‘Phantom’ Drew From Near And Far

Did every man, woman and child in Spokane turn out to see “Phantom of the Opera” in February and March?

No, it only seemed that way, because so many people from a remarkably wide radius — including Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia — did turn out.

The final demographic report was released last week by WestCoast Entertainment, and it has helped solve the mystery of how a city of about 190,000 can sell 83,000 tickets to one (very expensive) musical.

The most startling fact: Most of the people who attended the four-week run live 100 miles away or farther.

Jack Lucas of WestCoast Entertainment crunched all of the numbers and presented a report to the Spokane City Council: 42,111 patrons came from at least 100 miles away, while 28,566 came from Spokane. Another 5,115 came from outside of Spokane, but within 100 miles. (The remainder were subscribers, about 30 percent of whom were from more than 100 miles away).

The most dramatic illustration of this invasion from the hinterlands came on March 11, when 44 buses arrived from remote locations, including Billings, Mont., and South Dakota, for one afternoon matinee.

The biggest states, after Washington, were Idaho at about 14 percent of the audience, Montana at 12 percent and the province of British Columbia at about 1.5 percent.

Did this surprise the people at WestCoast Entertainment?

“Not really,” said Lucas. “That’s how we sold the `Phantom’ people on this. We have a reputation for bringing in people from outside the area. That’s how we stay healthy.”

It also helped the Spokane economy stay healthy, according to Lucas’ statistics. He estimated that between $9 million and $10 million was spent in Spokane by “Phantom” patrons. That number is based on cost multipliers that you may or may not agree with, but anybody who spent much time downtown in February and March could see a whole lot of “Phantom”-goers were busy with their credit cards.

Lucas said the Arizona Steakhouse, across the street from the Opera House, had a 75 percent increase in sales, and Auntie’s Bookstore had a 12 percent increase. O’Doherty’s Irish Grille had its biggest month ever.

`Gypsy’ wins again

“American Gypsy: A Stranger in Everybody’s Land” won the Golden Gate Award Grand Prize for Best Documentary Feature on Thursday from the San Francisco International Film Festival.

In February, the movie won a Golden Spire Award in the same festival’s “Society and Culture” division. This award, however, is for the best documentary in the entire festival.

“This one is a much greater honor,” said filmmaker Jasmine Dellal.

The movie is largely about Spokane’s Jimmy Marks, his family and his legal battles with the city.

“It doesn’t surprise me that we won this award,” said Marks. “It’s a great movie.”

The New York Times reviewer last week seemed to like it, too.

“`American Gypsy’ manages to respect the particulars of Mr. Marks’ ordeal, not to mention the quirks of his own expansive, self-dramatizing character,” wrote critic A.O. Scott.

Iffy Awards

Speaking of film awards, the Spokane Film Festival will present its Iffy Awards on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the AMC River Park Square 20, theater No. 8.

The Iffy Awards are given to films that were screened in the 1999 festival. The awards were determined by a panel of film and video producers, writers and directors.

Two of the winning films, “A Mile in My Shoes” by Denise Plumb and “The Deformation of Myrna Brown” by Sophia Trone and J.B. Letchinger, will be shown at the awards ceremony. Other winners are “Balls” by Michael Gazetas and “76 Spade” by Sorrel Alhfeld.

Tickets for the event are available through G&B Select-a-Seat, $8.50 and $6.50.

Why “Iffy”? Because it reflects and honors the “iffy” nature of independent filmmaking, said festival director Bob Schleufer. It may also have some connection to the initials of the Inland Film and Video Association, which runs the festival.

Romp with `Dolphins’

I caught a preview screening of the new IMAX movie at Riverfront Park, “Dolphins,” and I can tell you that it is an exhilarating romp in the surf with these remarkable creatures.

The film follows one scientist from the Bahamas who is learning to understand the complicated language of the dolphins, and another scientist who has established an emotional bond with a wild dolphin. He has gone out to meet the same dolphin, on the same reef, almost every day for years.

The photography is, as usual, breathtaking. This is a great movie for kids and adults.

I didn’t get a chance to see the other new IMAX movie, “Michael Jordan To the IMAX,” although I’m sure it will appeal to the basketball-oriented among us. But I’ll bet even Michael’s leaps can’t surpass those of a dolphin.

Both movies opened Friday. Call 625-6686 for showtimes.

Another `Molly’

Brian Friel’s “Molly Sweeney,” which was one of my favorite plays of 1999, returns for a one-night-only performance at The Met on May 18 at 8 p.m.

Ann Russell and Ron Varela will reprise their roles as, respectively, the blind Irish woman who has her sight restored surgically, and the surgeon who performs the operation. The operation has unexpected and tragic consequences.

The only change from the original cast: Maynard Villiers will play Molly’s husband Frank.

Tickets are $10 and $7, available through G&B Select-a-Seat, 325-SEAT.

Kyiv Symphony

Here’s early warning on an unusual musical event:

The Kyiv Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, 160-strong, will play a fund-raising concert on May 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral in downtown Spokane. Donations will be accepted.

This group from Kiev, Ukraine, is on its third goodwill tour of the United States. It will perform music ranging from Tchaikovsky to Prokofiev to Ukrainian folk tunes.

It was founded in 1993 by American conductor Roger McMurrin in order to bring employment to Ukrainian musicians, and to bring the great Christian classics by Bach, Handel and others back to the Ukraine.