THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA National Tour Breaks Box Office Records in Charlotte

The Charlotte, NC engagement of Cameron Mackintosh's spectacular new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERAbroke the one-week 8 performance box office record at the Belk Theater, grossing $1,424,241 for the week ending February 8, 2015. This tops the previous record of $1,399,577 held by The Lion King in September, 2013. PHANTOM then broke its own record during the second week of their engagement, grossing $1,515,155 for the week ending February 15, 2015. The tour is now in Pittsburgh, PA's Benedum Center playing to near sold-out houses through March 1, 2015.

Andrew Lloyd Webber said, "It's wonderful to have a new production of PHANTOM touring America now that the show has celebrated 27 years on Broadway. Director Laurence Connor has done an amazing job and this production has received huge critical acclaim in the UK."

Cameron Mackintosh said, ''After a glorious celebration of 27 phenomenal years on Broadway with no end in sight, I'm delighted that this dazzling new production of PHANTOM has been phenomenally well-received by both audiences and critics alike in the U.K. and now the U.S. With an exciting new design and staging, retaining Maria Björnson's amazing costumes, I am confident North American audiences will fall in love with the PHANTOM in his new guise -- for the first time or all over again."

The cast of PHANTOM is led by Chris Mann as 'The Phantom,' Katie Travis as 'Christine Daaé,' Storm Lineberger as 'Raoul,' Jacquelynne Fontaine as 'Carlotta Giudicelli,' David Benoit as 'Monsieur Firmin,' Edward Staudenmayer as 'Monsieur André,' Anne Kanengeiser as 'Madame Giry,' Frank Viveros as 'Ubaldo Piangi' and Morgan Cowling as 'Meg Giry.'

The Ensemble includes Adam Bashian, Krista Buccellato, Nick Cartell, Dan Debenport, Amy Decker, Mark Emerson, David Foley, Jr., Celia Hottenstein, Christopher M. Howard, Merritt David Janes, Edward Juvier, Ted Keener, Luke Lazzaro, Jay Lusteck, Katie McCreary, Christy Morton, Lindsay O'Neil, Quinto Ott, Eric Ruiz, Allan Snyder and Marguerite Willbanks. The Corps de Ballet includes Christina Dooling, Sarah DeBiase, Anjelica Bette Fellini, Abigail Mentzer, Lily Rose Peck, Alexandra Pernice, Tara Sweeney and Micki Weiner.

This new production of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is directed by Laurence Connor (the 25th Anniversary production of LES MISERABLES now on Broadway) with choreography by Scott Ambler, set design by Paul Brown, Tony Award-winning original costume design by Maria Björnson, lighting design by Tony Award-winner Paule Constable, sound design by Mick Potter and musical supervision by John Rigby. The production is overseen by Matthew Bourne and Cameron Mackintosh. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; lyrics are by Charles Hart (with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe) and the book is by Richard Stilgoe and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Orchestrations are by David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

There are currently eight productions of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA around the world: the flagship London production (approaching 28 Years and counting), New York (27 Years and counting), Sapporo (Japan, 25 Years and counting, in repertory), Budapest (Hungary), Hamburg (Germany), the Asian Pacific Tour (now in Taipei, Taiwan), Moscow (Russia, which had its official opening on October 4, 2014) and Cameron Mackintosh's spectacular new production now on tour in North America. The next international opening will be in Istanbul (Turkey) in April 2015.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA became the first stage production to reach worldwide grosses of $6 billion, which it did this past summer. Revenues far surpass the world's highest-grossing film Avatar (at $2.8 billion), as well as such other blockbusters as Titanic, The Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park and Star Wars.

Worldwide, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has played over 65,000 performances that have been seen by 140 million people in 30 countries and 151 cities in 14 languages. The show has won more than 70 major theater awards.

There have been three previous U.S. National Tours of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA that grossed over $1.5 billion in combined box office sales and played 216 engagements in 77 cities for an unprecedented total of 36 years and over 14,500 performances to 31 million people.

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.

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