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"Phantom of the Opera" Hits Record Books; Alberto Gonzales Holds Press Conference; Golden Globes Buzz

Aired January 13, 2006 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, a phantom has been sneaking up on Broadway, and this week it happened. "The Phantom of the Opera" took a leap into the theatrical record books when the curtain went up for performance number -- get this -- 7,486.
CNN's Kelly Wallace unmasked the secrets behind the "Phantom" phenomenon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "The Phantom's" become a phenom. After 18 years it is now the longest-running show in Broadway history. Cast member George Lee Andrews has been with the show since opening night in 1988.

(on camera): Eighteen years ago, 1988 -- Ronald Reagan is in the White House. "Rain Man" is in the theaters. I mean ...

GEORGE LEE ANDREWS, "MONSIEUR ANDRE": My kids are 6 and 10, which is crazy because they are now 24 and 28. These are all our kids and animals.

WALLACE (voice-over): You could consider Andrews the unofficial mayor of "Phantom." It was his idea, after all, to start collecting photographs of everyone who has been in the cast.

ANDREWS: Eighteen years later there are, you know, about 250 or something pictures here.

WALLACE (on camera): I think you are running out of wall space.

ANDREWS: I am running -- I'm very definitely running out of wall space here.

WALLACE (voice-over): But not running out of fans. Eleven million people have flocked to the Majestic to see the story of the deformed figure who lurks beneath the Paris Opera House and falls madly in love with the beautiful soprano Christine, many more than once. Members of this Long Island family were just about to see the show for the fourth time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The music, charismatic.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The only music you remember. WALLACE: But what is it about "Phantom" that has also led it to break Broadway and worldwide box-office records? The man who produced "Phantom" and "Cats," now the number two record holder says it's simple. It has to do with love.

CAMERON MACKINTOSH, PRODUCER: We've all in our life wanted someone and it hasn't worked out. So I think this is a sort of wonderful wish fulfillment in the darker recesses of our mind and touches a chord with everyone.

WALLACE: Eight shows a week for 18 years. If you tally the time on stage, Andrews has spent the equivalent of two solid years of his life performing "Phantom."

(on camera): How do you keep from getting bored, from doing the same role for so long?

ANDREWS: You know, it has to do with the fact of trying to improve every night.

WALLACE (voice-over): So 18 more years for him?

ANDREWS: Oh, no, I don't think so. Now, let's not get silly.

WALLACE (on camera): Why not?

ANDREWS: Well, I think "Phantom" will be around 18 more years.

WALLACE: Well, OK, you do? Really?

ANDREWS: Yes, I think that it will be. Yes, I don't see any reason why it shouldn't. You know, it's timeless.

WALLACE (voice-over): Kelly Wallace, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Guess who else is timeless? Michael Crawford. He was the first "Phantom of the Opera" when that show came to Broadway 18 years ago. And he's still the performer that we usually think of when we talk about "Phantom." He joins us live from L.A. Michael, what a ride.

MICHAEL CRAWFORD, ACTOR: It was indeed, Kyra, yes, and memories flooding back there as I watch it. We were in New York at the weekend for the celebration, and it was so great to see most of the original cast were there, and memories came flooding back. It was 18 years ago to that very night that we first went out there for the very first preview, so exciting.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk -- no, I can just imagine what's going through your mind. I was watching you actually watch the piece, and I saw the smile. It could tell it was heartwarming.

Talking about how you actually got the role, Sarah Brightman, another amazing performer/singer -- oh my gosh, and you even got to perform with her -- her husband, obviously, Andrew Lloyd Webber, she actually heard you singing, is that right, and she came home and said to her husband I have the phantom?

CRAWFORD: Yes, I was at a singing lesson, and we both had the same teacher, and they arrived I suppose 20 minutes early for Sarah's lesson, and I was singing something like "Danny Boy" or something completely inappropriate. And apparently she -- I left without knowing this, and she said to my singing teacher -- Andrew came in and said I think we have our Phantom.

PHILLIPS: Really?

CRAWFORD: And -- yes.

PHILLIPS: Now the singing teacher, was that Ian Adams?

CRAWFORD: That's correct, yes.

PHILLIPS: OK, and isn't he the one that said to you, all right, I'm listening to "Danny Boy," you have got to work on this, you have got to work on that, you are OK?

CRAWFORD: Oh, yes, he was one of those teachers in your life that hopefully all of us have, that's one we always remember, and I've had him as a teacher for 30 odd years, and he is still my teacher.

PHILLIPS: Wow. Well, Michael, it is not surprising if you think of what you've done, if you look back to your childhood. I mean, just reading about you and seeing these pictures of you as a young boy and learning that you were singing opera at what age? Was it like seven or eight? When did you start singing opera?

