SUSPENSEFUL START: The opening night performance of Phantom of the Opera at Robinson Center Performance Hall in Little Rock was delayed more than 1½ hours Wednesday. Deana McCormack, marketing director for Celebrity Attractions, had announced before the show’s original 7:30 p.m. start time that it would be delayed until 8:30 p.m. because of “logistical conditions,” Arkansas Online reported the day of the performance. But it was after 9 p.m. before the show began. The musical’s run ends March 19.
One attendee, who received a call saying the start time had been delayed, said fellow attendees she spoke with also had received calls but some of them were on the road to the show at the time. She added that there wasn’t any information on Facebook, and phone lines were closed when attendees tried to call Robinson or Celebrity Attractions.
“People were very irritated,” she says. “There wasn’t anyplace to sit, and it was hot. A lot of people just sat on the stairs,” she said, adding that she never heard anyone give any reason for the delay.
“It was a few minutes after 9 before the show started, and no one came out to explain once we were seated,” she says. “It just started.”
Josh Payton with Celebrity Attractions’ headquarters in Tulsa said Friday that there wasn’t any one specific reason for the delay, but instead there were several.
“I really can’t pinpoint any one thing but we, along with the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Phantom crew, all decided it was best to delay it and make sure everything was in its proper place and people were rushed.”
And he said the logistical issues did not involve the show’s centerpiece prop — its ornate chandelier.
“It was already up the day before,” Payton said. “It’s an amazing 9,000-pound spectacle.”
HOME TEAM ADVANTAGE:
Work by interior designer Tobi Fairley of Little Rock has landed on the cover of the April 2017 issue of Traditional Home. “This story has been a long time in the making and it’s such an honor to have a huge feature of one of my favorite projects for an amazing family of seven,” Fairley wrote on her Facebook page. The home is owned by Ashley Sites and Michael Mosley of Sheridan, the city from which Fairley originally hails. The magazine hits stands Tuesday.
A NATURAL (STATE) CHOICE? Monday night is the airing of the final episode of ABC’s 21st season of The Bachelor reality show. And bachelor Nick Viall has narrowed his choices to two contestants — Arkansas’ own Raven Gates of Hoxie or Vanessa Grimaldi of Montreal. The show airs at 7 p.m.