Interview: The World Changes. Do Broadway's Longest Running Hits? Updates From THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, CHICAGO and THE LION KING

When Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt's THE FANTASTICKS opened at Off-Broadway's Sullivan Street Theatre in 1960, Jerry Orbach played a character named El Gallo, a professional abductor, who sang about the many ways he could kidnap the musical's ingénue and then allow her to be rescued by her young lover.

The word "rape" was used quite a bit during the peppy, tongue-twisting number, but lyricist Jones never intended the audience to think of forced sexual contact during the song. The word was mean to be taken by 1960s audiences as something out of romantic literature; dangerous, lustful, but not a horrific act of violence.

The original production of THE FANTASTICKS ran for 42 years on Sullivan Street, and during that time the public's awareness of the frequency of rape and its institutionalize use as subjugation greatly increased. And as it did, over a decade into the run, Jones felt the need to revise his text to clarify his meaning. First he rewrote the dialogue leading up to the song, but when that seemed insufficient he began tweaking the lyric.

The version of the song now performed in the musical's Off-Broadway revival almost eliminates the word entirely, and the lyric's focus is on carrying off the young girl. And while that still may not be entirely comfortable for everyone, it's a far cry from what was sung in 1960.

That's an extreme case. When people began noticing the longevity of THE FANTASTICKS' original production, the only show that compared was Agatha Christie's THE MOUSETRAP, which is now approaching its 64th year on the West End.

But now that kind of longevity is coming to Broadway. When Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA surpassed his own CATS to become Broadway's longest running production, the previous record was just short of 18 years. In January of this year, PHANTOM celebrated 28 years on Broadway.

The original Broadway production of John Kander, Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse's CHICAGO ran for about two and a quarter years. In November the current revival will reach the 20 year mark. Next November, THE LION KING will do the same.

The original intention of this article was to find out from representatives of these three extraordinarily long-running productions if changing societal attitudes and perceptions, such as the one involving THE FANTASTICKS, have ever inspired any tweaking of material or adjusting of interpretations since the long-ago openings. Also, to find out if technological advances have significantly altered the way they're run.

Perhaps surprisingly, it seems very little has changed over the decades, and each production's freshness, both on Broadway and beyond, is maintained by allowing space to explore within the original vision of each creator.

"What you see onstage at the Majestic right now is remarkably close to what audiences have experienced for over 28 years," says THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA's Production Supervisor Seth Sklar-Heyn.

"When you look at archival footage from the original company that opened on Broadway you essentially see the same staging. We haven't set out to make any major changes to the text, the characterizations, or the staging. Small shifts in places - we definitely allow performances to breathe and look for what works best on our current actors - but the original intentions and descriptions have remained our guide."

Members of the original creative team, including director Harold Prince, choreographer Gillian Lynne and producer Cameron Mackintosh, are still active in assessing and approving of what happens on stage.

"We can't really update the style of the piece since it's set in a specific time," says Sklar-Heyn. "It's a period piece and it's always been a heightened, charged, theatrical style of performance within a Victorian melodrama. That said, I do think we have put a little more muscle into the passion in places and we're working to embrace a real authenticity in our casting."

Jake Bell, the show's Technical Production Manager says a 2008 switching all of the audio equipment (speakers, cable, processors, playback equipment and sound board) to digital, which didn't exist when the show opened, has been the only complete changeover.

Also going digital are the inner workings of the show's monkey music box and pianola. "The tours of PHANTOM over the years advanced those technologies and made this easier to realize for Broadway," says Bell. "However even these pieces of equipment are antiquated by today's standards."

Bell adds that an air curtain, used to prevent the spreading of fire, "was installed as an experiment, more than anything, due to concerns from the orchestra pit and it was paid for by their union. There was hope on their part that all shows would eventually adapt this system. There were three shows that it was installed on, LES MISERABLES, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and PHANTOM. The other shows closed and those systems were removed and never re-installed. We are the only show that still has this system."

"The lighting has remained the same and we are the only show on Broadway that does not have automated moving lights," says Bell. "All of our instruments are conventional hand focus instruments."

"I think this older equipment absolutely adds an element to the production and sets it apart from newer shows," adds Sklar-Heyn. "Our lighting has a different quality to it because of the instruments we use. Similarly, many elements that today would be computerized are manual and operated by stagehands. We are much more hands-on and that means the physical transitions have more immediacy and breath in them as well."

Cynicism wasn't exactly stylish when the original Broadway production of CHICAGO opened in 1975. While certainly not a flop, audiences flocked in far greater numbers to enjoy the more optimistic A CHORUS LINE and, later on, ANNIE.

But when Encores! presented a 1996 concert production of the musical about the show business of the legal system, audiences were suddenly reminded of what they witnessed for themselves on television during the O.J. Simpson murder trial, and the Broadway mindset seemed to suddenly catch up to what Fosse, Kander and Ebb were saying over twenty years earlier. After transferring to Broadway the same year, mass media kept making CHICAGO timely.

"The words and plot of CHICAGO, in regards to the legal system in America and the notion of instant fame have proven to become increasingly relevant to today's audiences," says Production Stage Manager, David Hyslop, who has served in that position since 2005.