CRAWFORD: Look at those legs.

PHILLIPS: You're still adorable. Still adorable.

CRAWFORD: Yes, I was. I was singing opera at the age of -- I was singing in St. Paul's Cathedral as a choir boy, and I remember miming to the "Matthew Passion" because I couldn't possibly learn all the words.

So I was the first miming artist at St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey and Brompton Oratory. And then I went into the English Opera Group, and we did a couple of Benjamin Britten operas, so that was very, very special I believe.

PHILLIPS: Did you ever -- I mean, you had such an interesting gift. Was there a time when you were younger, I mean, as a child where you thought man, I just don't fit in with other kids?

CRAWFORD: That's what my mother thought, Yes. No, I was always -- I was very, very shy, but I was always -- like some performers, I was always seeking attention, so I had lots of friends in the classroom, and I made them laugh until authority walked in, and then I didn't have a friend in the place. So I left school rather rapidly, rather early. And I went into radio, and I did about 500 radio broadcasts for the BBC and learned the basis really of my acting ability which was to produce a character without a voice, without a face that you had to, you know, create characters in that way on the radio.

PHILLIPS: Well, this is what amazes me is that you say that you were shy. And, of course, we did a little hunting around. I had no idea you were in a British sitcom which, from what I understand, did extremely well. And we actually found a clip from " Some Others Do Have Them." And let's take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: OK. Now, who would have ever thought that Michael Crawford, the king of "Phantom of the Opera" was a klutz named Frank Spencer in a sitcom doing your own stunts?

CRAWFORD: Well, I did. I loved Laurel and Hardy, and I loved Buster Keaton. They were my heroes. And oh, my gosh, look at that. And I used to love doing these stunts, so it was quite an ordinary comedy series to start with, and it's now been running for thirty years in England, and it's still on BBC2 on a Sunday afternoon to this day.

PHILLIPS: Did you ever hurt yourself?

CRAWFORD: Not really. As you can see, I was quite well padded there. I had quite a few knee pads on.

PHILLIPS: The Evel Knievel of Britain.

CRAWFORD: Yes ...

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: I know, that's great when we can laugh at ourselves, right? Someone else, who I just -- I know you adore this individual and grew up with her. And I just cracked up when I saw not only these clips but pictures of Grandma Nan. What an amazing influence in your life. Tell us about her.

CRAWFORD: She was -- I think many of us have a wonderful grandmother, and this -- I grew up without a father, father's presence, so I was with my mother and my grandmother, and this lady -- the picture you see now, she was 99. And she drove -- there she is. You have got this picture of her driving this lawnmower around the garden.

And on her right there just where the paving stone is, is a swimming pool, and I was determined to take a photograph of her, and she so nearly went in the swimming pool and it almost turned into disaster. She was Irish. She sang these songs as a child and made my cry with songs about Galway Bay and the places she loved, and I still find my love so strong for her to this day.

PHILLIPS: What an amazing woman. Well, you know, that love that you received from grandma is probably a big reason why you love kids so much. I was reading about when you were in Barnum and you would bring kids dying from leukemia, you know, into your show. You would make room for them no matter what. I thought specifically about one story about a young girl near -- Vanessa. Tell us about that story.

CRAWFORD: Vanessa was in the Manchester Children's Hospital in England, and I used to go ...

PHILLIPS: Michael, hold that thought. Forgive me. Hold that thought. We're going to come back to it.

We've got some developing news in the newsroom with Tony Harris. We just want to get to that real quickly -- Tony?

HARRIS: Yes, let's get you now to Washington. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is holding a news conference where he's talking about his impressions of how Judge Alito performed this week before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

ALBERTO GONZALES, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Yes.

QUESTION: Mr. Attorney General, you have announced that you will go up to the Hill and testify when they hold hearings on the NSA program. I know you only want to testify as to the legalities. Can you tell us now, though, what your exact involvement was in promulgating the policy? Did you write or issue any memos, any opinion, any report?

GONZALES: In connection with my confirmation hearings and subsequent discussions and speeches, what I have said is that I think one of my responsibilities as attorney general is to explain some of what the administration is doing and the reasons for -- the rationale for -- what the administration is doing.

The president has confirmed the existence of a highly classified program. Many parts of the program still remain classified.

I've had conversations with Chairman Specter. There is an agreement that I would come testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee. He himself suggested that it be related only to legal authorities; that it would not relate to any of the operational aspects of the program because, as the president indicated yesterday, the absolute worst thing that we could do is to talk about the operational aspects of a highly-classified program that has been very successful in protecting America and divulge all that information to the enemy.

