phantom of the opera manchester 1993 cast

• The Phantom of the Opera (Lloyd Webber/Hart)

1st UK Tour (1993)

•  Overview
•  Credits
•  Musical Numbers
•  Venues
•  Recordings
•  Trivia & History
•  Posters
•  Photos
•  Video Clips
•  Audio Clips

The Phantom of the Opera

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Production Info

Opening October 9, 1993 Closing: July 6, 1996 Length of Run: not listed yet Run Type: Open-ended

Location Info

Market: UK Tour

Credits Highlights

See full list

Musical Numbers

• Masquerade .... Full Company
• Why So Silent .... Phantom
• Notes .... Monsieur André, Monsieur Firmin, Carlotta, Piangi, Raoul, Christine, Madame Giry & Phantom
• Twisted Every Way .... Monsieur André, Monsieur Firmin, Carlotta, Piangi, Raoul, Christine, Madame Giry & Phantom
• Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again .... Christine
• Wandering Child .... Phantom, Christine & Raoul
• Bravo, Bravo .... Phantom, Christine & Raoul
• The Point of No Return .... Phantom & Christine
• Down Once More .... Phantom
• Track Down This Murderer .... Full Company
• Final Lair .... Phantom, Christine & Raoul
• Think of Me .... Carlotta, Christine & Raoul
• Angel of Music .... Christine & Meg
• Little Lotte .... Raoul
• I Remember .... Christine
• The Mirror .... Raoul, Christine & the Phantom
• The Phantom of the Opera .... Phantom & Christine
• The Music of the Night .... Phantom
• Stranger Than You Dreamt It .... Christine & Phantom
• Magical Lasso .... Buquet, Meg, Madame Giry & Ballet Chorus
• Notes .... Monsieur Firmin, Monsieur André, Raoul, Carlotta, Madame Giry, Meg, Piangi & Phantom
• Prima Donna .... Monsieur Firmin, Monsieur André, Raoul, Carlotta, Madame Giry, Meg, Piangi & Phantom
• Poor Fool, He Makes Me Laugh .... Carlotta & Company
• I Gave You My Music... .... Phantom
• Why Have You Brought Me Here? .... Raoul & Christine
• Raoul, I've Been There .... Raoul & Christine
• All I Ask of You .... Raoul & Christine

Additional Musical Numbers Lists

No additional musical numbers lists yet.

Trivia & History

Posters & promo art, video clips, audio clips, tour schedule.

• Manchester Opera House (Manchester, England) October 9, 1993 - July 1, 1995
• Edinburgh Playhouse (Edinburgh, Scotland) October 10, 1995 - July 6, 1996

Audio Recordings

Video recordings.

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‘Phantom’s’ Mishaps of the Night : Theater: Cast and crew remember some of the more eventful performances as the musical winds up its lengthy L.A. run.

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As “The Phantom of the Opera” prepares to disappear from the Ahmanson Theatre for the last time Sunday, it’s time to tell stories.

To most of the onlookers, L.A.’s “Phantom”--played by Michael Crawford, Robert Guillaume and Davis Gaines--appeared to be a marvel of well-oiled stagecraft. But appearances can deceive--which is perhaps appropriate, considering that the show is about a man with appearance problems of his own.

“At almost every show, something goes haywire,” said Gaines, who will have played the masked man in Los Angeles for 942 performances, longer than anyone else here.

One day, as Gaines was busy transporting Christine to the Phantom’s lair via the show’s now famous gondola, singing “The Music of the Night,” suddenly the gondola took a wrong turn. Then it started backing up.

“I dropped the stick, grabbed Christine, and ran,” recalled Gaines, “while the boat was doing its own little choreography behind us.” A new stagehand who was operating the remote control hadn’t quite learned all the moves.

At another point in the musical, during a performance at the “opera,” a dummy representing the hanged corpse of the Phantom’s latest victim is supposed to fall from above. But one night, the corpse made an unexpected appearance, dropping into the rooftop love scene between Christine and Raoul. Dale Kristien, who has played Christine from the beginning of the run, just kept singing, she recalled.

Immediately following the “Music of the Night” scene is a duet between the Phantom, seated at his keyboard, and the awakening Christine. At one performance, just before the scene began, all the scenery was suddenly swept back into the wings, including the keyboard with Gaines, and Kristien found herself alone on a dark stage.

According to Kristien, a stagehand audibly remarked, “You can’t see (expletive) out there.” A wrong button had been pushed, advancing the computerized set changes one scene too far, and the show ground to a halt for five minutes while the problem was fixed. While Kristien was waiting in the darkness, the 164 trapdoors from which the previous scene’s many candelabra sprout were wide open; Kristien could have fallen into a hole if she had moved.

Those candelabra--or rather, the absence of them when they got jammed--were the source of several other anecdotes related by cast members. The stage became a potentially dangerous obstacle course whenever they were out of order.

One of the candelabra snagged Christine’s nightgown at a performance and ripped off half of it. (She had another costume on underneath.)

Perhaps the production’s most harrowing moment involved the giant grid that enables the Phantom’s pursuers to drop into his lair near the end of the show. One night, after the final scene ended and the curtain fell, the grid started to rise into the flyspace above the stage--with an understudy still tethered to it. “The ballerinas started screaming,” said Gaines, and the grid was stopped before any damage was done.

It was the pit musicians who led the complaints about another potential threat: the fog that covers the stage twice during the show. Responding to members’ respiratory complaints, the American Federation of Musicians requested an investigation of the fog in 1991. Jeff Magro, an industrial hygienist for the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration, conducted an investigation from a perch in the orchestra pit during a performance.

Magro found that permissible levels for chemicals were not being violated. However, he recommended two steps that might make the fog more tolerable, and at least one of the recommendations was acted on, said a spokeswoman for the production. Clarinet player Roy D’Antonio said the air quality in the pit “has improved considerably” in the last six months.

Not all of the “Phantom” lore involves machines and hardware. Michael Piontek, the current Raoul in the show, recalled a night when a group of actors rigged up a large cutout image of Piontek and posed with it offstage, bowing to it as if it were a shrine. Piontek was onstage, supposedly fretting about his sweetheart Christine, when he noticed the prank and “burst out laughing.”

Other actors recalled a night when Michael Crawford forgot a few of the lyrics of “Music of the Night,” and Kristien fed him the lines from under her breath.

But at least he was there for his scene. Gail Land Hart, who plays the opera’s wardrobe mistress, recalled a moment when an understudy for Madame Giry, the imperious director of the corps de ballet, failed to show up. Realizing that Giry’s lines had to be said by someone , Hart--dressed as the wardrobe mistress--took it upon herself to congratulate Christine and chew out the other ballerinas . “I got the laugh,” said Hart, and while the rabid fans may have noticed, “the rest of the audience didn’t know the difference.”

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• The Phantom of the Opera

  The Phantom of the Opera

• Recordings (58)
• Covers (142)
• History (2)

Show Details

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• Stage Cast (25)
• Film Cast (5)
• Studio Cast (17)
• Demo Recording (1)
• Workshop Cast (1)
• Concert Cast (2)
• Vocal Recording (3)
• Karaoke (2)
• Instrumental Album (2)

Audio Recordings

Video recordings, noncommercial audio recordings, songs also appear on these recordings (142).

• Stage Cast (6)
• Studio Cast (2)
• Concert Cast (9)
• Cabaret Cast (1)
• Vocal Recording (106)
• Instrumental Album (10)
• All I Ask of You  (68)
• All I Ask of You (Reprise)  (4)
• Angel of Music  (12)
• Bravo, Monsieur  (3)
• Down Once More  (8)
• Entr'acte  (3)
• The Fairground
• The Graveyard
• Hannibal  (2)
• I Remember  (4)
• Journey to the Cemetery
• Little Lotte  (4)
• Madame Giry's Tale
• Magical Lasso  (4)
• Masquerade  (19)
• The Mirror  (7)
• The Music of the Night  (93)
• Notes  (5)
• Notes (Reprise)
• Overture  (8)
• The Phantom of the Opera  (48)
• The Phantom's Lair
• The Point of No Return  (14)
• Poor Fool, He Makes Me Laugh  (4)
• Prima Donna  (11)
• Prologue  (3)
• Raoul, I've Been There  (3)
• Sleeping I Sing Me
• Stranger Than You Dreamt It  (3)
• The Swordfight
• Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber (534) Lyrics: Charles Hart (167)
• Track Down This Murderer  (6)
• Twisted Every Way  (2)
• Wandering Child  (6)
• We Have All Been Blind
• Why Have You Brought Me Here  (4)
• Why So Silent  (3)
• Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again  (34)

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• Licensing Phantom

Through the Years

Original cast.

• Facts & Figures

Michael Crawford

in the role of

The Phantom

The Phantom of the Opera is Michael Crawford’s fourth major West End musical, after Barnum, Billy and Flowers for Algernon .

Michael Crawford was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire and began his professional career as a boy soprano in Benjamin Britten’s Let’s Make An Opera . There followed television and some 500 radio broadcasts and he was hailed in the 60s for his portrayal of ‘Byron’ in the popular television programme Not So Much A Programme, More A Way Of Life. This was followed by playing Colin in The Knack which won the Best Film Award at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival. On his return to England from filming A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum , he was greeted with the Variety Club’s Award for the ‘Most Promising Actor’ for that year for Not So Much A Programme and as ‘Best Newcomer’ for his performance in The Knack in the Film Academy Awards. This was followed by more television work and the films The Jokers co-starring with Oliver Reed and Harry Andrews, How I Won The War with John Lennon, The Games, Hello And Goodbye , and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (as the White Rabbit).

He first appeared on Broadway in 1967 with Black Comedy for which he won the Theatre Award for the ‘Most Out- standing Performance’ of that year. It was during this run that Gene Kelly chose him to co-star with Barbra Streisand and Walter Matthau in Hello Dolly! His return to the British stage in No Sex Please, We’re British was followed by the BBC’S most popular television series, Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em.

During this same year, 1974, the TV Times readers voted Michael ‘Funniest Man on Television’, the Sun newspaper The Television Actor of the Year’; he was also awarded the Silver Rat Award as ‘Showbusiness Personality of the Year’ by the Water Rats and the Silver Heart by the Variety Club for his performance in Billy. In 1978 he played in Same Time Next Year at the Prince of Wales Theatre, followed by a new series of Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em for which he received the funniest Man on Television’ award for 1978 from the BBC. He appeared in the opening plays of the 1978 Play For Today season in a double bill, Private View and Audience , followed by the hit comedy series Chalk and Cheese for Thames Television.

He went to Hollywood last year to play a star ‘ role in Walt Disney’s Condorman.  

For Barnum at the London Palladium he received the Society of West End Theatre Award as ‘Best Actor in a Musical’.

Sarah Brightman

Christine daaé.

