Happy Hump Day POU!
The Phantom of the Opera has been wowing Broadway audiences night after night since 1988. Sure, everyone raves about the transporting Andrew Lloyd Webber score, the spectacular sets and, oh yeah, that unforgettable chandelier that gets oohs and aahs at every performance. But this show also has a superstar who you won’t see on stage.
Thelma Pollard joined the show in 1987 as a hairstylist when it was in pre-production, started working on original star Michael Crawford’s makeup once the run began, and took over as production makeup supervisor not long after that. Nowadays, Pollard is in charge of makeup for every North American production of Phantom (meaning she teaches the actors to apply their own greasepaint). But her starring role is as the artist who personally transforms the Phantom from man to monster eight times a week on Broadway.
Thelma, the chief hair and make-up artist for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s exciting Phantom Of The Opera, works magic with her fingers and tremendous skill, and sums up the situation perfectly. “I thoroughly enjoy what I do,” said the down-to-earth Barbadian who may soon find herself in the Guinness Book Of Records as the longest serving production make-up supervisor in the long history of Broadway.
Born in what she describes as a small village in Barbados — “I didn’t know about Broadway!” — and eventually followed her parents to New York, going on to earn two licenses in cosmetology, specializing in hair and makeup. A chance meeting with makeup designer Stanley James in the salon where she was an apprentice led to gigs on the original Broadway production of “The Wiz” and a string of credits that include “Dreamgirls,” “Cats,” “Song and Dance,” “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and “Smokey Joe’s Cafe.”
Besides fidgety thespians — “some actors are better at sitting still than others,” she says diplomatically — hurdles include dropped wigs and a clock-ticking makeup application for an understudy who was rushed into a performance when the lead was sidelined by laryngitis midshow. And then there was the time she had to figure out the Phantom’s skin color palette for Robert Guillaume, one of the few black actors to take on the title role.
She considers the Phantom himself as her baby: Before each performance, she carefully paints the prosthetics pieces (made of one-use latex) and applies the actor’s makeup herself, a process that takes about an hour.
A founding member of Broadway’s Hairstylist and Make-Up Artists Union, Thelma served for 15 years on its board of trustees, helping to negotiate contracts, wrote newsletters and conducted monthly membership meetings. “It’s important that people be adequately compensated for their work,” she added. Thelma, who holds diplomas, licences and certificates in cosmetology, is a certified clinical make-up artist and is recognized as the “best” in her field on or outside of Broadway. That explains why she is often called upon to answer thorny questions about make-up. “Ask Thelma about that,” some crew members advise Broadway and movie producers.
This job is personal for Pollard, and the cast and crew are literally her family. Her sister, Pearleta (pictured above), often fills in for her when she’s out on vacation. She also bonds with the actors playing the role—and not just because she’s gluing prosthetics to their faces. It’s just that kind of job.
Oh and how about this fun fact? She was part of the first all-black female team to compete in the World Hair Olympics in Paris in 1980, where her group won a silver medal.