Sierra Boggess Joins THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Tonight

Tonight, Monday, January 21, 2013, the longest-running show in Broadway history, Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, directed by Harold Prince and produced by Cameron Mackintosh and The Really Useful Company, Inc., will welcome Broadway and West End star Sierra Boggess to the New York cast. Ms. Boggess will play a strictly-limited engagement as leading lady Christine Daaé for 6 weeks through Saturday, March 2.

Ms. Boggess, whose long history with the musical began when she originated the role in the hit, revised Las Vegas production in 2006, has been specifically chosen by the creative team to join the cast in time for the production becoming the first Broadway show ever to celebrate 25 Years. She joins current stars Hugh Panaro (The Phantom) and Kyle Barisich (Raoul) as the musical's leading trio.

This appearance will bookend Ms. Boggess having also played the role of Christine for the London production's 25th Anniversary, which was marked by a special production at The Royal Albert Hall in October 2011. Greeted with tremendous acclaim, her performance was broadcast around the world and is available on DVD and the new live cast recording. Further cementing her status with the PHANTOM family, the American performer was also chosen to originate the role of Christine in Love Never Dies, Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, earning her a 2011 Olivier Award nomination.

Ms. Boggess joins the Broadway cast of The Phantom of the Opera direct from having starred in Cameron Mackintosh's original, record-breaking London production of LES MISERABLES as Fantine.

The Broadway production's 25th Anniversary will be marked by a Special Gala Performance the night of Saturday, January 26, 2013. While many of the evening's details are being kept under wraps, the special night will begin with an early 6:30 PM performance at The Majestic Theatre (247 West 44th Street), the musical's home for its entire run, followed by an exclusive and lavish celebration at The New York Public Library. Among the historic evening's audience will be hundreds of the musical's alumni cast members, as well as more than 200 theater-goers who won tickets through an online sweepstakes on the PHANTOM Facebook page as a Thank You to the musical's loyal "Phans."

For the Christine playing schedule during Sierra Boggess' engagement with the Broadway cast (as the actress playing Christine generally plays six performances and the Christine Alternate plays two), Ms. Boggess will play Tuesday-Friday evenings and both performances on Saturdays. During this time, Samantha Hill will play Monday evenings and Wednesday matinees. The exception is this week, the week of January 21, as the entire week's playing schedule has been altered to accommodate preparations for the 25th Anniversary celebrations. For this week only, Ms. Boggess will play Monday through Saturday evening and Ms. Hill will play the Wednesday and special Thursday matinees.

Sierra Boggess most recently starred on the London stage for a limited engagement as Fantine in Cameron Mackintosh's original production of LES MISERABLES. Prior to that, she starred in the 25th Anniversary Concerts of The Phantom of the Opera at Royal Albert Hall, played opposite Tyne Daly in the Broadway revival of Terrence McNally's Master Class and starred in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies (the musical sequel to his The Phantom of the Opera) in the West End, for which her performance as Christine Daaé received a 2011 Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. Sierra's other New York theatre credits include originating the title role in the Broadway premiere of Disney's The Little Mermaid (Drama Desk and Drama League nominations and Broadway.com Award for Favorite Breakthrough Performance), the final cast of Off-Broadway's Love, Loss and What I Wore and in the City Center Encores! production of Music in the Air. She originated the role of Christine in the Las Vegas production of The Phantom of the Opera and has been seen regionally as Binky in Princesses (World Premiere, Goodspeed and 5th Avenue Theater, and in the national tours of LES MISERABLES and West Side Story. Concert appearances include The BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall, Lincoln Center's American Songbook Series: The Lyrics of David Zippel, New York Pops at Lincoln Center and Broadway by the Year at Town Hall. Sierra's television appearances include "The Today Show," "Good Morning America," "The View," "Entertainment Tonight," "The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade" and "The 62nd Annual Tony Awards." She also appeared in People Magazine and on the cover of USA Weekend alongside Megan Mullally and Mario Lopez. Recordings include the 25th Anniversary Concert of The Phantom of the Opera (also on DVD), the Symphonic Recording of Love Never Dies, the Original Cast Album for The Little Mermaid and Andrew Lippa's A Little Princess. She holds a BFA from Millikin University.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA became the longest-running show in Broadway history on January 9, 2006 with its 7,486th performance (surpassing the previous record-holder Cats, also by Andrew Lloyd Webber and also produced by Mackintosh). Incredibly, since breaking that record, PHANTOM has played both an additional 7 years and nearly 3,000 performances - which by itself would be a smash hit run for a Broadway musical.