Sarah Brightman was born in 1960. Her   theatrical debut was at the age of thirteen in I and Albert at the Piccadilly Theatre. Subsequently she joined Hot Gossip, steering them to the top of the charts with her record “I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper”.  In 1981 she played in Cats as a member of the original cast. In 1982 she premiered Charles Strouse’s opera for children Nightingale at the Buxton Festival. She repeated the role of Nightingale in London at the  Lyric Hammersmith. Subsequently she appeared in The Pirates of Penzance at Drury Lane and performed Song and Dance for BBC-TV. In 1985 she premiered Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Requiem in New York and London for which she was cited as ‘Best New Classical Artist’ in the Grammy Awards; played the role of Valencienne in The Merry Widow for the New Sadler’s Wells Opera, and performed a tribute to Jessie Mathews in the 1985 Royal Variety Performance.

In May 1986 she premiered Kenneth Macmillan’s choreographed version of Requiem for the American Ballet at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.

She has just completed a recording of folk songs by Benjamin Britten for the HMV Angel label.

Steve Barton

Raoul, vicomte de chagny.

A native Arkansan but ‘naturalized’ Texan at heart, Steve Barton started his theatrical career at the age of 14 playing the role of Barnaby Tucker in a community theatre production of Hello Dolly! As a multi- scholarship recipient of The University of Texas at Austin Department of Drama,   where he studied with such notables as R. Iden Payne, Igor Youskevitch, and Francis Hodge, he appeared in over thirty productions in roles such as the Bastard in King John, Prince Henri de Conde in The Devils , Nick in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?  Leading Man in Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream , and MacHeath in The Threepenny Opera,  among others.

A leading member of Ballet Austin for three seasons, he created roles in Eugene Slavin’s Shadowland , dancing opposite his soon-to-become wife, Denny Berry, Helios, Cherkeska, Youskevitch’s La Fille Mal Gardee,  and Classical Symphony. Engaged as a soloist at Stadttheater St. Gallen, Switzerland where he later served as Assistant de Ballettmeisters, he choreographed productions such as Der Goldene Hahn and Die Drei Musketiere , and danced leading roles in Ronald Ashton’s Harlekin, Streifzuege, and Beethoven Concerto.

At Stadttheater Bern, under the direction of Wolfgang Zoener, he was seen as Gabey in On The Town ,  Riff in West Side Story, Jesus in Godspell , Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, and E1 Gallo in The Fantasticks. As a visiting guest artist, he played Curly in Oklahoma for William Hammerstein in Berlin, Riff in West Side Story for the Bregenzer Festspiele and the Volksoper Wien, Peter and Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar for Theater an der Wien in Vienna, and Magaldi in the Harold Prince production of Evita at the Deutsches Theater in Munich.

He has directed and choreographed Guys and Dolls for the Hildesheimer Stadttheater, and choreographed West Side Story for the Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern and the ballet Zergliederung Einer Frau for the Stadttheater Bern. He has been seen in the European Premiere productions of Camelot playing Lancelot at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, La Cage Aux Folles , playing Munkustrap in Cats and serving as Dance Captain for Gillian Lynne at Theater an der Wien in Vienna. For Helmut Baumann and Juerg Burth at Theater des Westens Berlin he appeared in their productions of Guys and Dolls, Jesus Christ Superstar the Kurt Weill Revue , and most recently, Company . Numerous television appearances include Die Verflixte Sieben with Rudi Carrell, Der Grosse Preis and Mein Haus with Angelika Milster for West   Deutscher Rundfunk. For Polydor he has recorded the Original German Cast Album of Cats and the titles Alles,  Ich Will Heut’ Nacht and We’ve Got Tonight with Angelika Milster.

The Phantom of the Opera marks Steve Barton’s West End debut.

John Savident

Monsieur firmin.

John Savident’s work in the theatre includes seasons at Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh Festival, Bristol, Birmingham and Chichester.

He appeared in the British premiere of Sweet Bird Of Youth. His many roles include Shylock in The Merchant Of Venice (Far East tour), The Government Inspector (Sheffield Crucible), Clifford William’s production of She Stoops To Conquer (tour), The Card (Queens), The Portage To San Cristobal of A.P.H. (Mermaid), See How They Run (tour), and The Beggars Opera (tour).

For Prospect at The Old Vic:- Ivanov, The Lady’s Not For Burning, Twelfth Night, The Trial Of Queen Caroline.

For The National Theatre at The Old Vic:- Trelawney Of The Wells, Royal Hunt Of The Sun, Armstrong’s Last Goodnight.

National Theatre on the South Bank: – The Beggar’s Opera, Jean Seberg, Saint Joan, Mandragola, Animal Farm, A Little Hotel On The Side, Coriolanus, Mrs. Warren’s Profession and his one-man show Jerome K. Jerome . He appeared at Windsor Castle, before Her Majesty the Queen, in a special performance of the Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice musical Cricket .

T.V. appearances includes:- The Professionals, Two’s Company, The Chinese Detective, Clapperclaw, Woodhouse Playhouse, Blake’s Seven, Juliet Bravo, Moving Pictures, The Various Ends of Mrs. F.’s Friends, The Mystery Of The Missing Schoolgirls, Yes, Minister, The Cleopatras, Jane In The Desert, This Office Life, The Bill, Stranger Than Fiction, Fresh Fields, Never The Twain, Chance ln A Million, David Copperfield, Pyrates and The Marlowe Inquest.

Films include:- Clockwork Orange, Before Winter Comes, Trial By Combat, The Wicked Lady and Little Dorrit.

He collects theatrical memorabilia.

David Firth

Monsieur andré.

David Firth read English at Sussex University and studied singing at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He started his professional career with the RSC and spent three seasons with them playing in Stratford, London, the USA and Europe. In 1970 in his first musical 1776 at the Albery Theatre he was nominated Most Promising Actor in the Plays and Players Awards of that year for his performance as the Courier. This was followed by spells of rep in Leicester and Coventry, where amongst other roles he played Orlando and Mercutio.

He joined the National Theatre in 1973 and parts there included Yasha in Michael Blakemore’s production of The Cherry Orchard and Lucio in Measure For Measure , directed by Jonathan Miller. A year at the Queens Theatre followed playing Attilio in Zefferelli’s production of Saturday Sunday Monday . After the Trevor Griffiths play AIl Good Men at the Young Vic, he was in the Jonathan Miller Shakespeare season at Greenwich, playing Parolles in Alls Well and repeating his Lucio in Measure . He has twice played Nicholas Nickleby in the Sherrill/Brahms Nickleby and Me at Stratford East and Chichester and spent a year in Side By Side By Sondheim at the Wyndhams and The Garrick.

Other musicals have included , Gigi at Leicester Haymarket Wonderland at the Kings Head and the revues Happy as a Sandbag (Leicester) and Betjemania which played for a season in New York. He spent a season with the Old Vic Company playing in the double bill Padlock and Miss In Her Teens and played Tasman in the Charles Marowitz version of Hedda Gabler at The Roundhouse.

Other West End appearances have been in The Chairman at the Globe in 1976 and the Jonathan Miller Hamlet at the Warehouse and The Piccadilly in 1982. In 1983 he twice appeared at the Adelphi: as Arthur Miller in Marilyn and Jack idle in Poppy . His next West End appearance was as Algy in the benignly disastrous musical version of The Importance Of Being Ernest which made a brief visit to the Ambassadors Theatre.

He has recently appeared in both of the highly successful adaptations of Gilbert and Sullivan by Ned Sherrin and Alistair Beaton on the South Bank; The Ratepayers Iolanthe transferring for a season to the Phoenix Theatre.

He has made numerous television appearances in productions as diverse as Troilus and Cressida to Yes Minster. He is currently to be seen in the LWT series Drummonds . He also writes for Television, but last year completed his first stage musical, with John Owen Edwards, Canary Blunt which played two successful seasons at the Latchmore Theatre, with an album shortly to be released on TEM records.

Rosemary Ashe

Carlotta guidicelli.

Rosemary studied at The Royal Academy of Music and the London Opera Centre. She appeared in Pantomime at The Player’s Theatre and in the London production of The Magic Flute . She sang the role of Marie Regnault in Taverner’s Thevese at Covent Garden and played Despina in Cosi Fan Tutte for Sir Geraint Evans’ Masterclass on BBC TV 2. She played Cunegonde in Bernstein’s Candide at the 1981 Edinburgh Festival and then at The Birmingham Repertory Theatre. This was followed by Nickleby And Me at The Chichester Festival Theatre and Side By Side By Sondheim at the Manchester Library Theatre. She went back to New York to sing in the English musical Pudding Lane . She toured Wales singing for the Welsh National Opera in Dear Ivor, a show about the life and works of Ivor Novello. She played Janet in The Rocky Horror Show at The Nottingham Playhouse and returned there to play Maria in West Side Story .

On BBC 2 she appeared in Jonathan Miller’s production of The Beggar’s Opera and is a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio’s Friday Night Is Music Night, Among Your Souvenirs, Melodies For You and others. At The Wexford Festival she played Marionetta in Wolf-Ferrari’s opera The Cunning Widow . At the Theatre Royal, Nottingham she appeared in The Gondoliers and played Hortense in The Boyfriend at Bromley followed by Manchester, Toronto, The Old Vic and Albery Theatre in the West End. In 1985 she appeared in Arabella and Akhnaton at The Coliseum, London.

In the Autumn of 1985 she played Despina in Cosi Fan Tutte for BBC TV directed again by Jonathan Miller and Princess Yum-Yum in The Metropolitan Mikado for Ned Sherrin at The Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank. She recently played Nell Gwynne in a Channel 4 film, starring Timothy West as the diarist John Evlyn.

Mary Millar

Madame giry.

Mary Millar made her West End debut at Her Majesty’s Theatre as Chlorus in Lock Up Your Daughters , which transferred from The Mermaid Theatre. Her career which commenced at the age of 14 singing operator arias in Variety, has covered everything from Musical Comedy, Revue, Restoration Comedy, Drama and Farce as well as appearing on Broadway in Camelot.

Her many West End Credits also include Popkiss, Pal Joey, All In Love, Ann Veronica (the title role) and Small And Brassy . Other credits include The Importance 0f Being Ernest , The Real Inspectorhound, Black Comedy, Dearest Dracula, Spiders Webb, Bless The Bride, Virtue In Danger and Mating Game . Her many television shows include Iolanthe, The Mikado, Rookery Nook and the Dick Emery and the Stanley Baxter Shows.

Mary appeared as Sally in the highly praised European Premier of Stephen Sondheim’s Follies at The Library Theatre, Manchester, followed by Hans Anderson as Jenny Lind and has also toured Israel in the Warehouse production How Lucky Can You Get . She recently scored a personal success as Anna in The King And I at Ipswich.

Mary is married to Theatre Photographer Rafael and has a daughter, Lucy.

Ubaldo Piangi

John Aron began his professional career as a singer and dancer on Australian Television. He then joined the Australian Opera to play Alfredo in Die Fledermaus and remained with the company for five years, during which time he sang more than twenty roles.

