Carrick-on-Suir Musical Society reveals the cast for its annual show

Preparations are in full swing at Carrick-on-Suir Musical Society to bring Andrew Lloyd Webber’s West End hit show - Phantom of the Opera - to the stage of the Strand Theatre for six nights in April.

Most of the main cast members have been chosen, dance auditions are complete and rehearsals are underway for the Society’s annual musical, which will run from Monday, April 17 to Saturday, April 22 inclusive.

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Carrick Musical Society PRO Caolan Deehy-Power said staging Phantom of the Opera is a massive opportunity. He believes they are the first amateur musical society in the country to secure the rights to perform the show, which features such beautiful songs as The Music of the Night and All I Ask of You.

He says all but one of the main roles has now been cast. Neill Bourke will play the mysterious Phantom while Ashley Cooke will play the lead female role of Christine and Keith Dwyer-Green e will fill the shoes of Raoul.

Other cast members include Chris Hanlon as Beuqet; Sandra Power as Madame Giry; Alan Hearne as Andre; Adam Phelan as Piangi and Louise Russell who plays Carlotta.

Also performing on stage will be Seamus Power, who plays Lefevre; Jim Kennedy is the auctioneer, Camille Walsh is Meg while Caolan Deehy-Power plays the role of Firmin.

The same production team behind last year’s annual show – Chess – is in place for Phantom. Martin McNelis is the director, Edel Quinlan is the choreographer, Fergal Carroll is the musical director and Eamon O’Malley is the chorus master.

Caolan said the show will have a large chorus and the Society would love a few more male singers to volunteer to take part in the production.

He said rehearsals for the show are taking place most week nights at the moment.

“We have an amazing set ready to be designed and built. We have to design our own costumes. We can't copy any costumes from the West End or Broadway productions,” he pointed out.

There is expected to be a huge demand for tickets for the show when they go on sale a few weeks ahead of the opening night.

Caolan reports that Carrick Musical Society was inundated with enquiries about tickets when it first announced Phantom of the Opera as its 2023 musical a few months ago.

“I don’t think we will have any issue with selling them. The problem will be having enough tickets,” he said.

Carrick Musical Society’s patrons are, however, able to book show tickets in advance of them going on general sale.

Caolan said the Society is now taking names for these priority ticket bookings for patrons. Check out Carrick-on-Suir Musical Society’s Facebook page for information on when tickets go on sale for Phantom of the Opera.