And so what I'm going to do is come before the Senate Judiciary Committee and talk about the legal authorities in connection with this program.

QUESTION: Did you yourself promulgate any of those legal authorities? Did you write about them or (INAUDIBLE)? GONZALES: There have been a number of lawyers throughout the administration that have been involved in carefully evaluating the legal authorities in relation to this program.

And so over a period of many months, many years, a number of lawyers have been involved in providing legal advice as to the legal authorities in relation to this program.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

GONZALES: We're engaged in a discussion with the Congress about that.

I presume that's one of the reasons why the senator would like me to come before the Senate Judiciary Committee and more fully explain our discussions, our reasoning regarding the legal authorities that exist for this program.

I respectfully disagree with the chairman.

We believe the legal authorities are there and that the president acted consistent with his legal authorities and in a manner that he felt was necessary and appropriate to protect this country against this new kind of threat.

QUESTION: Are you prepared to see reporters go to jail for (INAUDIBLE)?

GONZALES: Cooperating in connection with what?

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

GONZALES: That's a matter that's being handled by career prosecutors and folks within our Criminal Division. And I think it's too early to make decisions regarding whether or not reporters should go to jail.

We have an obligation to ensure that our laws are enforced. There's been a serious disclosure of classified information that's occurred in connection with this case and obviously we're going to look at it very, very seriously.

QUESTION: The Democrats say they are probably going to hold the vote a week and you had mentioned that he should be confirmed expeditiously. I was just wondering what you thought of that.

GONZALES: We continue to hope that the Senate remains on the schedule that was previously outlined and that he would receive a floor vote by January 20th.

There's no mystery here about Judge Alito. His record has been out there for a long time. People have known that this is the nominee.

We've now gone through an extensive hearing process. He will be providing additional information through his written answers to written questions.

But we believe the information is out there regarding his qualifications. And certainly a sufficient amount of information is out there for the Senate to make an informed judgment as to whether or not this individual should serve on the Supreme Court of the United States.

Thank you very much.

HARRIS: OK, there you have it. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales wrapping up a news conference there, giving his impressions on how Judge Alito performed before the Senate Judiciary Committee in those confirmation hearings this week.

Let's bring in Kelli Arena, our justice correspondent.

And Kelli, I guess part of the news here is we've learned that Alberto Gonzales will, in fact, be testifying before the Senate committee that will be looking into the president's domestic spying program. Is that a bit of a surprise?

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. No, it's not, actually. We had expected that he would say that today. Those hearings are scheduled for early February. We don't have a date just yet.

But the attorney general said that he would go to try to shed some light on the administration's thinking of why this program is legal. As you know, Gonzales was White House counsel at the time that this program was put in place. And he should have some very interesting things to say.

The administration has argued all along that there are two reasons the president has the right to eavesdrop domestically. One, because is he is commander-in-chief and so has the constitutional authority to fight the war on terror as he sees fit. The second, that when Congress passed the resolution to use military force against al Qaeda right after the September 11th attacks, that that provided legal basis.

But Tony, as you know, there are many legal scholars who come on the other side of that coin and say no, that does not provide the president with the legal authority to do what he's been doing. That's what those Senate hearings will be about. The Judiciary Committee will be looking into whether or not the president does have justification to continue that program.

So expect it to be very contentious. And you also heard that Gonzales said he would not speak at all about the operations of that program. Lots of questions surrounding this NSA program, but much of it is classified. He said he will not get into that. He will only talk about legal arguments. And many people have argued that if they don't know more about this program, then they really don't know whether or not the president is acting in a way that the Constitution allows him to.

HARRIS: Right, OK. Kelli Arena, our justice correspondent. Kelli, thank you for that.

ARENA: You're welcome.

HARRIS: And Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Tony, Kelli, thank you so much.

Right after a quick break, more with Michael Crawford and "The Phantom of the Opera" taking a tremendous leap into the theatrical record books. Also, Sibila Vargas on Wisteria Lane. LIVE FROM continues right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

PHILLIPS: Michael Crawford, who's now my T.D. (ph), has never been the same. Because you did so well, he never got a shot at Broadway.

CRAWFORD: Well, Andrew Lloyd Webber should spot him immediately.

PHILLIPS: There you go, Matt. You might -- there you go. He might have a second chance.

You know, we talked about "Phantom" just hitting the record books, and we were talking about your family and your grandmother and so many wonderful experiences throughout your life, but you have done so much for children.

And we were starting to talk about a specific story about a young girl, Vanessa, who you will never forget, who you brought to Barnum, because she was struggling with leukemia. And you have just really had a really big passion to give back.