On arriving in the United Kingdom he worked with Scottish Opera and then toured in Three lvor Novello revivals: Glamorous Night, Perchance To Dream and Kings Rhapsody . Other musicals include Waltz Dream, Pickwick and The King And I . In the West End John has appeared in Cole, Thomas And The King (at Her Majesty’s), Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Call Me Madam . He created the role of Pirelli in Hal Prince’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd at Drury Lane and was most recently seen in Gigi at the Lyric. John is still very much in demand in his native Australia and has just returned from there where he appeared in productions of Carmen and La Belle Helene with the Queensland Lyric Opera.

Paul Arden Griffith

Monsieur reyer.

Paul Arden-Griffith was born in Stockport, Cheshire and studied at the Royal Northern College of Music where he gained graduate diplomas in singing and pianoforte and won the Gwilym Gwallchmai Jones Scholarship for singing.

He also trained as a dancer, and his critically acclaimed London debut at the Sadler’s Wells Theatre presented him in the acrobatic acting role of Puck in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the singing role of Sellem in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress in the same season.

This rare combination of talents has blossomed into a career which embraces every aspect of music-theatre. In opera, operetta and musicals Paul has sung more than fifty principal tenor roles with many of Britain’s major companies including English National Opera and The Royal Opera, Covent Garden, and in arts festivals throughout Europe. He has sailed around the world four times on board P&O’s luxury cruise liners, starring in cabaret, classical concerts and production shows, many of which he directs and choreographs, and on the international concert platform Paul has enjoyed considerable acclaim for solo concerts in Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney and London.

Barry Clark

Operatic work includes ‘Don Ottavio’ in Don Giovanna and ‘Pinkerton’ in Madame Butterfly for Scottish Opera Go Round. ‘Don Jose’ in Carmen for Opera East and ‘Fenton’ in Falstaff , with Giuseppe Taddei.

Last year appeared in the national tour of Perchance to Dream as ‘Ned Failsham’ opposite Simon Ward, and early this year sang ‘Camille’ in The Merry Widow with Sally Ann Howes.

Extensive concert work in 1986 at the Brighton and Buxton Festivals, plus regular appearances with the London Savoyards and The English Heritage Singers. Other operatic roles include ‘Lionel’, Martha , ‘Harlequin’ Pagliacci , and the Mozart repertoire.

David DeVan

David was born in Glasgow and was educated in Watford. He then went to study at the Royal College of Music where he won several prizes and awards. After leaving college David toured extensively including Holland and Switzerland where he was a member of the Zurich Opera Factory.

Upon returning to England David joined The New Sadler’s Wells Opera appearing in Count Of Luxembourg and Grand Duchess Of Gerolstein . David has appeared in a number of musicals including Perchance To Dream at the Northcott Theatre, Exeter and The Dancing Years at The Wolsey Theatre, lpswich.

David’s recent West End appearances include Look to The Rainbow at the Apollo Theatre and Gigi at the Lyric Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue. He has also provided off- stage vocals for both Cats and Starlight Express . He is very much in demand as a concert performer and has appeared with the Melachrino Strings and Orchestra as their guest soloist on a number of occasions.

Janet Devenish

Janet trained at Bush Davies School where she obtained Gold Medallist LAMDA Drama Award and Hons. Advanced tap which stood her in good stead for the engagement she had before joining Phantom of the Opera which was 42nd Street at Drury Lane. She also has played Ann in Half a Sixpence and appeared in many ballets with the Genee Ballet Co, including Gretel in Hansel and Gretel . Janet appeared in the Nik Kershaw video Dancing Girls and A Proper Little Nooryeff (Dewdrop) for Central Television.

David Jackson

Monsieur lefèvre.

David Jackson was born in Liverpool and trained at Lamda. He began his career at The Old Vic and was in rep, at Ipswich, Farnham, Chesterfield, Liverpool and Manchester.

David’s first West End appearance was as P.C. Nash in Sound of Murder at the Aldwych. Recently he has played Lazat Wolf in Fiddler on the Roof at the Apollo, Victoria, David Jackson has appeared in numerous television shows and might be best known as D.C. Braithwaite in Z Cars or as Gan in Blake’s 7 . David’s favourite film role was Danny Moran in Breakout .

Janos Kurucz

Joseph buquet.

Janos Kurucz was born in Hungary. He has pursued a career of acting, combined with appearances in opera, and for the last three years he has been singing Russian Church Music in Switzerland and Germany. In films and television he has specialised in Russian, German and East European parts, in such productions as Billion Dollar Brain, Top Secret, The Invisible Man, We Never Make Mistakes, After The Party, Crime And Punishment, Blockhouse, Diamonds Are Forever, Catch Me A Spy, Fabian, Z Cars, Count Of Monte Cristo, Me And My Girl, The Reds.

Musicals include the West End production of Cabaret and The House Of Cards . He has sung at Covent Garden, and spent some years with a group singing Russian ballads. gypsy music and street songs, with accompaniment on the Balalaika, at concerts and cabarets around the world.

James Patterson

Don attilio/passarino.

James Paterson has a B.A. in Textile Design and taught An before joining Scottish Opera in 1974. His roles for Scottish Opera include Papageno, Beckmesser, Ping, The Count in Cappriccio , Demetrius, Starveling, Tarquinius, Benoit and Alcindoro, Fiorello, Cascada, Motel and Zoltan Karpathy.

He designed The Marriage Of Figaro for Perth Festival ’86, has directed excerpts of Don Giovanni and Don Pasquale for the RSAMD Opera Course and played Leporelio for Opera ’80 in the 1985/86 tour.

Peter Bishop

Slave master.

Phantom of the Opera is Peter’s second West End musical (the first, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers ) having been in Australia for the last 28 years.

His nine year theatrical career has encompassed most forms of musical variety; including the role of Will Parker in Oklahoma ; Rolf in The Sound of Music ; a lead dancer in Evita and lead dancer and dance captain in Fiddler on the Roof . Peter has also sung and danced with the Australian Opera in productions such as The Merry Widows, Adriana Lecouvreur, Traviata, Aida, Ba-Ta-Clan, Trial by Jury, Rhinegold and Lucia De Lammermoor . He has also worked with the Sydney Dance Company and appeared many times on Australian television.

Since his arrival in this country in February 1986, Peter has made two pop videos (Bonnie Tyler and Art of Noise), appeared on the Terry Wogan Show as an Anthony van Laast dancer, and on 3-2-1 as a soloist singer and dancer. Having a Scottish mum, Peter hopes to make England his home for a good while to come!

Justin Church

Flunky/stagehand.

Born in Wales in 1960 where he trained as a dancer with Joyce Marriott. At 15 he furthered his training at the Royal Ballet School before joining Northern Ballet for a year. He then joined London City Ballet and danced as a Principal for four years, touring around Britain, Europe and Scandinavia. He recently performed with the English National Opera and in the 1985 production of Jumpers.

Mostyn Evans

Born in Resolven, South Wales and brought up on a farm, Mostyn Evans comes from a musical family. He won four scholarships to the Guildhall School of Music and studied music and drama in general for four years, winning all of the major tenor prizes. His experience in show business covers a very wide field from opera, in which he has sung many major roles, to straight plays.

He has appeared in musicals such as My Fair Lady at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, Guys And Dolls in which he played Nicely Nicely Johnson, Treasure Island, Barmitzvah Boy , the big shows in Blackpool and three shows at the London Palladium. He has appeared in two Royal Command performances and has recently completed a successful run as Mr Bumble in Oliver! at the Albery Theatre, London. His numerous television appearances include Dr Who, Man About The House, Mother Makes Five and in a more serious vein The Rowse Murder Trials, Suez and the Crown Court series in Welsh for HTV.

Susan Flannery

Susan Flannery was born in Australia and obtained her B.A. (Mus) from the Canberra School of Music. Before coming to Britain she gave several broadcast recitals for the ABC and worked extensively in the field of contemporary music as well as making numerous concert and oratorio appearances.

In 1977 she commenced studies at the London Opera Centre under Otakar Kraus and made her debut as Maurya in Rulers To The Sea . She has subsequently appeared on the concert and operatic platforms in Holland, Germany, Belgium and Italy as well as in Britain.

Her recent roles have included Lucretia in The Rape Of Lucretia , Charlotte in Werther , the Composer in Ariadne Auf Naxos , Ameris in Aida and Carmen .

Susan’s work in musicals includes A Little Night Music and Company and in the West End her credits include On The Twentieth Century at Her Majesty’s and Oklahoma! at the Palace Theatre.

Susan has also provided off-stage vocals for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, Cats at the New London Theatre.

Andrew Golder

Porter/fireman.

Andrew Golder was born in Devon and studied at the Royal College of Music with Redvers Llewellyn, Alisdair Grahame and Gordon Stewart. He won an Edward Heath Scholarship in 1978 for further study. His performances included Carmina Burana by Carl Orff and Britten’s War Requiem . He was selected for Master Classes with Dame Janet Baker and with Sir Geraint Evans. At the very beginning of his professional career he sang the Five Mysticasl Songs by Vaughan Williams, at St. John’s, Smith Square, and created the role of David in the world premiere of Alan Detweiler’s opera King Saul . Andrew was the baritone soloist for Ballet Rambert on their 1979 tour of The Tempest, music by Ame Nordheim, choreographed by Glen Tetley, and has worked in the UK and abroad with the English Bach Festival and the Ambrosian Singers. He has performed a varied repertoire of oratorio with major choral societies.

Andrew Golder’s versatility is displayed through his extensive work in London’s West End, where he has performed roles in Sonclheim’s Sweeney Todd and Joseph Papp’s Pirates of Penzance , both at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He records in the studio for television, radio and film sound and with Sudden Singers, his vocal ensemble, makes radio commercials. He has been invited to Scandinavia to record a programme of Sondheim songs for radio. Recently there has been a period of study of operatic roles at the Royal Opera House with Raimund Herincx.

Recent appearances have been at Chichester and Petworth Festivals and a Purcell Room recital in January 1986 re- viewed favourably in The Times. Andrew Golder particularly   enjoys English Song and contemporary scores to which he is well suited with his high-ranging baritone. Future engagements include a Wigmore Hall recital in 1987/8.

Janet Howd began her career in opera singing for the Northern Sinfonia’s Opera ln Miniature series and has since sung roles as diverse as Constanza in Mozart’s II Seraglo ; Fiordiligi in Cosi Fan Tutte ; The Governess in Britten’s The Turn Of The Screw ;  Erisbe in Cavalli’s L’Ormundo ;  and Betsy in Kurt Weil’s Das Kleine Mahoganny .

For South West Music Theatre she created the role of The Countess in the Causley/McNeff ballad-opera Aucassin And Nicolette on tour at The King’s Head and for Radio 4.  Janet is often heard in drama on Radio 4 and recently devised and recorded Love’s Old Sweet Song , a series on the Edwardian ballad.  Janet has performed in repertory theatre productions around the country receiving critical acclaim for her role as Grassini, Napoleon’s favourite chanteuse, in The Northcott Theatre production of The Dynasts by Thomas Hardy. For Nottingham Playhouse she has performed as Mrs Anderssen in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music ; Mary Ellis in Deav Ivor ;  and a very unusual Inez in The Gondoliers.

