement, I could never name every detail which struck me as fascinating and engrossing.  My enjoyment watching and hearing Ron perform as The Phantom cannot be fully expressed.  I cannot say enough about the excellence of his performance except to say that I will be going back to Chicago again soon.

I have resigned myself to the fact that, for reasons to numerous to name, no musical theatre experience for me will ever again reach the height of seeing the National Tour of Sunset Boulevard with Ron Bohmer and Linda Balgord twice on my 27th birthday.  In fact, I never thought another musical theatre experience would ever be able to come close.  But, without a doubt, my first experience (which certainly will not be my last) seeing Ron play the Phantom is a very, very close second in my heart to my Sunset adventure.  And I owe all my thanks for this to the Phantom himself. 

  Thank you, Ron, for sacrificing yourself, for pouring your heart out for us - specifically for your fans traveling from St. Louis - on April 4.  Your amazing performance, along with your kindness, generosity, and friendship is treasured and will never be forgotten.

I want to personally let all visitors to Ron's web site know that I consider it a true honor and privilege to be able to create this official internet site on his behalf.  As his many fans will attest to, Ron is an extraordinarily talented singer and actor as well as a kind, generous, and appreciative person. 

A performer who pours his whole heart into every performance, who sings and acts with his audience's satisfaction always in mind, and who outwardly shows his sincere appreciation for his fans and their compliments must be called only one thing:

A true star of the highest degree.

  Do you have an experience seeing Ron perform or meeting Ron you would like to share on this web site with other fans?  If so, E-mail Kristine with the story!

Ron Bohmer and Sandra Joseph with Harold Prince