Randy Weiner on APAC’s love affair with ‘Masquerade’

American playwright, producer, and The Box nightclub owner Randy Weiner has spent his career helping people get lost in real-life fantasy. That ethos is at the heart of Masquerade, the new immersive reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, produced by Weiner in partnership with Lloyd Webber Entertainment and Brookfield Properties. Directed by Diane Paulus with music overseen by Webber himself, the production opened in New York this September, transforming the longest-running Broadway musical into a labyrinthine, sensory experience. The show also weaves in original artworks by Kenny Scharf, Bob Dylan, and Marina Abramović, collapsing the boundaries between theatre, visual art, and nightlife. As founder and partner of Outside The Box Amusements (OTBA), Weiner has extended his immersive approach beyond the stage, bringing experiential storytelling to luxury brands, whether through private events or retail activations. From Sleep No More and Queen of the Night to The Box and Oberon, his projects don’t just entertain — they cultivate communities, generating a sense of intimacy and shared presence that’s increasingly elusive in a digital-first world. In conversation with Jing Daily, Weiner reflects on why Phantom continues to resonate globally, particularly in China, and what Masquerade reveals about the future of live entertainment. At a moment when so much culture is mediated through screens, his work insists on presence: on being in a room, feeling something together, and remembering what live art can do when it’s allowed to be strange, intimate, and alive. Jing Daily: The Phantom of the Opera has been performed across dozens of cultures over four decades. What do you think is the core emotional or thematic element that allows it to resonate so universally? Randy Weiner: Phantom is the biggest intellectual property in the history of theater. It transcends all cultures, races, geography. I think there are two reasons for its success. First because it's spectacular — chandeliers crashing, opulent costumes, and rock operatic vocal arrangements. But at its heart, it's an intimate story about a human being who wants to be seen and be loved. It's about loneliness, beauty, shame, and desire. These are all universal themes and that's why it's lasted 40 years and been so resonant and meaningful for fans. JD: What was the original creative impulse behind Masquerade? Was it about reimagining Phantom for a new generation, or exploring parts of the story that traditional theater couldn’t? RW: For Masquerade, I was interested in how we could make the Broadway version of Phantom of the Opera connect even more deeply with contemporary audiences. I wanted to deliver all the music and the characters and the entire story, and then make the audience experience even more intimate and personal. I think right now, the most valuable thing in the world is direct human interaction. People talk about being emotionally touched: the phrase, “I was touched by that song or touched by your note.” There's an opportunity around that word ‘touch’ when you can actually touch people and have that level of intimacy. In Masquerade, the Phantom literally walks by you and touches you. Our audience is so tiny. You're in groups of 60 people. In a Broadway-style show, there are always over a thousand, up to 4000 people. In Masquerade, the Phantom and all the other performers are literally standing right next to you, looking you directly in the eye When I used to go to the theater as a child with my family, people would dress up, and that created a sense of occasion and connection — everyone putting some effort and thought into what they're wearing. That was another part that was exciting for me, as we ask our audience to dress up as though they are going to a masquerade ball. They have to wear black, white, or silver, and a mask. JD: Which generations/demographics do you find are most inclined to immersive theatre shows? Masquerade has performed well across every demographic. What we're doing is definitely in the wheelhouse of a younger audience. When I do my other shows — whether that’s Sleep No More or my nightclubs like The Box— those experiences appeal very strongly to a younger demographic. So I always get young people, I can bank on them. But what's been interesting with Phantom is that we get the older demographic too. JD: Phantom has toured extensively across APAC for decades. What stands out to you about the way audiences in this region respond compared to Western audiences? RW: Sleep No More is being done in Shanghai, now it's being done in Korea. I haven't seen it in South Korea but I've seen it in Shanghai and it's interesting — first of all, how it's so wildly embraced there. Audiences observe it closely and really interact with the experience. They stay more in groups and stand right next to the performers. There's a different sense of physical space. There are also different aspects of the show that have been customized for the Shanghai production that audiences really appreciate. What’s fascinating for me about Sleep No More and iconic shows like Phantom is that what most excites audiences varies from culture to culture. In our show, Masquerade, the APAC audiences really appreciate the quality and attention to detail in our scenic design and the extraordinary talent of the performers. That's what I get feedback on from our APAC fans, just their overwhelming appreciation of the extraordinary level of artistry in Masquerade. JD: The original musical has been translated