She has recently recorded The Pleasure Gardens Of England for the Cornel Music Group and as an accomplished recitalist often delights audiences with her dramatised programme From Gluck To Gersh win and her programmes of Lieder in translation – the translations used being her own. Last year Janet founded The International Symposium of Concert Song and hopes to be able to find time and resources to repeat this successful venture in 1988.

Peggy Ann Jones

Wardrobe mistress.

Peggy spent many years as Principal Mezzo with the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company,  singing the roles of Iolanthe, PittiSing, Phoebe. Tess, Mad Margaret, Lady Angels. etc., in the Gilbert & Sullivan operas, playing all over Britain and Denmark and six tours of America and Canada.

Television credits include guest artiste on the Mantovani Show Of The Week,   roles in The Sweeney, Mitch, Hazel, Bless Me Father several episodes of Grange Hill. TV plays include Aubrey Beardsley, Billy .

Films include No Longer Alone, The Mikado, Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother . Roles in West End musicals in Dad’s Army, Evita, Liza of Lambeth ,    The Point by Harry Nilsson, Beethoven’s Tenth with Peter Ustinov, and Oliver ! in lpswich. Peggy has made many training films, and over 30 television commercials for this country, and several Holland, for anything from cat food to kitchen carpets.   Peggy lives in a 300 year old cottage in Hertfordshire, with husband Roy, two dogs, and an aviary containing 100 birds (at the last count).

Maria Kesselman

Trained at Arts Educational during which time she appeared with the Festival Ballet in the Nutcracker and later danced at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and at the Aldeburgh Festival in Benjamin Britten’s Death in Venice . She studied singing at the Guildhall School of Music with Marret Lensky and then at the Royal College of Music with Marion Studholme where she obtained her diploma in singing and singing-teaching and was also awarded several prizes.

Patricia Richards

Madame firmin.

Patricia Richards was born in Cleveland Ohio. She began studying the piano at age six. She received her Bachelor of Music from the College of Wooster in Ohio. For some reason she then worked as a systems analyst for Ohio Bell Telephone. After Ma Bell came two years as an announcer and producer for WCLV-FM (Cleveland) a sort of American version of Radio 3 with commercials, of course. She then went back to making music, rather than ‘playing it’. and studies for her Master’s degree at Castman School of Music in Rochester, New York during which time she won the Metropolitan Opera District Auditions. In 1974 came a Francis Toye Scholarship to study at the Opera School at the Royal College of Music. She joined Glyndebourne Festival Opera as a chorister and understudy in 1976. After three seasons there, interspersed with various recitals and concerts the muse abandoned her for a while and she became personal secretary to an international tax consultant who liked music enough to overlook a less than thorough grounding in shorthand.

A chance meeting with the captain at a cricket match on Ham Common led to marriage and children. In 1985 Patty took up nowhere near she left off and joined the company of David Merrick’s 42nd Street at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

Her hobbies are cartooning and working towards a handicap in golf (a ridiculous game she swore she’d never play).

Jill Washington

Innkeeper’s wife.

Jill Washington studied at the Royal Academy of Music. On leaving the Academy Jill joined the D’Oyly Carte and sang the roles of Yum-Yum, Mabel and Rose Maybud from the Gilbert and Sullivan repertoire. ln 1983 after studying at the National Opera Studio Jill joined Glyndebourne Festival Opera returning for the 1984 Festival. Other engagements have included Gretel in Hansel and Gretel for Dublin Grand Opera and the Bloomsbury Theatre, Angele in The Count of Luxembourg for New Sadler’s Wells Opera,  Lauretta in Lecoq’s Dr. Miracle at the Camden Festival and the girl in The Emperor of Atlantis at the Imperial War Museum. During the 1985/6 season Jill has sung in productions of The Mikado at the Jerusalem Festival, Novello: A Chance To Dream for Welsh National Opera on tour and Orpheus in the Underworld at Chichester. Television appearances include the highly successful Top C’s and Tiaras for Channel Four.

Sally Ashfield

The ballet chorus of the opera populaire.

Born in Leicester and began studying ballet at 12 years of age, Trained at the Rambert School then joined Emma Dance Company, Leicestershire, directed by Gideon Avrahami. In 1981, began working with Spiral, a company based in Liverpool, Toured around Merseyside with pieces by Robert North, Janet Smith and Jane Dudley. A year later she returned to London to join Vienna Festival Ballet for their tour of Nutcracker . After the tour, was invited by Vyvyanne Lorrayne to join her company Ballet lmperiale. Toured America with Paquita, Giselle and Scottish Dances. Also danced in Vyvyanne Lorrayne and Pasi Niemenen’s production of Sleeping Beauty, touring Europe also with Nutcracker and Swan Lake. In April 1985, went to dance with Bat Dor Dance Company in Tel Aviv. Israel. During the winter of 1985, returned to V.F.B. to dance Odette/Odile in Swan Lake for their European tour.

Lynn Jezzard

Lynn Jezzard was born in Ramsgate, Kent and trained at the Arts Educational Schools, Tring and London. She started her professional career in Ballet International, then moving to the Northern Ballet Theatre as a Principal Dancer where she danced many of the leading classical roles including Giselle and Swanhilda in Copelia , also creating the role of Alice in Alice ln Wonderland . Her television appearances include A Chance To Sit Down for BBC television and the major series Bluebell also for the BBC. This is Lynn’s first West End appearance.

Nicola Keen

Nicola, born 1962 in Kent, started ballet classes at the age of three and trained professionally for two years at the Rambert School of Ballet immediately followed by three years as soloist with the Royal Ballet de Wallonie in Belgium where she performed various roles in many classical ballets such as Les Sylphides and Coppelia .  On returning to London she has appeared in several videos and television programmes including ITV’s recent production of Fire and Ice with Torville and Dean. Last year she also appeared in On Your Toes at the Palace Theatre.

Patricia Merrin

Patricia was born in London and at the age of 16 was principal dancer with the Glyndebourne Opera, after which she appeared as Fairy Godmother at the London Palladium. She then joined the Royal Danish Ballet for two years returning to become a member of London Festival Ballet as a senior soloist and then transferring to The Scottish Ballet as a senior principal. Patricia has danced most of the leading roles in the classical repertoire including Odette/Odile in Swan Lake and the title role in Giselle. She made the transition into commercial theatre as the Ballet Leader in the musical On Your Toes where she also understudied Natalie Makarova in the leading role.

Naomi Tate, (nee Sorkin), one of America’s leading classical and dramatic dancers, began her career at the age of fourteen. Her father, Leonard Sorkin, the distinguished violinist, was the creator of the Chicago-based Fine Arts String Quartet.

Still in her early teens she was invited to join The American Ballet Theatre, distinguishing herself as one of their leading soloists, performing worldwide. Naomi left the American Ballet Theatre to star in The Eliot Feld Ballet. She has performed her own solo concert in Chicago. New York, London and Munich. She danced in the debut season of the New World Ballet receiving critical acclaim in the American premiere of Lyn Seymour’s Rashomom . Naomi’s collaboration with Lyn Seymour led her to recommend Naomi to Lindsay Kemp. Subsequently she created the role of Ballerina for Naomi in his Nijinsky, which toured Italy and was performed at Sadler’s Wells. Following these performances, Naomi starred in Joseph Papp’s production Swan Lake Minnesota which premiered at the National Film Theatre in 1986. Naomi recently made her acting debut in the American play Never Never Land in London. She is married to English actor Peter Tate.

Born in Tunbridge Wells where she started dancing at an early age with Dorothy Comber. At the age of 10 she went away to Elmhurst Ballet School where she trained for six years and at 15 was awarded the Adelaide Genee silver medal. Danced with the National Ballet of Portugal for one year before joining the London City Ballet where she has danced as a soloist for six years. touring around Britain, Europe and Scandinavia.

Dinah Jones

Ballet swing.

Dinah Jones trained at the Arts Educational School prior to joining the Ballet International company. When the company disbanded a year later she went to the Scottish Opera to dance in The Seraglio and The Bartered Bride, and to tour Scotland in a dance educational programme. Returning to London she appeared in several other operas at the Royal Opera House before joining London City Ballet. Extending her career into the musical theatre she began with a tour and West End season of Oklahoma ! when she played the role of The Child. Since then she has worked in a variety of TV and films including ‘Allo, ‘Allo, Illusions and The Magic of Dance. Last year she was in the hit musical On Your Toes.

Her Majesty’s Theatre London

10 Surprising Facts about The Phantom of The Opera Casts

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s beloved musical ends its historic 36-year Broadway run on April 16.

After more than 36 years, the curtain will close on The Phantom of the Opera this weekend, as the longest-running show in Broadway history will have its final performance on April 16.

Set in 1919, The Phantom of the Opera tells the story of the beautiful soprano Christine Daaé, who is both seduced and terrorized by a masked phantom living in the shadows of the Paris Opéra House. The musical has long enchanted audiences and turned songs like “Music of the Night,” “All I Ask of You,” and the title song into Broadway classics.

There are 130 cast, crew, and orchestra members involved in each performance of Phantom , and countless actors have appeared in the show over its nearly four-decade run. These are just some of the stories and facts from those Broadway casts.

There have been 52 leading actors.

In total, 16 actors have portrayed the titular Phantom on Broadway, while 36 actors have played Christine Daaé. Michael Crawford originated the role of the Phantom in 1988, winning the Tony Award for his performance. Sarah Brightman first portrayed Christine. The celebrated soprano was married to Andrew Lloyd Webber at the time.

Emilie Kouatchou is the first Black actress to play Christine.

Emilie Kouatchou, who plays the current and final incarnation of Christine Daaé on Broadway, made history as the first Black actor to play the part. She began as an alternate when the show reopened after the COVID-19 pandemic closures in the fall of 2021 and was promoted to the full-time role in January 2022.

“ Phantom was the first show I ever saw on Broadway,” Kouatchou said . “I sat in the nosebleed seats, and I didn’t see much, but I remembered the masks at the end and that beautiful image, and it’s kind of beautiful that it came full circle. [Now] I’m actually on stage doing it. It’s crazy.”

Broadway’s first Black Phantom was Norm Lewis.

Seven years before Kouatchou joined the cast, Norm Lewis was the first Black actor to play the Phantom on Broadway, joining the cast in May 2014. Robert Guillaume was the first Black man to play the role in any production, having succeeded Michael Crawford in the part in a Los Angeles production in 1990.

“Andrew Lloyd Webber even said that this is a game changer and that there will probably be more opportunities for other minorities to be a part of this show,” Lewis said in 2015 . “And [it will] also let other producers and other creative people see this is an opportunity for other Blacks who have the same talent to be leads in shows, especially if it doesn’t deal with race.”

Michael Crawford prepared for the wrong part before his audition.

