![]() Michael Crawford wearing the blue contact lens. Michael Crawford did wear these contacts for a period of time, but eventually discontinued the use of them, due to his vision being obstructed. The Phantom was originally going to be partially blind. To mimic the look of a blind eye, a blue contact lens and a white contact lens was stacked on top of each other to give a clouded appearance. With that, here's another Phantom design feature that was lost over time. The post-WWI masks also notably featured false eyes, to replace an eye lost in combat. (Björnson opted for porcelain in lieu of copper.) Those masks were typically made of copper, with realistic designs of skin texture, eyebrows, and even lips painted onto them. Prince described in his 2017 memoir, Sense of Occasion: “I wanted a mask which bisected his face from forehead to chin, because it would free half of his face to express everything he was feeling.” The credit for the idea is shared with Björnson, who then sourced inspiration from masks worn by WWI veterans who sustained facial injuries. She sometimes struggled to remove it at all, as the full mask didn’t offer a good angle to grip from. Additionally, it was noted in rehearsals that during the Phantom’s unmasking right before "Stranger Than You Dreamt It ," the actor playing Christine ( Sarah Brightman) struggled to remove the mask in time with the swell of the music, without accidentally taking the Phantom’s wig or prosthetics with it. Prince believed that much of the power of acting was found in the performer’s facial expressions, and with the full face completely obscured, the sensitivity and tragedy of the character was not easily communicated to the audience. Their biggest concern was regarding the Phantom’s ability to emote. So, what problems did the full mask pose? However, by the time director Hal Prince and designer Maria Björnson realized the problems that accompanied a full-face mask, the show’s key art and promotional content had already been decided upon. Originally, the mask covered the Phantom’s entire face save for the chin, closer to its description in Gaston Leroux’s novel, which served as the basis for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical. Phantom of the Opera may be heralded as a musical masterpiece today, the development of the production, leading up to its first preview in 1986 London, was somewhat of a ticking time bomb, with countless changes being made, from direction, to casting, to even the show’s most prominent symbol: the mask. To celebrate its legacy, we’re looking back on the musical's history. And we're answering a question you probably always had but didn’t know the answer to: Why is the mask in the musical’s logo a full face mask, when in the show, the Phantom wears a mask that covers only half his face? The answer is simple: Because the Phantom initially was supposed to wear a full mask onstage. On April 16, The Phantom of the Opera is closing on Broadway after a historic 35-year run.
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