Modesto’s Stolle cast in unique immersive Phantom retelling

Modesto native, Broadway actor and singer Jeremy Stolle not only is in the cast of a six-story-high take on “Phantom of the Opera,” he was on the ground floor of its development.

“I got to help, you know, from the very roots of the show. I was there,” Stolle said. “I got to be kind of a consultant on certain things.”

More on that later. First, let’s talk about the unique experience that is “Masquerade,” an off-Broadway, audience-immersive musical.

According to a story on playbill.com, the production is a reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s iconic Tony Award-winning hit.

Here, the musical tells its tale as the audience travels throughout the building where it’s set. No seats assigned.

“Modeled after the seminal immersive production ‘Sleep No More,’ ‘Masquerade’ seeks to plant audiences right into the plot of Gaston Leroux’s ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ – of course, within the lens of Lloyd Webber’s long-running 1986 West End-Broadway musical,” according to the Playbill story.

Stolle — a cast member of “Phantom of the Opera” during its Broadway run, including several performances in the title role — said he would describe “Masquerade” as a “$30 million dollar haunted house.”

“If you imagine going to a gala at the opera, and you’re in a room, and there’s tables, and there’s people walking around, there’s a piano in the middle of the room — you’re in that room,” Stolle said of the audience experience. “And when you go down to the Phantom’s lair, you’re in the lair … (the Phantom) comes over and actually touches people and sings to them, and, you’re just, you’re in the scene.”

There are about 60 people in each audience — or “pulse,” as they’re called — for the six shows held each night, as well as for its matinées.

Once the audience members go through the first two scenes, the next pulse files behind, Stolle said. “So at one point, there are six completely separate shows happening at the same time, and none of the people in the building know the others are there. Isn’t that wild?”

Wild and more, according to a description on Broadwayworld.com: “Masquerade blurs the lines of reality, bringing audiences inside and closer than ever before to the strange affair of the Phantom of the Opera. …,” it says. “Guests will be invited to experience the music of the night more intimately than ever before.”

It’s intimate for the cast, as well.

“It’s very exciting because the people are there and … the no-fourth-wall is a lot of fun because we can change people’s feelings … just by going up and having a connection with them,” Stolle said. “Where it gets really weird is there is just instant feedback, and that’s hard.”

On a traditional stage, actors don’t see who is or isn’t enjoying a show, he said. “You don’t get to see that reaction in their face. But if somebody is displeased in this show, it’s right there.”

While less-than-positive reactions are uncommon, the Modesto High graduate said there can be an occasional tinge of disappointment.

“It’s so funny, there’s a part where … we walk over to people and we start dancing with them, and we grab them, and we go, ‘Dance with me.’ And, and if people say no, it totally hurts my feelings.”

His role — off and on stage

The production is an expansion of the original musical, Stolle said, with more backstory about the Phantom and some other characters.

Stolle spent time playing Richard Firmin, co-owner of the Opera Populaire. But roles shift in “Masquerade.”

Six actors are cast as the Phantom per show – one for each pulse. Stolle currently is number seven, which finds him filling in often, he said.

When he isn’t needed as the Phantom, he stands in for several other roles, making him a “universal swing” actor.

It’s a revisiting of his time as the character on Broadway, but with an added element. Which brings us back to the above-mentioned in-on-the-ground-floor aspect.

Stolle was among those tapped to explain the process of the original production. Then the director of “Masquerade” took that information and worked some of it into the new show.

“Masquerade” came about after Andrew Lloyd Weber approached Diane Paulus and her husband, Randy Weiner (director and producer, respectively, of “Masquerade”), about creating a new version, Stolle said.

Weiner was among the producers of “Sleep No More,” the successful four-floor immersive version of “Macbeth.” The couple suggested the renowned composer go the same route, Stolle said.

Once they found a building in New York City to stage the show, Stolle said, Paulus contacted a friend from “Phantom of the Opera,” Eryn LeCroy, who had played Christine.

She told LeCroy they needed people from the original to go into the “building with us and play, and just experience the building and try to create scenes,” Stolle said.

LeCroy contacted Stolle and other past cast members including Paul Adam Schaefer, Hugh Panar and Kaley Ann Voorhees. “The five of us went for probably a year and a half, secretly, off and on, and started developing scenes and ideas,” Stolle said. “Andrew Lloyd Weber would come in every once in a while, and they would just start to map out ideas.”

