Show & Tell: Meet Brianne Morgan of ‘Phantom’

Q: How long have you been with "Phantom" (as Meg) here?

A: I'm original cast, so almost six years.

Q: Were you familiar with the show before that?

A: I was a total fan of "Phantom" before that. My parents saw the original Los Angeles company, so they saw Michael Crawford, and they thought I was too young to see it. They thought it was going to be very violent, adult-type content.

Q: How old were you?

A: I was 7 or 8. So they didn't take me, but they brought back the cassette tape and the complete "Phantom of the Opera" book.

Q: You already had started dancing by then?

A: My mom and dad both love classical music, and they kind of started me in ballet when I was 5.

Q: What did you think of the "Phantom" cassette?

A: I listened to it and I thought, "Wow, this is really cool," and I thought Christine is the best character in the world, and I wanted to be Christine. ... For my 12th birthday the tour came through L.A. again and they surprised me with tickets - front row balcony - and I noticed Meg got to sing and dance, and I was, like, "Forget Christine. I want to be Meg!"

Q: When did you decide that this was going to be your career?

A: High school. I went to a career counselor my freshman year: "So what do you want to be?" "A performer." "Oh, that's nice, but what do you want to be?" "I want to be a performer." "OK, but performing is really hard. It's a very narrow field." "I know. I want to be a performer." (Laughs)

Q: And after high school?

A: I was with the (Inland Pacific Ballet) company, and in the 2003-2004 Christmas season, I was in the "Radio City Christmas Spectacular" touring company. I wasn't a Rockette, but I was one of the female dancers. ... After a couple of years of being in the (ballet) company, I was, like, "OK, I'm going to try out other companies." So I tried this out to see how I liked it, and I loved the musical theateresque style of it.

Q: Eventually, you landed a part in Las Vegas' "Phantom." What are your plans after the show closes (Sept. 2)?

A: Actually, one of my co-workers and I are ... kind of deciding to go to New York together. We're both fairly young for the business, and we think that now is probably a good time to go over there.

Q: What will you miss the most?

A: The superficial answer? The costumes (laughs). I mean, these million-dollar costumes here are really cool.