On Broadway, since its debut on January 26, 1988, The Phantom of the Opera has grossed over $888 million. Even now - as it celebrates its 25th Anniversary on Broadway - it is consistently among Broadway's highest-grossing shows and remains a box office champ. Earlier this year, the production shattered the house record at The Majestic by having its best weekly gross in its entire 25-year history. Total attendance is now over 15 million and it continues to play with no end in sight.

The musical's international success - equally staggering - is represented by total worldwide grosses estimated at over $5.6 billion. This colossal figure makes PHANTOM the most successful entertainment venture of all time, with revenues higher than any film or stage play in history, including Titanic, Star Wars and far surpassing the world's highest-grossing film Avatar (at $2.8 billion). Worldwide, over 65,000 performances have been seen by 130 million people in 28 countries and 148 cities in 13 languages.

The flagship London production, which opened in 1986 at Her Majesty's Theatre, celebrated 25 years in October 2011. That milestone was celebrated with a special production at London's Royal Albert Hall starring two notable PHANTOM alumni, former London Phantom Ramin Karimloo and former U.S. Christine Sierra Boggess (star of the Vegas production and Broadway star of The Little Mermaid), to tremendous acclaim. Earlier this year, a live recording was released on CD by Decca and a DVD of the event was released by Universal Home Entertainment.

There are currently six productions around the world: There are currently six productions around the world: the flagship London production (26 Years and counting), New York, Budapest (Hungary), Kyoto (Japan), Seoul (Korea) and Cameron Mackintosh's all-new production of the musical which is currently enjoying a highly-acclaimed, record-breaking UK National Tour, which is planned to come to the U.S. in the not-too-distant future.

The show has won more than 70 major theater awards, including seven 1988 Tony Awards (including Best Musical) and three Olivier Awards in the West End. The original cast recording, with over 40 million copies sold worldwide, is the best-selling cast recording of all time. In September 2010, student productions of PHANTOM started being licensed through R&H Theatricals, and so far have been performed at hundreds of high schools and colleges across the U.S. and in Canada.

Based on the classic novel Le Fantôme de L'Opéra by Gaston Leroux, The Phantom of the Opera tells the story of a masked figure who lurks beneath the catacombs of the Paris Opera House, exercising a reign of terror over all who inhabit it. He falls madly in love with an innocent young soprano, Christine, and devotes himself to creating a new star by nurturing her extraordinary talents and by employing all of the devious methods at his command.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is produced by Cameron Mackintosh and The Really Useful Theatre Company, Inc., has music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and is directed by Harold Prince. Lyrics are by Charles Hart (with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe) and the book is by Richard Stilgoe and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The Phantom of the Opera has production design by the late Maria Björnson, lighting by Andrew Bridge and sound design by Mick Potter with original sound by Martin Levan. Musical staging and choreography is by Gillian Lynne. Orchestrations are by David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA currently stars Hugh Panaro in the title role with Sierra Boggess as Christine and Kyle Barisich as Raoul. The musical co-stars Jim Weitzer (Monsieur André), Tim Jerome (Monsieur Firmin), Michele McConnell (Carlotta), Ellen Harvey (Madame Giry), Christian Šebek (Piangi) and Kara Klein (Meg Giry). At certain performances, Samantha Hill plays Christine.

The performance schedule for The Phantom of the Opera is Monday evenings at 8PM, Tuesday evenings at 7PM, Wednesday through Saturday evenings at 8PM, with matinees on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2PM. Ticket prices range from $27 - $137 with Premium Tickets also available. To order tickets, visit telecharge.com or call (212) 239-6200.