Based on Gaston Leroux’s horror novel, The Phantom of the Opera tells the enticing story of a disfigured Phantom who haunts the depths of The Paris Opera House. Mesmerized by the talents and beauty of the young soprano Christine, The Phantom lures her as his protégé and falls fiercely in love with her. The Phantom's obsession sets the scene for a dramatic turn of events where jealousy, madness and passions collide. Audiences are in for a thrilling night of spectacle and romance, accompanied by Broadway’s most unforgettable score by Andrew Lloyd Webber, including "Music of the Night," "All I Ask of You," and "Masquerade." Directed by the late Harold Prince and produced by Cameron Mackintosh and The Really Useful Group, the musical opened on Broadway on January 26, 1988. It won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and became the longest-running show in Broadway history on January 9, 2006.
To look on the bright side first, The Phantom of the Opera is a terrific technical achievement. If you want scenery and costumes, sight gags and sight thrills, they're all there—$8.5 million worth of them—on the aptly named Majestic stage. And who doesn't want to see candles sprout all around an underground lake (even if it does not make technological sense) and a giant chandelier almost crash into the audience below (even if it looks more like a giant balloon changing courses in midair)? It is good, mindless fun, and costs less than a trip to Disney World... The only areas in which The Phantom of the Opera is deficient are book, music, and lyrics.
In the end, The Phantom of the Opera can be no more than the sum of its pictorial effects. It's no opera (not with those bland melodies, not with lyric phrases like 'Be My Guest' and 'Make My Night'), it's not a display case of serious acting, it's not humor (not even self-mockery). It's pyschologically lightweight, long on melodramatic grotesquerie, and it can only on its visual chills. Will three chills, plus candles that swarm like fireflies, do you?
1988 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
1990 | US Tour |
1st National Tour US Tour |
1990 | Los Angeles |
Los Angeles Production Los Angeles |
1992 | US Tour |
2nd National Tour US Tour |
2006 | Las Vegas |
Las Vegas Production Las Vegas |
2021 | West End |
Original London Production West End |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
1988 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actor - Musical | Michael Crawford |
1988 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actress - Musical | Sarah Brightman |
1988 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Choreography | Gillian Lynne |
1988 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Costume Design | Maria Bjornson |
1988 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Director - Musical | Harold Prince |
1988 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress - Musical | Judy Kaye |
1988 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design | Andrew Bridge |
1988 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Music | Andrew Lloyd Webber |
1988 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Musical | Phantom of the Opera |
1988 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Orchestration | Andrew Lloyd Webber |
1988 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Orchestration | David Cullen |
1988 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Set Design | Maria Bjornson |
1988 | New York Drama Critics Circle Awards | Best Musical | Charles Hart |
1988 | New York Drama Critics Circle Awards | Best Musical | Andrew Lloyd Webber |
1988 | New York Drama Critics Circle Awards | Best Musical | Richard Stilgoe |
1988 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Best Actor - Musical | Michael Crawford |
1988 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Best Broadway Musical | 0 |
1988 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Best Costume Design | Maria Bjornson |
1988 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Best Set Design | Maria Bjornson |
1988 | Tony Awards | Best Book of a Musical | Andrew Lloyd Webber |
1988 | Tony Awards | Best Book of a Musical | Richard Stilgoe |
1988 | Tony Awards | Best Choreography | Gillian Lynne |
1988 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design | Maria Bjornson |
1988 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Musical | Harold Prince |
1988 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design | Andrew Bridge |
1988 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Cameron Mackintosh |
1988 | Tony Awards | Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre | Andrew Lloyd Webber |
1988 | Tony Awards | Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre | Richard Stilgoe |
1988 | Tony Awards | Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre | Charles Hart |
1988 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical | Michael Crawford |
1988 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical | Judy Kaye |
1988 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design | Maria Bjornson |
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