Curtain falls, life calls after ‘Phantom’

The exact count varies, but as many as 30 children have been born to cast, crew and orchestra members of “Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular” during its six years on the Strip.

“We all got really comfortable,” says Kristen Hertzenberg with a laugh, of having one of them. She’s original cast, sharing the lead role of Christine Daae. “Life has changed a lot, for a lot of us in that time.”

The final curtain falls on “Phantom” today, throwing a wrench into the wheels of a daily commute, and the suburban comforts of a steady job.

Some will stay, some won’t, and some aren’t sure.

“All shows begin and end. You know that in the back of your head,” says Anthony Crivello, who plays the masked Phantom. Yet he claims two of those children – his nearly 6-year-old son was the first “Phantom” company birth – and is a Las Vegas homeowner.

On Wednesday, Crivello begins meetings in New York to re-establish himself, but his family will remain here as he commutes back and forth.

“The decisions I would have made prior to them being born are completely different from the decisions I’m making now,” he says.

But he has been in show business long enough to know, “You gotta go where the work is. … You can set the table to try to maximize your opportunities, but you cannot steer the ship.”

Hertzenberg’s husband, Dana Satterwhite, is having good luck with his TastySpace gallery in the Emergency Arts building on Fremont Street.

“In opening that gallery we found even more of a community here that we have connected with,” she says. “That’s made a big difference to us, between that and the community we’ve found doing the (charity) outreach ‘Phantom’ has done all this time.

“All that to me makes Vegas different from maybe the way I viewed it when I first moved here.”

For cast member Nicole Pryor, the tears are in reverse. “I remember when my agent called, I cried when I got the job,” she recalls. “I didn’t ever foresee being ready to leave something I would cry about.

“But I’m so ready,” Pryor says of moving back home to California. “I’m just excited for the next chapter,” she says, even if she leaves behind about 15 students who took voice lessons from her. But, she adds, they will be in good hands with former student Karen Michaels.

“We’re leaving our family. We’ve experienced all those life changes with each other,” Pryor says of the cast. “Most of us moved here not knowing anybody in town except for each other. We were each other’s families.

“I think that will be the hardest part.”

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com
or 702-383-0288.