and performed in multiple Asian languages. How does language adaptation change the emotional or cultural texture of the plays you write? RW: So often when I experience a translation as an audience member, I forget that it’s a translation. When I’m in the audience I treat the text as if it's the original content and in the case of Masquerade, the words and lyrics from Phantom have been so precisely crafted. Even if someone were to do another ‘translation’ of Phantom in English, so many little things would change. Obviously, that has a huge impact on what audiences take away from the show. JD: In markets like Japan, Korea, and China, Phantom often attracts repeat audiences. What cultural factors do you think drive that loyalty? RW: There’s an APAC audience that really embraces fandom culture. From the first day that we opened Masquerade, we were getting audiences from across Asia and the Pacific coming to the show. Their passion for the Phantom of the Opera brand is huge. They become super fans of Masquerade. We have only been running Masquerade for five months, but some APAC audiences have already seen the show five times, 10 times, one woman told me it was her twelfth time. They love Masquerade and want to explore the world of the Phantom, and what’s great about the way Masquerade is structured, each time they see the show, there is always something new to discover. The APAC market has become an incredibly central part of our audience, which hasn't happened so quickly with my other projects. We are doing so many things that delight the fans of Phantom. Masquerade delivers an intensely personal experience which is the essence of what fans hunger for. During Masquerade, many of the performers give personal objects to the audience. A great example: throughout the show, the Phantom is always writing notes to Christine. In a few of the scenes, audience members are sitting next to Christine as she reads the notes, and when she finishes, she will turn to an audience member and give them the note. So people leave the show with all sorts of souvenirs. That is a real joy for the fans. You'll see them on TikTok or Instagram, showing off the handwritten note they received from the Phantom. JD: From a producer’s perspective, in what ways has social media impacted play writing or the whole process of producing a theatre show since the start of your career? RW: Well, you can't have your phone in this experience. People say what a relief it is. You get into a different mode and you're just together with people. What’s ironic is being together and connecting with people is what social media is aIl about. But we all crave more than just posting and getting likes. On the subway in New York City, we're all smooshed together but instead of it being personal, it's the opposite. There will be a woman literally breathing in my face but we are all acting as disconnected as possible. What’s so great at Masquerade is that every part of the experience is about acknowledging that we're together. The performers see us and we in the audience see each other. There's nothing like a moment of real connection and physically looking someone in their eyes. JD: On nightclubs, how has clubbing culture changed since you first started and how do you keep The Box relevant? RW: When we first started The Box, I knew there was something special about the idea of having a really small, intimate club. There's a community and a feeling of being seen. The Box continues to be so important to so many people and after twenty years, it is a better business now then it has ever been — the celebrity factor, financially. When the pandemic ended and people were saying we're going to go into the roaring twenties, it actually has felt like that. The pandemic made us all want to see each other more and appreciate being together even more. Everyone got so hungry for human interaction. JD: What has producing immersive theatre shows taught you about what people want from entertainment in 2025/6? RW: Masquerade is another form of a club. Obviously at The Box, we're in a very elite world of celebrities and beautiful people, but what makes The Box work is the sense of community. What matters is when people get into the club, did they feel like a community was made? That's one thing I love about the word club. People go there to meet and be with other people and that's what they do at Masquerade as well. The audience at our show has dressed up and made an effort along with everyone else. So you've got a connection and you're in these incredibly intimate rooms. The whole time you're looking at the performers but you're also looking at each other I'm a student of all these forms of human entertainment and interaction. Opera's roots were in community, that's why they originally didn't turn the lights off. They kept the lights on when they performed as more than half of the pleasure of the experience was seeing who else was there and how they were dressed. People want more intimacy nowadays, and more contact with human beings because that's the ultimate luxury. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and brevity. Jing Daily presents Jing Masterminds — a regular, exclusive interview series profiling today’s most iconic names in art, fashion, commerce and culture. Delving deep into their personal journeys, creative processes, business strategies and societal impacts, the series offers readers an intimate look at the lives and minds shaping our industries.

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Randy Weiner on APAC’s love affair with ‘Masquerade’