When Webber first approached Crawford about The Phantom of the Opera , Crawford assumed he would be auditioning for the part of Raoul , the clean-cut nobleman who also vies for Christine’s affections. Crawford spent a year studying Nelson Eddy’s portrayal as Raoul in the 1943 film adaptation of Phantom before realizing Steve Barton had already been cast in that part for the Broadway production and he was intended to be the lead.

A British rocker almost played the Phantom.

While developing the show, Webber wrote the title song “Phantom of the Opera” as a pop single and created a music video featuring Brightman as Christine and British rock star Steve Harley as the Phantom. Harley was favored to play the lead role on Broadway, but the music video was seen as over-the-top, and the producers feared Harley didn’t have the acting experience to carry a show, so they went with Crawford instead, according to the documentary Behind the Mask.

Howard McGillin is the longest-running Phantom.

Nobody has played the Phantom more often than Howard McGillin. With more than 2,500 performances, he holds the record for playing the title role on Broadway. He was playing the role when Phantom broke the record for the longest-running Broadway production in 2006. “It was exhausting, because he’s such a maniac, but it was a thrill to sing that music every night and to have that audience response,” McGillin said .

This cast member set a world record for most performances.

Although McGillin has played the Phantom the most often, he doesn’t even come close to having appeared in the most Phantom of the Opera productions. That honor belongs to George Lee Andrews, who played the supporting role of opera house co-owner Monsieur André an incredible 9,382 times over 23 years before departing from the role in 2011. He holds the Guinness World Record for most performances in a single Broadway show.

Hamilton led the way for a more diverse Phantom cast.

Ali Ewoldt, who is of Filipino descent, was the first Asian American and first woman of color to play Christine Daaé. By the time she joined the cast in 2016, she was already a veteran stage actor and singer, having made her Broadway debut as Cosette in the Les Misérables revival in 2006. She also performed in national tours of The King and I and West Side Story .

Ewoldt credited Lin-Manuel Miranda ’s smash-hit musical Hamilton with inspiring other Broadway shows to consider more diverse casts : “I think that that really has proved to people that it doesn’t matter anymore. Storytellers are storytellers, and great actors can tell all sorts of stories, so I think it’s really exciting for the Broadway community to have all these opportunities.”

Two Phantom actors had wardrobe malfunctions.

Although the Phantom wears his iconic white mask for most of the musical, he is dramatically unmasked at several points in the show, revealing a hideously disfigured face. The makeup for these scenes has led to some memorable mistakes in the past: Two different Phantom actors—Crawford and Hugh Panaro—have gotten their lip prosthetics stuck to the actor playing Christine during a kiss scene.

One Phantom and Christine pair tied the knot.

Gary Mauer and Elizabeth Southard, who have played the Phantom and Christine several times together during the show’s United States tours, are married to each other in real life. Mauer had played Raoul on Broadway as well, and Southard was a Christine understudy and played other minor roles alongside him. They have two children together.

Colin McEvoy joined the Biography.com staff in 2023, and before that had spent 16 years as a journalist, writer, and communications professional. He is the author of two true crime books: Love Me or Else and Fatal Jealousy . He is also an avid film buff, reader, and lover of great stories.

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The Phantom of the Opera Review

NOTE: There have been many cast changes since these reviews

Now the longest running show in the history of Her Majesty's Theatre , Andrew Lloyd Webber's " The Phantom Of The Opera " continues to wow audiences and cast its magical spell in dominating London's West End musical theatre! Many cast changes have taken place since its world premiere staging on 9th October 1986, from the unmistakable talents of the original London cast including Michael Crawford , Sarah Brightman & Steve Barton to the many talented cast and often forgotten crew members who put the show through its paces at each performance, the show now enters it's 20th Anniversary year! (but why)?

The shows' success has often been discussed as to what makes this musical have such pulling power, my view is that Andrew Lloyd Webber has scored a high romantic tragic love story with such moving music and lyrics by Richard Stilgo & Charles Hart. The music, lyrics, set design (Maria Björnson), and story perfectly match each other. The scenes flow together seamlessly which is certainly attributed to the director Harold Prince, from Christeen Diae's dressing room to the Phantom's layer and into the manager's office and on to the grand stair case for Masquerade, this gives a very cinematic feel to the show.

I also believe the 2004 film version of " The Phantom of the Opera " has also generated more interest in the stage musical, and those people who would not normally go to the theatre have ventured to see what all the fuss is about "Bravo" it worked, and I feel although the score is more sumptuous in the film nothing can match the live performance! For those who have not seen " The Phantom Of The Opera " it is billed as "The Brilliant Original." The story revolves around a beautiful opera singer and a young composer shamed by his physical appearance, adapted from the novel by Gaston Leroux. There have been many incarnations of the story many films and stage shows none of which come close to this presentation of 'The Phantom of the Opera' it is indeed Brilliant. The original creative team and the current cast and crew deserve much praise as the show fast approaches its 20th birthday celebrations.

The current London cast including Earl Carpenter as "The Phantom" puts all the effort and enthusiasm and energy in performing this sensational show. The performances are all as good as I have seen but the true star is the sheer spectacle of watching this show live! The musical has done two regional UK tours, but is now playing exclusively at Her Majesty's Theatre, London and continues to play to capacity audiences. I would strongly urge anyone to see this staging of The Brilliant Original - The Phantom Of The Opera...

(Gary Mack)

Now the longest running show in the history of Her Majesty's Theatre , Andrew Lloyd Webber's " The Phantom Of The Opera " opened to enormous success in October 1986 and has been running to capacity ever since, but can this musical still deliver?

My last encounter with " The Phantom Of The Opera " was at the Opera House Manchester in it's first run outside London's west-end in 1993. Having already seen the production five times in London and then four times in Manchester you could say that I really like the show.

Two actors had portrayed "The Phantom" during it's Manchester premiere. Dave Willetts who had previously played the role in London and he was the first actor I had seen in the role. Dave Willetts then opened the show at The Opera House in Manchester and then Mark Mckerracher who had played the role of Jean Valjean in (Les Miserable) for four years touring America and finally playing the role in London, he then took over the role of Phantom in Manchester to the end of its first run.

My wife and I called to the half priced ticket booth to see what was available for a Wednesday matinee, no tickets to Phantom were available and we decided to walk down to the theatre. We were offered top price seats in the stalls although I had seen the London production from various points in the theatre (stalls, Dress Circle & Upper Circle) I must say that I personally favour the stalls. As we entered the auditorium we were greeted with the setting for the auction.

For those who have not seen " The Phantom Of The Opera " it is now billed as London's most haunting love story. The story revolves around a beautiful opera singer played this time by Celia Graham and a young composer shamed by his physical appearance, adapted from the novel by Gaston Leroux.

Having not seen the show for a number of years I was thrilled to be seeing it for the 10th time. I am given to understand from box office staff the lead actor John Own-Jones had been with this production for a year. The performance started and my anticipation was in top gear, as the cords of the famous overture struck up with a huge flash the chandelier starting it's now trusted journey over the audience I was in heaven. I must confess I am an Andrew Lloyd Webber fan in fact it's his fault that my interest in theatre and live performance began.

So we were at the point of no return and the show was well underway, what can I say, the production is just as invigorating as when I first saw it 1989, although I did see some miss timings from the doubles used in Masquerade. The musical numbers are to me some of the finest ever written.

The scenes seamlessly flow together from Christeen Diae's dressing room to the Phantom's layer. Celia Graham's performance was wonderful her voice was really sweet and she looked as if she was enjoying every minute on the stage. Robert Finlayson played Raoul and at first I was not sure of him however my fears were short lived as he put in a solid performance as good as I had seen. Bruce Montague as Monsier Firmin & Robert Irons as Monsieur Andre worked very well together and gave great performances.

In this production it was Liz Robertson who was to play one of my favourite characters, Madam Giry. She put in a fine performance and I still love this character. Another character I really like is Carlotta played this time by Nan Christie who gave a more than convincing performance. A mention also to Hayley Driscoll who was great as Meg.

I have deliberately left John Owen-Jones until last, he gave a truly great and moving performance as "The Phantom" not an easy role to take on. His first appearance in the mirror scene was just so well done, through to the Phantom's layer and during the numbers like " The Phantom Of The Opera " and in particular "Music Of The Night" I felt total sadness for The Phantom..

To the second act and to the final curtain he keeps the audience transfixed with such a wonderful performance of such a wonderful show. As the cast took to the stage for their bows none was more deserved than John Owen-Jones he was brilliant!

I must say his performance had delivered the answer that I started this review with, the answer without question is "YES" this musical still delivers in every way " The Phantom Of The Opera " is a stage musical to kill for! and still the best on the West End Stage. So if you have not seen it, Go and get your tickets NOW! and remember the chandelier... I would suggest the best seating is front stalls row E, F or G Centre stage...

The Phantom of the Opera Tickets are now on sale. 

Originally published on Nov 6, 2023 23:41

The Phantom

Lily kerhoas, christine daaé, joe griffiths-brown, raoul, vicomte de chagny, paige blankson, christine daaé at certain performances, kelly glyptis, carlotta giudicelli.

  Kelly Glyptis, a lyric soprano currently based in London, England on a Tier 1 Global Talent Visa, performs both opera and musical theater regularly. She was most recently seen as Countess Almaviva in Shreveport Opera’s The Marriage of Figaro and had the opportunity to create the role of Madeleine in Surrey Opera’s world premiere Madeleine and Meesha in Her Day Opera’s Her Day in London and Coventry, England. Miss Glyptis has been seen as Aldonza in Opera Saratoga’s Man of La Mancha where she also previously had the honor to perform in the World Premier of Vinkensport, or the Finch Opera as Sir Elton John’s Trainer as well as The Foreign Woman/Magda Sorel Cover ( The Consul ). Miss Glyptis has covered the title role in Alcina with Fargo-Moorhead Opera, performed Fiordiligi ( Cosi fan tutte ) with the Shreveport Opera, Cupid ( Orpheus in the Underworld ) and Mimi cover ( La boheme ) at Virginia Opera, Berta ( Il barbiere di Siviglia )with The Atlanta Opera, and Suor Angelica ( Suor Angelica) with the Virginia ARTfactory. She has also been seen in concert with OperaDelaware, Baltimore Concert Opera, Brooklyn Metro Chamber Orchestra, George Mason University, and the Manassas Chorale.  

Her Musical Theater credits include the First North American National Tour of Fiddler on the Roof as Fruma Sarah and Golde/Yente Cover, The Mother Abbess Cover ( The Sound of Music ) with the North American National Tour, Mary Poppins ( Mary Poppins ), The Witch ( Into the Woods ), Morticia ( The Addams Family ), Anita ( West Side Story ) with The Prizery Theatre, and has performed with Cardinal Stage, Gray Ghost Theater, Pied Piper Theatre, and Dominion Stage.  

