Craig Schulman isn't just one of the Three Phantoms in the "Return of The Three Phantoms" concerts tonight through Sunday at the Hawai'i Theatre.

Behind the scenes, he's also the producer-presenter of the act, at the heartbeat of the act's shaping and booking process, as well as the co-star with onstage allies Cris Groenendaal and Kevin Gray.

"I'm proud about putting together this new program. I'm proud of helping raise money for Ballet Hawaii," he said of his offstage role.

"When you're the presenter, you pull the team together, you rent the theater, you do the worrying."

Schulman, a Broadway star beloved by locals for his earlier portrayal of Jean Valjean in two "Les Misérables" visits, has donned the mask in "The Phantom of the Opera," though not here.

Groenendaal has portrayed the Phantom here and on Broadway. Gray also has assumed the role, but is known here for playing the villainous Scar in "The Lion King" last fall at Blaisdell Concert Hall.

"This time, I told the guys we had to do a new program, and they shared input on how to shape and make the show reflective of the three of us," Schulman said. "We're friends, and we're actors and artists. We have a lot of great Broadway music to share, but there's a lot of stuff to take care of, like learn the music and work with a script."

Schulman said he formulated a concept that would tap the acting skills in his buddies, such as working in a day-in-the-life-of-a-Broadway-star scenario.

"We'll take the audience through various stages, from auditions to getting a part, explaining the process in a humorous way," he said. "We'll try to show how we manage to stay good friends even in competition."

As usual, the trio of Phantoms will be unmasked, without costumes, but in tuxes; you'll see their faces as they sing.

"I'm not sure we're authorized to use the mask, anyway," said Schulman. "I want to stress that in our concerts, we're not just singers; we're actors. And that's been a real element of my — and our — success. There's acting in the pieces of songs we do; if you close your eyes, we want to transport you to the theater where you've seen the show."

With three lead voices and Phantom experiences, Schulman, Groenendaal and Gray had to come to grips on how best to reflect the spirit of the Andrew Lloyd Webber music of that hit show.

"Of course, The Three Phantoms will reprise 'Music of the Night,' the big song, and we discussed doing other tunes from the show," Schulman said. "Cris pushed for more of it, even suggesting a woman join us. I felt that while other songs were recognizable, they were gender specific, and not really appropriate for us to sing, say, 'That's All I Ask of You.' Not sure if you can divvy it up for three guys, when for the Phantom, the only song he has is 'Music of the Night.' "

LOCAL DANCERS

Ballet Hawaii members will join the Three Phantoms in "The Phantom Ballet," choreographed by Millou Lallemand, who was in the national tour of "The Phantom of the Opera" and who now teaches at Ballet Hawaii. Organist Don Conover and percussionist Bill Wiley will provide accompaniment. Conover will play the Hawai'i Theatre's 1922 Morton theater organ, which will rise from the pit, its tones recreating the theatricality and mood befitting the Phantom.

"We thought that the ambience of the theater itself, as well as that theater organ, would be right for the Phantom," Schulman said.

There was some talk, too, about whether Gray's Scar character from the Disney musical would fit the program with the Broadway-music umbrella. "There really wasn't a Scar song that was right, and we thought maybe 'Circle of Life,' but it's a huge ensemble number and nobody sings the whole thing through. Maybe Kevin can snarl and look 'hard' like Scar."

While there's ample collaboration among the three, there's also beaucoup friendly competition.

"Take a song like 'Anything You Can Do,' and we've written some new lyrics to personalize it a bit, to have some fun," Schulman said.

A SEMI-REGULAR GIG

The Three Phantoms show has been produced periodically — the last time was a five-show run in Pennsylvania in June — and has been something of a franchise for Schulman and Groenendaal, who were without the services of Gray when he was on that "Lion King" tour.

"The franchise has exhausted the symphony market, though over the last few years, we've done between 50 and 60 shows with orchestras," Schulman said.

"That's why it was only natural for me to produce this show myself now."

Groenendaal teaches English as a second language when he's not on stage or in concert. He has done solo gigs, too, with pianist-wife Sue Anderson (who will be an accompanist in Hawai'i) providing music.

Gray has released a solo CD since last performing in "Lion King" here, giving him a new perk on the concert trail.

"Kevin is great to collaborate with; he's got a lot of energy and is willing to try new things," said Schulman.