The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)

The Phantom of the Opera is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the novel The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. It was inspired by a different musical version of the same story, by Ken Hill, which Andrew Lloyd Webber saw at the Theatre Royal Stratford East in 1984. The music for Webber's own version was composed specifically for the voice of his then wife, singer Sarah Brightman. The lyrics were written by Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe. During the writing stage, many other rival productions were started, which had not occurred in any other stage show since the early 20th Century. The musical was produced by Cameron Mackintosh and opened at Her Majesty's Theatre in London, on October 9, 1986, where it still runs as of 2005. The show was taken to Broadway, where despite early negative reviews (including a pan by Frank Rich in the New York Times) it is still running today. The show won a Tony Award for Best Musical, Michael Crawford won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of The Phantom and Judy Kaye won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Carlotta Guidicelli. The show also won Tonys for its sets, costumes, lighting and Director (Hal Prince). In his staging of the title song, Hal Prince required lip-syncing to pre-recorded music (Christine's part of the song is extremely difficult to sing) and employed doubles for cast members.

See also

• The Phantom of the Opera
• The Phantom of the Opera (2004 movie)