Miss Glyptis has had the privilege to sing events and honors for Renée Fleming, Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsburg, and Pope Benedict XVI. She is a 2022 Gerda Lissner Foundation Semi Finalist and during the 20-21 season she was the Grand Prix Winner of the Music International Grand Prix, 1 st place winner of the Odin International Music Competition, 1 st place winner of the Canadian International Music Competition, Tri-Cities Opera Audience Prize, The Voice of New UK Musicals Audience Prize, and the John Alexander 3 rd Place Winner. She was also a 2020/2021 Semi-Finalist for the Paris Opera, Partners for the Arts, and the UK Sing Out competitions and has been a previous winner of the Lorena Bessey Mangin Memorial Award at Shreveport Opera, Hellenic American Women’s Council Award, and Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Indiana District.  

Adam Linstead

Monsieur andre, matt harrop, monsieur firmin, david kristopher-brown, ubaldo piangi, francesca ellis, madame giry, maiya hikasa, hollie aires.

Hollie trained at the Guildford School of Acting

Theatre Credits Include: Pearl in Starlight Express (Bochum, Germany)

Workshop Credits Include: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Unmasked (The Other Palace)

Phantom of the Opera marks Hollie’s West End Debut

Federica Basile

Corina clark, the ballet chorus of the opéra populaire, michael colbourne, hairdresser, leonard cook, colleen rose curran, lily de-la-haye, hywel dowsell, don attilio, connor ewing, serina faull.

Serina was born in London, where she trained at The Royal Ballet School Associates and Central School of Ballet Associates; before attending Elmhurst Ballet School in association with Birmingham Royal Ballet (2013-2018). During her training she performed in Beatrix Potter (Royal Ballet, 2009), Paquita (Bolshoi Ballet, 2010), The Secret Garden (‘Mrs Craven’, London Children’s Ballet, 2013) and The Sleeping Beauty (Birmingham Royal Ballet, 2018). Upon graduation, Serina joined the Vienna Festival Ballet company for four UK tours. She performed soloist roles such as Canary Fairy and Red Riding Hood (The Sleeping Beauty, 2020), Cygnet (Swan Lake, 2020), Chinese and Spanish Dancer (The Nutcracker, 2018, 2019) amongst various corps de ballet roles

Awards include: Commendation prize at the Cecchetti Classical Vocational Awards (2017) and semi-finalist at the RAD Genée International Ballet Competition (Lisbon, 2017).

Serina is delighted to be making her West End debut in Phantom of the Opera

Florence Fowler

Melanie gowie, wardrobe mistress, eilish harmon-beglan, yukina hasebe, samuel haughton, monsieur reyer, thomas holdsworth, slavemaster / il muto.

Training:  English National Ballet School and Identity School of Acting

Theatre Credits include:  The Nutcracker (Birmingham Royal Ballet), Romeo and Juliet (Birmingham Royal Ballet), The Nutcracker (English National Ballet), Cinderella (Orlando Ballet), The Nutcracker (Orlando Ballet), Vampires Ball (Orlando Ballet), Johan Kobburg’s Romeo and Juliet (Polunin Ink), Cinderella in-the-round (English National Ballet), ‘Kenneth MacMillan’s’ Concerto and Gloria (Northern Ballet) and The Little Mermaid (Northern Ballet).

Short Films include:  Oh It’s You, All Physco’s Eve, Glass House, Silenced

Jacob Hughes

Training: Elmhurst Ballet School

Theatre includes: The Phantom of the Opera (UK Tour), The Phantom of the Opera (Det Ny Teater Copenhagen), Fiddler on the Roof (Det Ny Teater Copenhagen).

Repertoire includes:  Fredrick Ashton, George Balanchine, Peter Wright, Christopher Wheeldon, John Cranko, Kenneth MacMillan, Paul Taylor, Rudolph Nureyev Michel Fokine, Ninette de Valois, Agnes de Mille and Anthony Tudor.

Notable performances include:  Joyce (New York), Fall for Dance at City Centre (New York), Jacobs Pillow (Massachusetts).

Previous companies include:  Sarasota Ballet (USA), English National Ballet, National Dance Company Wales.

Monsieur Lefevre

Eve shanu-wilson.

Training: Guildford School of Acting.

Credits whilst training include: Rita in Sweet Smell of Success, Sheryl Stoat in Wind In the Willows

Workshops include: Sarah Bennet in 1666 (ATG Workshop)

Other work: Featured Storyteller in Children of Eden (West End Does), Soloist in Roles We’ll Never Play Emerging Talent, Hanna Season 2 (Amazon Prime)

Eve is thrilled to be making her professional and West End debut. She’d like to thank her family and friends for their love and support.

Tim Southgate

Zoë soleil vallée, jasmine wallis.

Jasmine was born in Essex and trained locally before gaining a place at Central School of Ballet In London at 16. She trained here for three years and performed in the Ballet Central touring company and graduated with a BA Hons Degree.

After graduating she joined the Vienna Festival Ballet company, touring the UK for four seasons performing in classics such as Swan lake and The Nutcracker . In 2020 she joined the UK tour production of The Phantom of the Opera & is delighted to join the London company which marks her West End debut.

Victoria Ward

Ralph watts.

Training: Arts Educational Schools London

Theatre credits include : Doctor & Escapologist in  Matilda  (West End) ;  Munkustrap in  Cats  (South Korea and Taiwan Tour); Doctor/Escapologist/Understudy Mr Wormwood in  Matilda  (International Tour); Swing in  School of Rock  (International Tour); Ensemble/Understudy Tony Elliot in  Billy Elliot  (UK & Ireland tour); Parker in  Lovebirds  (Edinburgh Fringe Festival); Ensemble/Understudy Skip in  Copacabana  (UK Tour); Adam in  The Apple Tree , directed by Brendan Matthew (Ye Olde Rose & Crown Theatre).

Other credits include:  Dancer in  Sanditon, Series 1 & 3  (ITV); Dancer in  Gentleman Jack  (BBC); Duane Allman in Autopsy:  The Last Hours of Gregg Allman  (ITV); Degsy in  Floatin’ the Blue  (Workshop, ATG/Playhouse Theatre, directed by Robert Lindsay)/

Simon Whitaker

Porter / passarino, andrew york.

Andrew trained at the Royal Academy of Music, where he achieved his MA in Musical Theatre.

Theatre credits include: The Phantom of the Opera (UK & Ireland Tour), Les Miserables: The Staged Concert (Gielgud Theatre) & Les Miserables (Queens Theatre).

Recordings include: Soundtrack for Buñuel (Abbey Road Studios), voiceover for Jacopo in Out of My League (Netflix), voiceover for Riccardo in Invincible Thread (Netflix), ADR for Rocketman (2019)

Radio includes: Michael Ball Live at The Savoy (2019)

Film includes: Les Miserables: The Staged Concert.

Concerts include: This Is The Hour

Credits whilst training include: Arpad in She Loves Me and Tom in Hard Times.

Other work includes: Joe Public (Moscow Seasons Festival 2019), winners of the Audience Choice Award.

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The Phantom of the Opera - Full Cast & Crew

• 40   Metascore
• 2 hr 23 mins
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Glorious visuals, impressive performances and one showstopping number after another grace this adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's spectacle. Gerard Butler plays the disfigured composer; Emmy Rossum is the young opera singer he loves. Joel Schumacher directed and co-wrote the script with Lloyd Webber.

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The Phantom Of The Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre

The Phantom Of The Opera actors: Where are they now?

By Kitty Underwood First Published 22 October 2019, Last Updated 31 October 2019

The Phantom Of The Opera has been making audiences weep, scream and applaud with all their might for over 33 years now. With some immense talent required to belt out those songs, the Phantom Phandom (we’re not sorry) all have a favourite masked man. In case you were  Wishing They Were Somehow Here Again, we thought we’d check out what some of our favourite Phantom Of The Opera actors are up to now. 

Michael Crawford

Michael Crawford was the original phantom back in 1986. Anecdotally, Michael was offered the part after Andrew Lloyd Webber and his then wife Sarah Brightman arrived early for her singing lesson and happened to overhear the end of the previous students lesson. Intrigued, they tracked down the owner of the voice and called him in for an audition. The rest is musical history!

With two and a half years under his belt, over 1,300 performances, an Olivier Award , a Tony Award and a presidential performance, Michael Crawford achieved a lot as the first Phantom! He was one of the guests of honour – alongside some of the other biggest Phantom Of The Opera actors – at Phantom’s 30th anniversary gala back in 2016.

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Since then, he’s been acting on and off the stage, originating the role of the Wizard in Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice’s The Wizard Of Oz at the London Palladium in 2011; reprising 70s sit-com Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em in 2016 for a special sport relief charity episode and starring in the new West End musical The Go-Between at the Apollo Theatre in May 2016.

At the age of 77, he shows no signs of quitting the stage and last year appeared in the 60th anniversary performance of Benjamin Britten’s Noye’s Fludde as the voice of God.

Ben Forster

After winning  ITV’s reality TV competition Superstar in 2012, Ben Forster stepped up to don the infamous mask in 2016. His next turn in musical theatre wasn’t so lucky as in 2018, he came off a ladder during a performance of Elf The Musical, breaking his ankle, and was unable to finish the run.

All healed up now, he’s now showcasing his voice all around the world. Having performed his first UK solo show – Me, Myself & Musicals – at Theatre Royal Haymarket in June this year, he announced the formation of a new musical theatre supergroup The Cardinals alongside Carrie Hope Fletcher, Celinde Shoenmaker and another ex-Phantom, Ramin Karimloo. While they’ve yet to announce any official gigs past their surprise performance back in June and an appearance at BBC Proms In The Park in September, musical theatre fans are hanging on the edge of their seats.

Ben also recently announced he would be singing alongside other former Phantoms John Owen-Jones and Earl Carpenter as well as Kerry Ellis and Anna O’Byrne in Japan next March with The Voices Of The West End 2020.

Ramin Karimloo

At only 28, Ramin was the youngest ever Phantom on the West End. In another piece of Phantom history, in 2010 he originated the role of the Phantom in Love Never Dies – Andrew Lloyd Webber’s official sequel to The Phantom Of The Opera.

Since then, Ramin has popped up in musicals both sides of the pond, including Evita, Chess, Anastasia, Parade and the 2014 Broadway revival of Les Miserables, which gained him a Tony nomination. He reprised the role of the Phantom in May last year in a series of The Phantom Of The Opera concerts in Seoul alongside Anna O’Byrne.

In January this year, Ramin made the leap from the stage to the small screen when he was cast as c ardiothoracic surgeon Kian Madani in Holby City. He’s not hung up his musical boots yet though, and played Doctor Zhivago in the UK premiere of Doctor Zhivago The Musical at Cadogan Hall this September alongside Celinde Schoenmaker.

Peter Polycarpou

Peter Polycarpou has had a long and varied career. He played the Phantom back in 1991, while he was also starring in BBC sitcom Birds Of A Feather. Since then, he’s been belting out showtunes all over the place, including Oklahoma!, The Secret Garden, Sweeny Todd, Guys And Dolls.

