I’ve seen you on stage with KISS dozens of times, but only saw you once perform as the PHANTOM. And yet, that performance is one I will never forget. It was ‘98, we had just finished shooting DETROIT ROCK CITY in Toronto, where the ten year run of the musical was about to end. The idea was to get a different celebrity for each month of that last year. And you just stepped up to the plate…

I auditioned in ’98 and did the role in ’99. It was about a six month period. Originally, I think it was only six weeks that I was contracted to perform because of an obligation with a KISS tour. But once I became available, they asked me to come back and close the show. So I was out for a month, and then I came back and did the last three months.

You literally just stepped into it, didn’t you? You went right from KISS to Phantom.

Let’s see… Before the KISS tour I flew to New York to do a full audition. Once I got the part, I rehearsed for the KISS tour, and then on the night the KISS tour ended in Mexico City, I cut my hair, flew home for a day and then flew up to Toronto right into two weeks rehearsal and then was literally, as is the norm, just thrown into the show. You don’t actually rehearse with the cast because the cast is busy doing the show.

Really?!

Yes. You’re virtually in a rehearsal room. In this case it was the rehearsal facilities that the ballet uses.

And it was just you?

At first it was just me and the musical director. He would come in before shows and we would rehearse for about six hours a day. That was just with me. Then they brought in a Christine, because at that point, they didn’t know who was going to take on the role of Christine. So I had a succession of Raouls and Christines. So I was rehearsing with whoever was available and could come over. And you do it without any of the real props, so, for example, for the song, “Phantom of the Opera”, you’re basically walking around with a broom stick making believe you’re pushing a boat. And then after that, in the next scene where Christine awakens after she’s been abducted and the Phantom is playing the keyboard, you’re actually just sitting on a chair with a music stand in front of you making believe that’s your organ.

Talk about trial by fire. How did you ever learn the blocking?

The blocking was all specific so that you get a feel for some of the distances. But some of it is impossible until you’re actually on the stage, because the idea in the show is that you’re so familiar with your environment of these catacombs, that the Phantom walks through them effortlessly, backwards, forwards, whatever. He finds his way up the stairs to the organ without even looking at the steps. And that’s really to convey the idea that he’s been trapped down there for so long, he’s become an organic part of his surroundings. And that only comes from being on the stage. They don’t block that out in rehearsal. They give you a sense, but until you’re out there, you’re flying slightly blind.

What was it like going from “Rock and Roll All Night” to “Music of the Night”? You didn’t really have much time to decompress from KISS.

The most difficult part of it was the vocal technique. Some people don’t realize it, but your vocal chords are a muscle, and they have what’s called muscle memory. So what happens is your vocal chords will settle into a certain position based upon the kind of singing you’re doing. And the singing I do with KISS is so diametrically opposed to the technique of singing, so called, “legit” show tunes, there’s just gotta be a little down time. So I needed about two weeks just to relax, and then after that it was a matter of quickly getting a crash course strategy to get my voice into a different place. Because with those kind of songs, what becomes important is the song and the melody have to find their voice. You have to find where it sits in your voice. And none of that is easy, especially when you’ve just come off screaming for three or four months.

And also, you’re not Paul Stanley the Star Child on stage. You’re the Phantom.

Theater acting means ignoring the audience. It’s absolutely the opposite of what you’re doing as a performer in a rock band. The essence of what I do in the band is to bring the audience in through very deliberate means of engaging them. In theater, you’re bringing them in through voyeurism. They’re watching you, and it’s the reality of what you do that engages them, not the activity of telling them to stand up, clap their hands or stomp their feet…So the truth in what you do is what is what brings them in. So if you acknowledge them, you kill the fantasy.

What was your approach to the character? What do you feel you brought to the Phantom of the Opera?

I had seen the show many times. The first time I saw it, I believe it was ’88, I had this epiphany while I was watching it that I had to do it. I just connected. Dave Willets, who replaced Michael Crawford, was my first exposure to the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. And I was actually disappointed beforehand that I wasn’t going to see Michael Crawford, but Willets was absolutely stunning in the role. There was a tremendous pathos about him, and there was also a range that went from somebody who was at wit’s end to somebody who was desperately in love. Incredibly vulnerable. So the range of emotions and the depth of it just blew me away. Subsequently, I saw, probably, six or eight Phantoms over the years, and they all brought something different. You know, the beauty of Phantom is that at its worst, it’s still great. It’s pretty hard to mess it up. Because it has a formula in terms of staging and lighting and costumes and story, and of course the music, it’s pretty flawless. So what I related to was really a growing sense of desperation in the Phantom as the story unfolds. By the end, you’re really dealing with someone who is almost as broken physically as he is emotionally. This incredible realization once Christine surrenders to him, that he actually is not capable of reciprocating. With so many things, especially love, the chase is actually more appealing than the actual obtainment. So there’s a stunning revelation when you suddenly get what you’ve been seeking, and then realize that you’re completely unable to accept it.

Do you think that the Phantom actually thought he would ever get Christine?

