book with its mix of bawdy humor and eroticism needed fine-tuning. Unfortunately, Steinman's creative disagreements with his producing team (at one point telling the press "I can't tell you how many things are the opposite of what I want, but I am part of a team"), and their seeming inability to raise the investment money in time for a now-rather-unrealistic fall opening, led to tense situations backstage. Finally, Waxman and Williams were ousted from the production, with Sonenberg assuming day-to-day responsibilities as the lead producer, a strategic move viewed by many as a power grab on Steinman's part (as one source put it, "he has the final say on everything"). Casting Crawford, 9/11, and other disasters At this point, the show needed some kind of drawing card to attract investors scared off by the previous snafus on the producing front. It was decided that a star lead in the role of Count von Krolock would be just the trick; feelers were put out to names as diverse as David Bowie, John Travolta, Richard Gere and Plácido Domingo. Ultimately, the team came to an agreement with Michael Crawford, best known on Broadway at the time as the lead in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera in the 1980s. Steinman was reportedly elated, calling him "a towering talent" and "probably the biggest box-office star in the theater." However, Crawford wanted some assurances before he would take on a planned three years in the role. He demanded complete creative control of his character, he wanted a "retirement package" of up to £20m a year ($180,000 a week in American money), and he also preferred to have "first refusal" on (i.e., the option to reprise) the role in London and Los Angeles. Additionally, though not a major point in negotiations, Crawford also sought assurance that he would receive the role of von Krolock in any resulting film version, having recently lost the film role of the Phantom to initial star Antonio Banderas (later replaced by Gerard Butler). Of the four points of negotiation, Crawford won two, creative control and first refusal, eschewing the original salary (after initial press reports caused an outcry over his massive payday) for a much slimmer $30,000 a week. While Steinman, still ebullient over Crawford's casting, defended the original figure by saying Crawford "would be worth every cent we can pay him", a more sensible Crawford claimed that