You’ll have caught him on the small screen too, as he’s appeared in British classics EastEnders, The Bill, Casualty, Holby City and Waking The Dead. He’s even done voice work for the James Bond 007: Bloodstone and Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows video games.

This year he appeared in a 3-episode arc of Sky Atlantic series Riviera as well as dusting off his vocal pipes to play Sancho in Man Of La Mancha opposite Kelsey Garmmer as Cerval for the English National Opera at the London Coliseum . He also played Boris Bereszovsky in the critically acclaimed A Very Expensive Poison at the Old Vic , a play from Lucy Prebble about the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko and the fall-out from his death.

John Owen-Jones

Playing the masked anti-hero for 3 and a half years and nearly 1,400 performances, John Owen-Jones was the longest running West End Phantom, and one of the most prolific Phantom Of The Opera actors of all time. A Les Mis and Phantom veteran, John has been appearing in productions, concerts and musical celebrations of the two since the early noughties, and was a special guest at both of the shows’ 25th anniversary concert events.

As well as appearing in non-musical and musical theatre throughout the years, John has written and released several albums that include songs from musicals, hymns and traditional Welsh language songs. His recent albums include Unmasked, Rise and Spotlight, which came out this year. We were lucky enough to catch some of Spotlight in John’s  West End Live  performance this year.

After 33 years, The Phantom Of The Opera is still going strong at Her Majesty’s Theatre . Currently starring Josh Piterman, Kelly Mathieson, Danny Whitehead and Britt Lenting, you can book your tickets to the classic tale of romance and heartbreak below.

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The Phantom Of The Opera

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s glittering musical is the most successful of all time with more than 140 million Phantom of the Opera tickets sold worldwide. It has won over 70 major theatre awards. The show consistently receives glowing reviews from audiences and critics alike and has an average 5-star rating based on nearly 2,000 reviews by London Theatre Direct customers.

Far beneath the majesty and splendour of the Paris Opera House, the Phantom hides in a shadowy existence. Shamed by his physical appearance and feared by all, the Phantom seeks to control the Paris Opera House and its players. The Phantom finds a new student in the form of Christine, an orphaned chorus girl and trains her to sing the music of the night. When a face from her past appears the Phantom must discover if the love he holds for his beautiful student is so strong that even her heart cannot resist.

In 1984 Andrew Lloyd Webber was looking to pen a major romance and a reading of Gaston Leroux's classic novel of mystery and suspense, The Phantom of the Opera, provided the substance he was looking for. The musical went through many iterations and lyricists before it became the classic we know and love today. The Phantom of the Opera opened at Her Majesty’s Theatre in October 1986 with Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman in the leading roles and there have been dozens of productions worldwide since then. Now in its 33rd record-breaking year, The Phantom of the Opera continues to captivate audiences at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London’s West End.

The Phantom of the Opera story has spawned many retellings including multiple film adaptations. The most recent of which came out in 2004 and starred Scottish actor Gerard Butler.

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Everything you need to know about 'The Phantom of the Opera' on Broadway

Here's your ultimate guide to The Phantom of the Opera , the longest-running show on Broadway.

He's here, the phantom of the opera...and he's been haunting Broadway since 1988. The Phantom of the Opera , by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, and Richard Stilgoe, is the longest-running Broadway show of all time. This musical has appealed to theatregoers for over three decades, but after a record-breaking run that will go down in history, the music of the night will soon play for the last time when the show closes in February 2023.

The Phantom of the Opera is part romance, part Gothic melodrama, and part spectacle. It is about a composing genius, the Phantom, who hides from the world in an opera house. He is obsessed with an ingenue opera singer named Christine, who is both drawn to and frightened of him.

The plot seems simple, but where Phantom stands out is the music and the visuals. With songs such as the haunting and bombastic title song, "The Phantom of the Opera," as well as the ballads "Music of the Night," "Think of Me," and "All I Ask of You," Lloyd Webber's music is sweeping, big, and romantic — just like the show. 

And the special effects are awe-inspiring — from the now-iconic image of the Phantom and Christine on a boat in a sea of fog, to the one-ton chandelier that flies up and over the audience's heads, to stage fire — Phantom is not just an emotional journey; it's also a feast for the eyes.

Find out more about The Phantom of the Opera below, with characters, running time, songs, and behind-the-scenes history of how the show was made. Then, get tickets to see this living piece of Broadway history before the show becomes a phantom of Broadway's past.

Get The Phantom of the Opera tickets now.

What is The Phantom of the Opera about?

The Phantom of the Opera is based on the 1910 French novel by Gaston Leroux of the same name. It features music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe, and a book by Stilgoe and Webber. It is about an ingenue opera singer named Christine, who works at the Paris Opera House. She is haunted by a figure that she calls the Angel of Music.

This angel is actually a real man, who wears a white mask and who calls himself the Phantom of the Opera. He is also a music genius, haunting the opera house and terrorizing the people who work there. The Phantom is also in love with Christine and her voice, and he is determined to make her a star so that the world can finally hear his music (of the night). 

When Christine's childhood sweetheart Raoul comes back into her life, the Phantom becomes jealous and more terrible things start happening in the opera house. And yet, Christine continues to be drawn to the Phantom. Who should Christine choose? Raoul or the Phantom? That's a question that has haunted Phantom fans (or rather, phans) for over 30 years. 

Part mystery, part romance, The Phantom of the Opera is considered the best of the '80s megamusicals, where the budget, the story, and the music were big and bombastic. Considering that The Phantom of the Opera includes a giant chandelier which flies over the audience's heads and crashes onto the stage, this Broadway titan more than fits the bill when it comes to "mega." 

Where is The Phantom of the Opera playing?

The Phantom of the Opera opened in 1988 at the Majestic Theatre and has been playing there ever since. The Majestic is located at 247 West 44th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Eighth Avenue. The Majestic opened in 1927. It was a favorite theatre of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, who premiered four of their musicals there, among them Carousel and South Pacific .

How long is The Phantom of the Opera ?

The Phantom of the Opera runs at 2 hours and 15 minutes, with one 15-minute intermission. This is a standard running time for a Broadway musical. It's recommended that you eat before the show. 

What days is The Phantom of the Opera playing?

The Phantom of the Opera plays seven performances a week at the Majestic Theatre. The show typically runs Monday to Sunday, with two performances on Thursdays and Saturdays. Phantom  does not perform on Tuesdays. For the complete weekly performance schedule and up-to-date show times, please visit the Phantom of the Opera page to learn more. 

When did The Phantom of the Opera premiere?

The Phantom of the Opera was actually inspired by a 1910 same-named horror novel and a real-life romance between a genius composer and an ingenue: Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote the role of Christine for his wife at the time, Sarah Brightman, who was a rising star. Here's the history of the Phantom of the Opera musical.

• 1984: Webber marries Brightman. He then contacts his producing partner at Really Useful Group, Cameron Mackintosh, who produced Webber's hit musical Cats , about a romantic musical based on French author Gaston Leroux's book, The Phantom of the Opera . Brightman would play Christine. Webber then asked Jim Steinman to write the lyrics to Phantom (Steinman had helped Meat Loaf write the songs for his Bat Out of Hell album). Steinman declined. Richard Stilgoe then agreed to write lyrics for the musical. Charles Hart was brought on in 1985 later to rewrite some of Stilgoe's lyrics. Webber also brought in Harold Prince to direct.
• 1986: The Phantom of the Opera opens on the West End at Her Majesty's Theatre. The show was a hit. A cast album was soon released in 1987 and also topped the charts, going platinum four times in the U.S. Phantom is still running on the West End and is the third-longest-running show there.
• 1988: Phantom opens on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre. Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman, and Steve Barton reprised their roles as the Phantom, Christine, and Raoul from the West End. 
• 1989: The first U.S. tour of Phantom begins. It would become the longest-running continuous tour in U.S. history, running until 2010. The first international production of Phantom also begins, in Canada at the Pantages Theatre in Toronto.
• 1990: The first Australian production of Phantom begins at the Princess Theatre. Phantom would run in Australia until 1998.
• 1993: The first U.K. tour of Phantom begins. It runs until 1996.
• 2006: Phantom opens a sit-down production in Las Vegas, called Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular , at the Venetian. This production of the musical is shortened to 90 minutes. It runs until 2012.
• 2012: A new production of Phantom , the first to not be a replica of the Harold Prince production, begins a UK and Ireland tour. This was to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Phantom .
• 2019: The Phantom of the Opera embarks on a world tour, beginning in Manila. 
• 2021: Following the Covid-19 pandemic, Phantom reopens on the West End, but with some retooling to the show that is different from the original production that had played there since 1987. The number of musicians is decreased, some parts are restaged and choreographed, and parts of the set are redesigned.  Phantom  also reopens on Broadway.
• Other productions: Phantom has played to over 140 million people in 35 countries. Phantom has been performed in 15 languages, showing that the music of the night is truly universal.

Who wrote The Phantom of the Opera ?

The Phantom of the Opera is based on the 1910 French novel by Gaston Leroux of the same name. It features music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe, and a book by Stilgoe and Webber. 

Webber, who has been knighted by the Queen of England as Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, is the winner of six Tony Awards and seven Olivier Awards. He is also one of 16 people who have won an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Tony. He runs the theatre company Really Useful Group, one of the biggest theatre producers in England. As a musical theatre composer, Webber has also written Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar, Sunset Boulevard , and Evita .

Richard Stilgoe has collaborated with Webber on three musicals: Phantom, Cats , and Starlight Express . He founded the Alchemy Foundation, from his royalties from the American productions of Starlight Express and The Phantom of the Opera . The Alchemy Foundation donates money to charitable causes. Stilgoe has been knighted by the Queen for his charity work. 

Charles Hart was still a student when he met Webber, and he was soon brought on to help write lyrics for Phantom . Hart also collaborated with Webber on Aspects of Love . His other musicals include Bend It Like Beckham , based on the film, and The Dreaming , based on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream .

The Phantom of the Opera characters

It takes 130 cast, crew, and orchestra members to put each performance of The Phantom of the Opera together. Below are the major characters in the show and some of the notable musical theatre performers who have played them. 

• The Phantom: The composer who haunts the Paris Opera House. He lives in a subterranean lair under the opera house. He resents the world for rejecting him because of his disfigured face, and he is obsessed with Christine. Michael Crawford originated the role of the Phantom, but the other actors who have played that role include Colm Wilkinson, Ramin Karimloo, Hugh Panaro, and Norm Lewis. 
• Christine Daaé: A chorus girl who wants to become a prima donna. Christine is drawn to the Phantom for his music but is also afraid of him. She is in love with Raoul. Sarah Brightman originated the role of Christine, and the role has also been played by actresses including Sierra Boggess and Rebecca Luker. 
• Raoul: Christine's childhood sweetheart who reunites with her at the Opera House when he becomes a patron. He is in love with Christine and wants to rid the Opera House of the Phantom. Steve Barton originated the role of Raoul. Hugh Panaro, Ramin Karimloo, and John Barrowman have also played the role.
• Carlotta Guidicelli: The prima donna of the Opera House. She is angered at the incidents that keep occuring because of the Phantom but refuses to cede the limelight to Christine.
• Gilles André: One of the new owners of the Opera House. He is trying to keep Carlotta happy and things running, despite the Phantom causing mayhem. 
• Richard Firmin: One of the new owners of the Opera House. He is trying to keep things running smoothly, despite the Phantom.
• Madame Giry: The ballet mistress at the Opera House. She is a strict and foreboding presence, and the one who delivers messages between the Opera House owners and the Phantom.
• Meg Giry: Meg is Madame Giry's daughter. She is Christine's friend and a ballerina and chorus girl. 

