Briarcliff Manor native to perform 'Phantom' spoof in Manhattan

Tuesday February 19, 2013 11:00 AM By Chris Serico

Photo credit: Handout | Elizabeth Tryon is an opera singer and comedian whose one-woman show is "There's a Phantom in My Opera."

Briarcliff Manor native Elizabeth Tryon blends operatic and comedic elements in her show, "There's a Phantom in My Opera," which makes its New York City debut Tuesday night.

Tryon, 32, recently told Newsday Westchester that her show, which Caroline's on Broadway will host for a one-night-only performance, embraces and lampoons opera, Broadway, classical and pop music. In writing it, she said, she was inspired by the shows Victor Borge was famous for staging.

"It's kind of like a 'Saturday Night Live' parody of not only classical music, but also Broadway pop as well," said Tryon, who studied classical singing at Indiana University and improv comedy at New York Comedy Club.

Tryon's Westchester County upbringing, including classes with music teacher Helen Erickson at the Hackley School in Tarrytown, fostered her love of the arts from a young age.

"When I was in fourth grade, she said to me, 'You're going to be an opera singer when you grow up,' and I was 9 years old," Tryon recalled. "I couldn't believe that she was saying that, because she was very sure. ... She took us to the Metropolitan Opera on a field trip. I saw my first opera, and thought it was very odd that I'd be doing something like that."

But her interest was piqued, and when she was 16, she found a mentor in her friend's father, James Courtney, a veteran opera singer at The Met. And the rest is history.

For "There's a Phantom in My Opera," Tryon will be accompanied by pianist Matthew Martin Ward and collaborate with Bradley Lassiter, who will make a cameo as a tongue-in-cheek version of the title character from "The Phantom of the Opera."

"There's a Phantom in My Opera" begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Caroline's (1626 Broadway, New York 212-757-4100, www.carolines.com). Tickets are $27.25. For a preview, check out the video below.

Tags: Briarcliff Manor , Tarrytown , Elizabeth Tryon , Hackley School , Phantom of the Opera , There's a Phantom in My Opera , comedy , theater , Westchester , events