"Our script has remained unchanged during these twenty years, and though we adapt to the strengths and personalities of newly cast actors, the overall interpretation of the piece and characters haven't changed. I think what defines any classic is whether or not the original material continues to speak to a modern audience."

From a technical standpoint, Hyslop says it's always a challenge to stay up-to-date.

"Since beginning our run, our soundboard and wireless microphones have been upgraded. In terms of our lighting, the lighting console as well as moving lights and other lighting instruments have been either upgraded or replaced as more advanced models have become available."

When THE LION KING opened in 1997, audiences were amazed at how director Julie Taymor's costumes used puppetry and masks to turn an ensemble of actors into magnificent creatures of the African continent. One of the production's most significant changes, according to Production Supervisor Doc Zorthian, is the use of Bluetooth technology to eliminate the need for cables when maneuvering the moveable masks.

Having been with the production from the beginning, first as an assistant stage manager, Zorthian describes his job as being the stage manager for all productions worldwide, supervising the maintenance of all aspects.

"The designers are still involved and very interested in keeping it alive and fresh," he notes, and though there's always the task of adapting the production to each new theatre, most changes have been limited to normal equipment upgrades and the use of materials that are lighter and more durable.

On the artistic end, Associate Director John Stefaniuk says his job is, "to provide inspiration to try and keep the show feeling fresh so that the energy always feels new. It's not about reinventing the wheel. It's about rediscovering it."

Having been with the show for close to fourteen years, Stefaniuk travels the world to work with new actors and new productions, but instead of replicating what's on Broadway, he says it's important to consider what THE LION KING says to different people in different parts of the world.

"It's not about actors fitting in like a cog in a machine. It's about rediscovering the material with the actors that we have and allowing them to hear it with fresh ears."

"People say to me, 'Oh, you must get bored. It's always the same.' It isn't. I have to be able to get in there and discover different things about the show. So many things about the show become more poignant as different things happen in life. It's about letting life in. Then it always feels fresh."

"When we took the show to Paris," he explains, "the actor playing Scar was a very gregarious, warm, funny and flamboyant man. Very different from, say, the Scar from England, who feels like Richard III."

"It came to me that he wasn't playing the role from that British point of view. He was more like Napoleon, and it brought out an entirely different quality that still realizes what the authors intended. The more I allow actors to bring their own culture and their own environments, the more it stays true to what THE LION KING is.

"THE LION KING is a timeless show," says Stefaniuk. "It speaks to the audience as clearly and as honestly as it did 20 years ago."

That timeless quality could be what keeps THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and CHICAGO packing them in as well.

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CHICAGO is now playing on Broadway at the Ambassador Theatre (219 W. 49th St.; New York, NY). With a legendary book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, Chicago is directed by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Tony Award winner Ann Reinking. The production features set design byJohn Lee Beatty, costume design by Tony Award winner William Ivey Long, lighting design by Tony Award winner Ken Billington and sound design by Scott Lehrer. Produced by Barry andFran Weissler, Chicago is the winner of six 1997 Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Cast Recording.

Set amidst the razzle-dazzle decadence of the 1920s, Chicago is the story of Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer who murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her. Desperate to avoid conviction, she dupes the public, the media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by hiring Chicago's slickest criminal lawyer to transform her malicious crime into a barrage of sensational headlines, the likes of which might just as easily be ripped from today's tabloids. Visit chicagothemusical.com.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is produced by Cameron Mackintosh and The Really Useful Group, has music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and is directed by Harold Prince. Lyrics are byCharles Hart (with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe) and the book is by Richard StilgoeandAndrew Lloyd Webber. The Phantom of the Opera has production design by the late Maria Björnson, lighting by Andrew Bridge and sound design by Mick Potter with original sound byMartin Levan. Musical staging and choreography is by Gillian Lynne. Orchestrations are byDavid Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Based on the classic novel Le Fantôme de L'Opéra by Gaston Leroux, The Phantom of the Operatells the story of a masked figure who lurks beneath the catacombs of the Paris Opera House, exercising a reign of terror over all who inhabit it. He falls madly in love with an innocent young soprano, Christine, and devotes himself to creating a new star by nurturing her extraordinary talents and by employing all of the devious methods at his command. Visit thephantomoftheopera.com.

Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, The Lion King is playing at Broadway's Minskoff Theatre (200 West 45th Street). For tickets, show information and performance schedule, call Ticketmaster's Disney on Broadway hotline at 866-870-2717 or visit LionKing.com.

In its 19th year, The Lion King continues ascendant as one of the most popular stage musicals in the world. Since its Broadway premiere on November 13, 1997, 23 global productions have been seen by more than 85 million people. Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions (under the direction of Thomas Schumacher), The Lion King is only the second show in history to generate five productions worldwide running 10 or more years. Translated into eight different languages (Japanese, German, Korean, French, Dutch, Spanish, Mandarin and Portuguese), productions of The Lion King can currently be seen on Broadway; London's West End; Hamburg; Tokyo; Madrid; Mexico City; Shanghai; and on tour across North America and Japan, for a total of nine productions running concurrently across the globe. Having played over 100 cities in 20 countries on every continent except Antarctica, The Lion King's worldwide gross exceeds that of any film, Broadway show or other entertainment title in box office history.