The Phantom of the Opera  songs

The Phantom of the Opera is a sung-through musical, with very little dialogue. Some of the most famous songs include "The Music of the Night," "All I Ask of You," "Masquerade," "The Point of No Return," and the title track, of course! Here are all the songs in the show. 

• " Hannibal  Rehearsal" - Carlotta, Piangi, Reyer, Lefevre, André, Firmin, Madame Giry, Meg, Buquet, Ensemble
• "Think of Me" - Christine, Raoul
• "Angel of Music" - The Phantom, Meg, Christine
• "Little Lotte" - Raoul, Christine
• "The Mirror/Angel of Music (Reprise)" - The Phantom, Christine, Raoul
• "The Phantom of the Opera"- Christine, The Phantom
• "The Music of the Night" - The Phantom
• "I Remember/Stranger Than You Dreamt It - Christine, The Phantom
• "Magical Lasso" - Buquet, Madame Giry, Meg
• "Notes/Prima Donna" - André, Firmin, Raoul, Carlotta, Madame Giry, Meg, Piangi, The Phantom
• "Poor Fool, He Makes Me Laugh" - Carlotta, Piangi, The Phantom, Ensemble
• "Why Have You Brought Me Here/Raoul, I've Been There" - Raoul, Christine
• "All I Ask of You" - Raoul, Christine
• "All I Ask Of You (Reprise)" - The Phantom
• Entr'acte - Orchestra
• "Masquerade" - Andre, Firmin, Ensemble
• "Why So Silent" - The Phantom
• "Notes/Twisted Every Way" - André, Firmin, Carlotta, Piangi, Raoul, Christine, Madame Giry, The Phantom
• " Don Juan Triumphant  Rehearsal/Phantom of the Opera (Reprise)/Little Lotte (Reprise)" - Christine, Piangi, Reyer, Carlotta, Madame Giry, Ensemble
• "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" - Christine
• "Wandering Child/Bravo, Monsieur..." - The Phantom, Christine, Raoul
• " Don Juan Triumphant  " - Carlotta, Piangi, Christine, Ensemble
• "The Point of No Return" - The Phantom, Christine
• "Down Once More/Track Down This Murderer" - The Phantom, Madame Giry, Raoul, Ensemble
• "Finale" - Christine, The Phantom, Raoul, Ensemble

What awards has The Phantom of the Opera won?

It's rare for a show to be both critically acclaimed and popular with the masses. But Phantom is both, if its longevity is any indication. And the musical received a diverse array of awards for acting, design, composition, and leadership alike. Here are the major awards Phantom has won.  

• Olivier Awards: The West End production won four Olivier Awards of its five nominations: Best New Musical, Best Actor in a Musical (for Michael Crawford), Most Popular Show, and the Audience Award.
• Tony Awards: The Broadway production of Phantom won seven Tony Awards out of 10 nominations: Best Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (for Crawford again), Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical (for Judy Kaye as Carlotta Guidicelli), Best Direction of a Musical, Best Scenic Design, Best Costume Design, and Best Lighting Design.
• Drama Desk Awards:  The Phantom of the Opera  on Broadway also won seven Drama Desk Awards in 1988: Outstanding Actor in a Musical (for Crawford), Outstanding Director of a Musical, Outstanding Music, Outstanding Orchestrations, Outstanding Set Design, Outstanding Costume Design, and Outstanding Lighting Design.

Major productions of The Phantom of the Opera

The major productions of Phantom have mostly been replicas of the original West End production directed by Harold Prince, aside from the 25th anniversary U.S. and U.K. tours. Below are the major productions of Phantom and behind-the-scenes facts about them.

• 1987 West End production: For the original production, it took five people four weeks to build the chandelier, which is made of 6,000 beads and weighs one ton. It flies over the audience's heads and crashes on the stage at the end of Act One. Plus, a number of song lyrics in this production are different from the productions that came after it; those differences can be heard on the different cast albums.
• 1988 Broadway production: The Broadway production of Phantom almost didn't happen. Prior to the show coming to Broadway, Actors' Equity Association, the union for stage actors in the U.S., told the Phantom team that they would have to recast Christine with an American actress (per union rules). Andrew Lloyd Webber threatened to pull the production if Sarah Brigthman could not be in the show. The union relented, and the show went on to make Broadway history. 
• Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular : This version of Phantom was edited down to just 90 minutes. The biggest change was that "The Point of No Return" was shortened, and the chandelier crash was staged after "The Point of No Return" rather than "All I Ask Of You." 
• The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall: To celebrate the musical's 25th anniversary, Phantom was staged at the Royal Albert Hall for a two-night performance in 2011. Laurence Connor directs, and original creative team member Gillian Lynne returns to choreograph and do the musical staging. The cast includes Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom and Sierra Boggess as Christine (the two would later star in the original production of the Phantom sequel,  Love Never Dies ). Original cast members Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman perform some songs post-show. The performance was released on DVD in 2012. Connor also stages the 2012 UK tour of Phantom , which is more pared down than the original Harold Prince production, though the costuming remains the same. 

Onscreen adaptations of The Phantom of the Opera

Talks about adapting Phantom for the screen had swirled since 1989 after Warner Bros. purchased the film rights to the show. Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman were in talks to reprise their roles. But production stalled on the film because of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Brightman's divorce. The film languished in development for over a decade, until 2002, when Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group had purchased the film rights from Warner Bros. Here are some more facts about the Phantom of the Opera  film adaptation, which ultimately came out in 2004.

• The Phantom film starred Gerald Butler as the Phantom, Emmy Rossum as Christine, Patrick Wilson as Raoul, and Minnie Driver as Carlotta. 
• Unlike the stage adaptation, the Phantom film had mostly negative reviews. Nonetheless, The Phantom of the Opera was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Song.
• Butler was the only main cast member who did not have music experience. He had to take singing lessons!
• Webber wrote some new music for the film, including the song "Learn to Be Lonely," which was written with Charles Hart and sung by Driver. The song was nominated for an Oscar. Some of the new music that Webber wrote for the film was later reused in Love Never Dies , his stage musical sequel to Phantom.

Fun facts about  The Phantom of the Opera

From sequels to how the Broadway production almost didn't happen, there are enough facts and trivia about Phantom that would surprise even a longtime opera ghost. Here are some phun phacts about The  Phantom of the Opera . 

• The original Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera cost a record-at-the-time $8 million to produce, which would be $20 million today.
• There are 19 cast albums of The Phantom of the Opera available, including cast albums in non-English languages.
• The full white mask that has graced Phantom posters since 1987 isn't actually the mask that's worn in the show. The Phantom's mask in the show only covers one side of this face, from his right eye to his right cheek. But the mask that covers the entirety of the Phantom's face was actually tried out in a workshop production. That mask proved too difficult for the actor playing the Phantom, then Colm Wilkinson, to perform in, and he couldn't see well in it. So set and costume designer Maria Björnson designed the now-iconic half mask.
• Phantom fans (or "phans") have long debated whether Christine should choose the Phantom or Raoul. In 2010, Webber gave his opinion on the matter with his musical sequel to Phantom , Love Never Dies , which takes place 10 years after the ending of Phantom and reunites Christine with her angel of music in Coney Island. The musical was thoroughly panned on the West End, and despite getting a U.S. tour and productions worldwide, Love Never Dies has never been to Broadway. But Phantom phans can watch a filmed version of the Australian production, which was released on DVD in 2021.
• Princess Diana was such a fan of Phantom that for the seventh anniversary of her marriage to Prince Charles, she filmed a music video of herself on the Phantom set at Her Majesty's Theatre, singing "All I Ask Of You" dressed as Christine. The musical's choreographer, Gillian Lynne, even directed Diana in the video. Webber was there to oversee. 
• Michael Jackson saw Phantom in 1988 and loved it so much, he told Webber backstage after a show that he wanted to play the Phantom in a film version. Webber declined since Michael Crawford was also on board to play the Phantom in the film version. But the thought of the King of Pop playing the Angel of Music — talk about a thriller night!

How to get The Phantom of the Opera tickets

Don't miss this iconic Broadway staple in its final months. If you love romance and spectacle, give in to the power of the music of the night by seeing The Phantom of the Opera . Make sure to watch your head for the falling chandelier.

The Phantom of the Opera tickets are available now. Get tickets to The Phantom of the Opera on New York Theatre Guide today.

Originally published on Sep 29, 2022 13:02

The Phantom of the Opera Cast & Creative

This lush romantic smash is Broadway’s longest-running show.

This show is closed.

Performances ended on Apr. 16, 2023.

About The Phantom of the Opera

The longest-running show in Broadway history, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera debuted in 1988, winning seven Tony Awards® including Best Musical. Based on Gaston Leroux’s horror novel, it tells the enticing story of the Phantom, who haunts the stage of the Paris Opera and subsequently falls in love with a beautiful young soprano. Audiences are in for a thrilling night of spectacle and romance, accompanied by Broadway’s most unforgettable score.

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Phantom of the Opera

Legend tells of a hideously disfigured masked murderer who once stalked the Garnier Opera House leaving a trail of terror and bloodshed in his wake. With strange occurrences haunting the old... Read all Legend tells of a hideously disfigured masked murderer who once stalked the Garnier Opera House leaving a trail of terror and bloodshed in his wake. With strange occurrences haunting the old theater to this day, a TV show investigates reported Paranormal Activity in the abandoned... Read all Legend tells of a hideously disfigured masked murderer who once stalked the Garnier Opera House leaving a trail of terror and bloodshed in his wake. With strange occurrences haunting the old theater to this day, a TV show investigates reported Paranormal Activity in the abandoned opera house. However when the TV crew comes to film the story at the old theater decades ... Read all

• Anthony D.P. Mann
• Bill Bossert
• Raphaelle Beauchamp
• Charline Cleaver
• 3 User reviews
• 1 Critic review
• See more at IMDbPro
• Chorus Member

• (as Charline Morrison)
• Joseph Bouquet
• Maestro's Wife
• The Persian
• Man at Party
• Christine …
• The Phantom
• Miranda Skarlett
• Young Gabriel
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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User reviews 3

• arglebargle-47893
• Nov 19, 2016
• October 8, 2014 (United States)
• Distributor's website
• Reality Entertainment (RE)
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• CA$1,000,000 (estimated)

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 36 minutes

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