About The Phantom Of The Opera
Come and hear “The Music of the Night” when Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic show visits a theater near you, or see Broadway’s longest running musical on its original New York stage.
When The Phantom of the Opera debuted in 1986 at the historic Her Majesty’s Theatre in London’s West End, no one could have predicted the massive worldwide success the show would enjoy. No one, that is, but the fans and critics who attended! The show won the 1986 Olivier Award and Michael Crawford, who played the title role, won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical. This feat was repeated when the hit show was brought to Broadway in 1988, winning the 1988 Tony Award for Best Musical and, again, Michael Crawford won the top honor for his performance as well.
Additionally, the original cast recording immediately became a bestselling album, and “The Music of the Night” one of the most popular songs of the decade, used for Olympic medal-winning figure skating routines and recorded by artists ranging from Barbra Streisand to Andrea Bocelli.
The play is based on a 1910 novel by French author Gaston Leroux, and it’s not the first adaptation of the story. In 1925, Lon Chaney appeared as the title character in a silent horror film, which was a big hit for its time. Even then, The Phantom of the Opera tickets were top sellers—at 25 cents each—and the movie was a money-maker, adding to Chaney’s stardom.
The story revolves around a beautiful soprano, Christine, who is making her debut appearance at the Paris Opera House, and the horribly disfigured musical genius who lives in the subterranean passageways below the theater. The Phantom becomes obsessed with Christine and woos her with music at the same time he is terrorizing the rest of the company with murder and mayhem.
The story has stood the test of time and held the record for Broadway’s highest-grossing play until 2014, when The Lion King surpassed it. Michael Crawford also appeared on first The Phantom of the Opera North American tour, and Phantom has continued to tour around the world ever since! The current production has all new sets and costumes, and over fifty cast and orchestra members! Top critics say that this show is “bigger and better than ever before.”
If you’ve never seen The Phantom of the Opera, it’s high time you made plans to see a production when it comes to a theater near you. If you’ve seen it before, you know that the music and the story never grow old, so treat yourself to an encore and get your The Phantom of the Opera tickets today.