"Phantom" took first steps toward stardom as student here
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“I have very warm, found memories of Fredonia,” he said. “It will be great to be back. I had a wonderful time there.”
In addition to the “Three Phantoms In Concert” performance on Saturday, which opens the DFT Communications Pops Series at Rockefeller Arts Center, Mr. Schulman’s visit will include a master class with current SUNY Fredonia students on Friday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. in 1080 Mason Hall. During the master class, Mr. Schulman will coach six advanced voice students from the musical theatre and opera programs. The public is invited to observe the class. The concert is sponsored by DFT Communications and Bahgat and Laurito-Bahgat, Certified Public Accountants, as part of the Lake Shore Savings Season.
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As a professional performer, Craig Schulman has been on major stages around the world – his starring roles have included the Phantom in Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s “The Phantom Of The Opera,” Jean Valjean in “Les Misérables” and the title roles in “Jekyll & Hyde.”
This Saturday, when he performs in “Three Phantoms in Concert” at 8 p.m. in King Concert Hall at SUNY Fredonia, he returns to the stage where his professional roots took shape. Tickets can be purchased online >>
Mr. Schulman was a student at SUNY Fredonia more than three decades ago when “the hook was set” for him to become a professional performer. “I have very warm, found memories of Fredonia,” he said. “It will be great to be back. I had a wonderful time there.”
Having performed in musicals in high school on his native Long Island, Mr. Schuman deduced that his “acting skills were good, but I needed voice lessons.” Thus, he came to SUNY Fredonia in 1974 as a voice performance major. “My first impression of Fredonia was that I loved it,” Mr. Schulman said. “It was a beautiful campus.”
Like many students, Mr. Schulman changed his major a few times, moving to theater and then broadcasting. While he spent time as a morning disc jockey at WCVF, it was his experiences as a performer at SUNY Fredonia that “set the hook” for his future.
Roles in several SUNY Fredonia productions, including “Madame Butterfly,” “Guys and Dolls” and “Man of La Mancha,” had a major hand in Mr. Schulman’s decision to become a professional performer. “I had an extraordinary experience and learned a lot at Fredonia from performing in the productions and from the classes,” Mr. Schulman said.
However, financial circumstances kept him from finishing his collegiate career at SUNY Fredonia. “After three years, I ran out of cash and had to go back to work to earn more,” Mr. Schulman explained.
When he had saved enough money to resume his studies, Mr. Schulman made the decision to go to another school. It was not because he didn’t enjoy his time at SUNY Fredonia. “I decided it would be interesting to challenge myself in a new setting – to test myself as a performer and test myself socially,” he said.
As a result, Mr. Schulman transferred to SUNY Oswego as a general communications major. However, he “still had the performing bug” he had picked up at SUNY Fredonia. Mr. Schulman landed roles in several Oswego productions, including the comic opera “H.M.S. Pinafore.”
“That was when I discovered my opera voice,” he recalled.
After graduation, Mr. Schulman was encouraged by a long-time friend to head to New York City and take a shot at becoming a professional performer. He successfully auditioned for the Light Opera of Manhattan, which he described as a “Gilbert and Sullivan repertoire house.”
“That set the stage for my career,” Mr. Schulman said.
His big break came in 1987, when he landed a role with the national tour for “Les Misérables.” From that point on, Mr. Schulman was able to make his “sole living” as a performer.
Mr. Schulman holds the distinction of being the only actor in the United States to have portrayed three of the greatest musical theatre roles: the Phantom in Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s “The Phantom Of The Opera,” Jean Valjean in “Les Misérables” and the title roles in “Jekyll & Hyde.”
He has portrayed Jean Valjean in four different companies in three countries for a total of more than 1,900 performances. Widely recognized from the PBS broadcast of “The 10th Anniversary: Les Misérables In Concert,” Mr. Schulman has also played Che in “Evita,” Tevye in “Fiddler On The Roof” and Archibald in “The Secret Garden.”
Mr. Schulman has appeared with many opera companies around the U.S., singing leading tenor roles in “The Tales of Hoffmann,” “Tosca,” “Madame Butterfly,” “Carmen,” “Die Fledermaus,” “La Bohéme,” “La Traviata,” “The Crucible” and “Manon.”
His television credits include “The Guiding Light,” “All My Children,” “One Life To Live” and most recently, “The Rosie O'Donnell Show,” and NBC’s “Weekend Today.” He can be heard as the voices of both “Luciano Pavarotti” and “Placido Domingo” on MTV’s “Claymation Celebrity Death Match.”
Mr. Schulman said he is looking forward to returning to SUNY Fredonia. He was last on campus in 1983, making a quick visit during an opera apprenticeship at Chautauqua Institution.