Mapping was key. The pulses move from room-to-room, with even some action taking place in hallways, he said.

According to a New York Times story, “Overlapping groups of attendees navigate the more than 30 scenes, some unfolding simultaneously … To pull that off, the production enlisted a team of more than 100, including sound and lighting designers, a choreographer and dressers.”

Audience members aren’t just part of the scenes, they’re sort of in costume, as well. “A black, white or silver mask is required for entry. Guests are encouraged to wear their own masquerade mask. If you don’t have one, we’ll provide a complimentary mask on arrival,” says the the production’s website. Also, formal or elevated eveningwear is encouraged, though not required. “All guests’ attire should be black, white, silver or any combination thereof.”

Two different worlds

So how does it compare, having been part of the Broadway mega-hit that was “Phantom of the Opera” to this different iteration?

“You know, I really enjoy this version because of there being so much backstory,” Stolle said.

The original just hints that the Phantom had a horrible life, while in “Masquerade,” he said, “you see him as a boy, and you see the people who tortured him and made him angry. And then you get to see him escape, and then invent things, and you get to see him in his element and grow along with him.”

At the end, people care for the Phantom, while in the original, it was more vague, he said.

“By the end of the show, you really kind of feel for him, even though he’s a murderer,” Stolle continued. “He murders in front of you in the show … and still at the end, people are just inconsolable, sobbing.”

Still, playing the Phantom on Broadway was an amazing experience.

“Oh, there’s no bow, like it,” Stolle said. “I think … it’s such an iconic part and something I’ve loved my whole life … It was a highlight in life, I think. It’s such a feeling of accomplishment.”

It’s also where he met his partner – actress Elizabeth Welch, who spent time playing Christine.

The couple have three children between them, from different relationships – Welch a 21-year-old daughter; Stolle a 14-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son.

Stolle spoke to The Bee in June, the day after his 50th birthday. He had the night off to celebrate and see his son – following in his father’s footsteps — in a production of “Carousel.”

Family remains in Modesto

His parents and two sisters live in Modesto, and he returns “quite often.” He tries to book a performance in the area, he said. “That way I can spend some time and can budget for it, because taking my whole family across the U.S., it’s expensive.”

His parents traveled to New York to see him in “Masquerade.”

“I didn’t know if my parents were going to love it, and it turns out they really loved it. I think they liked it more than the Broadway show,” he said.

“Oh, it was amazing,” mom Georgia Stolle confirmed.

“It was definitely different … than watching (the original) because you’re moving along a lot,” his dad, Paul Stolle, said. He was among audience members who interacted with the cast. At one point, a character leaned on his shoulder. In another scene, he was handed a slip of paper from the opera ghost.

“I was kind of like, flabbergasted the whole time, it was just so, so different than when we sat in the theater watching him in ‘Phantom of the Opera,’” Georgia Stolle said, adding they’re hoping to go back to see “Masquerade” again.

His parents said they admire how Jeremy always stays after shows to interact with audience members. Once, he spoke to a young woman who aspired to be a Broadway performer, Paul Stolle said, and the two sang outside the theater.

“That’s the thing about Jeremy, he interacts with the people,” his dad said. “He stays at that level where he’s friendly with people.”

His parents said it was not an easy road when their son left Modesto for New York City in 2001 to pursue his career. They’re proud of his accomplishments.

“Auditions are hard, rejections are hard,” Georgia Stolle said. “You never know what they’re looking for. He did this all by trial and error.”

He had no one to guide him, Paul Stolle added. “He persisted and got there.”

Musical’s success continues

“Masquerade” debuted last fall. In June, it received its sixth extension, through Jan. 31, 2027, according to the Playbill story.

“It’s growing and growing,” Stolle said.

On top of the show, the producers have added different events in the building, such as nighttime parties, cast parties, sing-along jazz nights and corporate entertainment gatherings, he said. “They’re really maximizing the use of the building, and it’s kind of awesome.”

But it’s the distinctive production itself that’s the must-see, he said.

“No matter what (people) think of ‘Phantom,’ whether they love it or hate it, they all still have to come see (’Masquerade’), and the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive on it,” Stolle said. “Because it’s such an experience, and there’s (so much) detail, no stone left unturned.”