CRAWFORD: Yes, I mean, when lots of good things happen to you, you are often given the opportunity to go and visit children's hospitals. And that was the great thing about doing that comedy series, which was so child friendly. So children knew you, and you were no threat. So when you visit hospitals and it would be a useful visit. You were able to be of use.

And there was this one beautiful little girl. She was about nine. And her name was Vanessa. And it was at Manchester Children's Hospital. And we were playing Barnum at the opera house there, and I arranged for her bed to be moved to the theater for a matinee. And they removed two rows of seats so that they could get her in.

And the whole show, the company, had visited Vanessa, and the whole show we played up to the circle so that Vanessa would see us. And it was just such an exciting show to do for this young child, who only had one more week to live.

PHILLIPS: Well, Michael Crawford, what an honor and pleasure to interview you. Incredible run with "Phantom of the Opera." You are involved with so many other things. You give so much back. You are a big part of our family.

I got to tell you, my husband never takes the CD out of the CD player. He is a "Phantom of the Opera" addict. So this was special for a lot of us. Thank you so much for your time.

CRAWFORD: Thank you so much for inviting me. That was such an exciting interview to watch all that stuff.

PHILLIPS: Let's do it again.

CRAWFORD: Thank you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right Michael. My honor.

Well, one more weekend before the Golden Globes and one more weekend for the most nominated films to rack up some more box-office.

CNN entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas in Los Angeles still on Wisteria Lane, but she's going to talk a little about a little bit more than Desperate Housewives.

SIBILA VARGAS, ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I am going to talk a bit about more than Desperate Housewives, but these women are on top of the world.

I recently, just moments ago, spoke to Marc Cherry. This is a man who tried to get the script on the air for so long. Desperate Housewives, an incredible phenomenon now. But he struggled. And I spoke to him just a little while ago, like I said. And he told me how he got out of his depression.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARC CHERRY, CREATOR, "DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES": I had great parents, Martha and Truman Cherry. You know, if you have two parents who just think you are the best thing ever, then even when stuff is not going well, there is something in your genetic fiber that just says no, no, this will be all right.

Because if they can love you that much, well, surely you must be worth something. That's why I'm so happy to dedicate the show to my mom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VARGAS: It's such an inspirational story. He loves his mom. And, in fact, a lot of the Desperate Housewives, a lot of the themes, have to do with his growing up as a child and what his mom told him.

But, you know, this is not the only story coming out of the Golden Globes. There is another story that's a much bigger story, which is, of course, "Brokeback Mountain." We have heard so much about it. It's gotten tremendous critical praise.

But at the same time it's also had a lot of controversy because it is two gay cowboys, and they are in love, of course. So this is something that is sparking controversy. But my question is, is the controversy legitimate?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VARGAS (voice over): "Brokeback Mountain," Ang Lee's gay cowboy love story, is enjoying heats of accolades this award season, a total of seven Golden Globe nominations. But along with its nearly unanimous critical praise, there's plenty of controversy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's been a national discussion about this movie from the very weekend that it was released.

VARGAS: That discussion may have in part helped "Brokeback" break records earning half a million dollars in just five theaters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know that I have seen a live action film open with that big of a per theater average.

VARGAS: With the exception of one privately-owned theater in Salt Lake City, the film's homosexual subject matter has met with little if any resistance at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fears that it wouldn't play in other than big cities is unfounded. And thus far it continues to do very well everywhere it's playing.

VARGAS: To date few, if any, religious groups, political organizations, or notable figures have publicly boycotted the film. Movie goers continue to see it in droves. And it is a run away hit with critics. These are facts that have led many to believe that the controversy surrounding "Brokeback Mountain" may have been born in the media.

NEIL GUILIANO, GLAAD PRESIDENT: It is a story. It is a wonderfully told story. And there are many stories out there. And this is one that happens to be a fair, accurate, and very good representation of the struggle that two men had after they fell in love in 1963 out in Wyoming.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VARGAS: And "Brokeback Mountain" is the leading contender. A lot of people think that it will walk away with golds, and with Oscar nominations just around the corner, Kyra, it will definitely get a nomination.

Back to you.

PHILLIPS: We will be watching, Sibila. Thanks so much. News keeps coming. And we are going to keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Stevie Wonder just one of many special friends giving a final good-bye to velvet boy singer Lou Rawls. Rawls' funeral is underway this hour at the West Angeles Church of God of Christ in Los Angeles led by the Reverend Jesse Jackson. Public viewing was held yesterday.

The 72-year-old singer died of lung cancer a week ago. During his career, Rawls helped raise more than 200 million dollars for the United Negro College Fund. His final recorded segment of a UNCF telethon ran over the weekend in his honor just hours after his death.

The next hour of LIVE FROM BEGINS in ninety seconds.

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