Feature Article
BEING BOLD. THINKING HIGHER.
Michael Lackey poses with fellow
Phantom co-workers Brianne Kelly
Morgan (left), who plays Meg in
the show, and crew electrician
Amanda Sanchez (right).
“The pay is good. The hours are great. It’s a hard
job to beat,”Lackey said.
However, working six days a week for 50 weeks a
year also has its sacrifices. He rarely gets a chance to
return to his Adrian home, putting a strain on family
life. That means his wife, Betsy, travels to Las Vegas
almost every weekend to see him.
“I have the most wonderful, understanding and
patient wife,” he said. “I don’t know how she does it.
She’s finally at the point where it’s getting to be routine. But it’s been tough.”
However, he said he is fortunate to have found the
job stability his profession rarely provides. Phantom:
The Las Vegas Spectacular, is staged in a custombuilt theater designed to resemble the famed Opera
Garnier in Paris. It also features an impressive oneton chandelier that comes “crashing”down on the
audience during each performance. In January 2006,
it became the longest–running show in Broadway
history, surpassing another of Lloyd Webber’s greatest hits, Cats.
Soon after graduating from Siena Heights, Lackey
traveled to audition at the prestigious St. Louis
Municipal Theatre. He was successfully cast in the
chorus of The Music Man, starring Tony Randall.
However, he had to pull out of the show, returning
to Michigan to care for his ailing father. Once home,
he gained valuable experience locally, taking part
in several productions at Adrian’s Croswell Opera
House—even managing to run a pizzeria for a time.
Crediting longtime Croswell fixture Robert Soller
for “teaching me the business,”Lackey eventually returned to St. Louis, and was cast in the Tony