THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Comes to the Aronoff Center Tonight

Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group's spectacular new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera makes its Cincinnati premiere at the Aronoff Center.

With newly reinvented staging and stunning scenic design, this new version of PHANTOM, the most successful musical of all-time, will be performed by a cast and orchestra of 52, making this one of the largest productions on tour in North America. PHANTOM is presented as part of the Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Cincinnati 2013-2014 Season.

To purchase tickets, visit CincinnatiArts.org, call 513.621.ARTS (2787) or visit the Aronoff Center Box Office downtown at 650 Walnut Street. Ticket prices start at $33. For more information, visit www.ThePhantomOfTheOpera.com/USTour.

Andrew Lloyd Webber said, "It's wonderful to have a new production of PHANTOM touring America now that the show has celebrated over 25 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 25 phenomenal years on Broadway with no end in sight, I'm delighted to be able to bring this dazzling new production of PHANTOM -- which has been phenomenally well-received by both audiences and critics in the U.K this past year -- to North America. 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."

This new production of The Phantom of the Opera is directed by Laurence Connor (the 25th Anniversary production of LES MISERABLES coming to Broadway March 2014, Jesus Christ Superstar) 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 six productions of The Phantom of the Opera around the world: the flagship London production (27 Years and counting), New York (approaching 26 years), Budapest (Hungary), Hamburg (Germany), the Asian Pacific Tour and the all-new North American Tour.

Since its debut, The Phantom of the Opera has grossed over $5.6 billion worldwide, with over 65,000 performances that have been seen by 130 million people in 29 countries and 150 cities in 13 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.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA will play the Aronoff Center from today, April 30 - May 11, 2014: Tuesday- Thursday at 7:30PM*, Thursday, May 1 at 1:00PM, Friday at 8:00PM, Saturday at 2:00PM and 8:00PM, and Sunday at 1:00PM and 6:30PM. Tickets for The Phantom of the Opera start at $33. Starting Friday, they will be available at the Aronoff Center Box Office downtown at 650 Walnut Street, online at CincinnatiArts.org or by phone at 513.621.ARTS. For groups of 10 or more, contact the group sales department at 513.369.4363. Performance schedule, prices and cast are subject to change without notice. For more information, please visit www.BroadwayInCincinnati.com. *Please note: the 7:30PM start change for Tuesday- Thursday performances is a change from last season.

BROADWAY ACROSS AMERICA (Producer), part of the Key Brand Entertainment family of companies which includes Broadway.com and is operated by British theatre producer John Gore (Owner & CEO). Broadway Across America presents first-class touring musicals and plays across 40 North American cities and, under the supervision of Beth Williams (CEO - Theater Division), is dedicated to the development and production of new and diverse theatre. Recent and current Broadway productions include Hands on a Hardbody; Million Dollar Quartet (Broadway, off-Broadway, West End, US Tour, Las Vegas); Pippin; The Testament of Mary; How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying; Memphis; One Man, Two Guvnors; The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess; and the Toronto production of War Horse. Upcoming: Tuck Everlasting, Little Miss Sunshine, Big Fish, and The Blonde Streak. For more information, visit BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com.