Well, you know, the scene that to me is so stunning, and really seems to hit home for a lot of people, is where Christine finally goes to kiss the Phantom, when he’s telling her to make a choice between him and Raoul, and she kisses him and he basically, as I played him, is physically unable to hold her. He basically recoils from her touch. I mean, here’s someone who’s never been touched. He just doesn’t know what to do.

What do you think it is about this character that has stood the test of time and still continues to draw people?

I think that everybody has a sense of alienation and vulnerability. And the sense of being different and even mocked and isolated and ridiculed for something that you have no control of… That’s where the sympathy comes in. What he does because of that scorn is clearly unsympathetic and something that nobody wants to approve. But I think what people do relate to is this incredible pain that somebody can feel who’s different. And perhaps in the show, the conflict for some people watching it is that they’re actually sympathizing with somebody who becomes a murderer.

I always find it interesting when I ask people who they most identify with. Christine? Raoul? The Phantom? I think a lot of people will admit that, yes, they do identify most with the Phantom.

It’s interesting, because if the show were to be based upon who takes up the most stage time, the show would be called CHRISTINE. But clearly, the center character and the one that everything revolves around is the Phantom.

I think a lot of what is classic about the Phantom, which is true about most classic monsters, is that they really weren’t monsters at heart. The denial of validation. Acknowledgement. Of love. Affection. That’s what made them monsters.

Sure. I mean, look at BRIDE AT FRANKENSTEIN. The most potent part is when the monster, the creature, is so desperate for this creation of a mate. Then she is repulsed by him. And so he goes crazy and kills.

As a kid, had you seen the original Chaney version?

I saw the Lon Chaney version, although I don’t believe I ever saw the entire film at that point. Certainly, my recollection was always seeing the unmasking, that classic scene where we see this strangely hideous man. And, you know, for my money, it wasn’t that hideous a face. It was much more strange to me than it was repulsive. Back then, of course, everybody became fascinated with the idea that Lon Chaney was putting hooks in the corners of his mouth, putting discs up his nose or prosthetics in his cheeks. Everybody was fascinated by that. But clearly, the unmasking… I remember thinking that the face was actually pretty cool. I never found it frightening. As with most boys, I guess, I just went, “Wow! That’s awesome!”

Your persona with KISS also involves a masking of your true identity. What do you think it is about you that finds the mask so attractive?

Maybe it becomes an emblem or an easy way to personify a character. Maybe it leaves a little less to the imagination, or maybe it also helps to fortify a character. Hopefully what it truly is, is simply the final touches. I greatly appreciated, for example, that with Phantom, the first time I ever put the make-up on was for a photo shoot two days prior to my first performance. It’s a much better idea than rehearsing with something that you can lean on. Because it really can be so easy to lean on the physicality of something. The physicality should be the last embellishment. Or a mask, or a costume, or greasepaint.

In KISS, do you prefer performing in costume and make-up, or did you prefer the 80’s, when you were performing without it?

It’s all the same. I never saw any difference. I think maybe the make-up, again, magnified the personality, but I never approached it differently, make-up or without make-up. I never felt I was playing a role.

For some, for instance Robert Englund, the make-up is a facilitator. Robert has told me the make-up unleashes things he can’t unleash unless he feels shielded.

Sure. I understand that. But that’s not an issue in the KISS persona, because I don’t think that what I did or have done in either look, make-up or non make-up, is very different. There may be a difference in the way I move because eight inch heels will change your walk, but other than that, I’ve never altered what I do on stage. Certainly, the character, or the part of me that’s on stage as a performer, is different than me sitting here with you now. But only in the sense that it’s a part of me now which becomes the total of who I am up there on stage.

What was it like for you doing the Phantom day-in and day-out all those months?

It was incredibly grueling and emotionally taxing. I don’t know how I managed to sweat that much, because there’s really not that much running around. But by the end of every show I was sopping wet, and usually in tears. But it was an incredible release, and it was also this great journey where by the end of the show, I was always thinking about the next show. There was always this sense of where do I go next? What did I learn tonight? And it was amazing, because it really becomes a journey, an expedition that you’re on towards getting deeper and deeper into the nuances of how you see this character, or who this character becomes for you.

Will there be another expedition as the Phantom for you?

You know, I’ve been approached about New York and was also talking doing the Las Vegas production. There’s going to be a Vegas production absolutely incredible in size and scope. But I’m never comfortable talking about possibilities. There are enough people who make a sham of that. Anything is possible. We should only talk about what’s probable.

Fair enough. So how about we talk about what’s desirable. Would you like to play the Phantom again?

Yes, my plan is to do it again. It’s just a matter of when. It’s something that I didn’t think was finished. Initially, when I finished Phantom, I was flown to New York to see if I would take over JEKYLL AND HYDE, which I just didn’t think was right for me. I was joking with my friends, “If you loved him in PHANTOM, wait till you see him in WOL FMAN: THE MUSICAL” (laughs)! You know, I’m gonna make a career of hiding behind make-up and masks. But, all kidding aside, there’s definitely more to be done.

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