Phantom of the Opera

The Phantom of the Opera silent film has been shown annually by the Alabama Chapter of ATOS at the Alabama Theatre with organ accompaniment by Tom Helms since 1979. It is typically shown shortly before Halloween.

History

The Phantom of the Opera silent film was originally released in 1925 and stars Lon Chaney as the Phantom. The local ATOS chapter first had Tom Helms accompany the film on the Alabama's Wurlitzer organ, using a score he arranged and composed himself, in 1979. Helms and the Phantom returned the following year. In 1981, the show was not seen in Birmingham as Helms instead performed it in both Knoxville and New Orleans. He returned in 1982 and the show has been put on every year since, being one of the non-profit organization's primary fund-raisers.

Originally the film was presented on Thursdays because the Alabama was still showing movies full-time, thus weekends were the theatre's primary money-making days. Since the mid-1980s, however, the show is traditionally presented on the Saturday before Halloween.

In 1999, the Alabama Chapter, concerned with a shrinking audience, experimented with an evening showing of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, a 1923 silent film starring Lon Chaney as Quasimodo. Phantom was shown the following afternoon. The turnout for Hunchback was low, so Phantom has been shown exclusively since.

Prelude and postlude

The show goes beyond merely presenting the film. Before the show, the auditorium lights are dimmed as much as possible. A group of pallbearers, wearing black robes and with black hoods covering their faces, then approach the stage through the aisles of the main floor. Two of the pallbearers carry large candelabras. The funeral procession disappears behind the curtains, which then open and a coffin is brought forward. Helms then makes his entrance from the coffin. After bowing to the audience, he begins playing a portion of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, an organ piece traditionally associated with Halloween.

The show's prelude has evolved over the years. In the early years, Helms was carried in the coffin down the aisle. This was done for roughly ten years, but due in part to the motion sickness he sometimes suffered from the ride, the coffin now waits on stage.

The show's postlude has varied the most over the years. Early on, Helms was carried back out through the auditorium in the coffin. Starting in the mid-1980s, a person wearing a Red Death costume, modeled after the one worn by the Phantom during the film, appears after Helms has re-entered his coffin. The Red Death then taps his staff, Helms emerges from the coffin, and two exit as the curtains close. In past years, the two have exited by walking, riding a horse-drawn carriage, and riding an electric cart. Helms typically meets audience members in the lobby after the show.

External links

• Phantom of the Opera at the Alabama Theatre website
• The Phantom of the Opera (1925) at the Internet Movie Database
• The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film) at Wikipedia