THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Comes to the Kimmel Center, Now thru April 13

Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group has announced the casting and initial tour schedule for their spectacular new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera launching a major North American Tour in Providence, R.I. at the Providence Performing Arts 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.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA will open in Philadelphia today, March 19 - April 13, 2014 at the Academy of Music. Single tickets for the Philadelphia engagement will go on sale to the public on Friday, November 29. Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-731-3333, online at kimmelcenter.org/broadway.

Mark Campbell portrays the man behind the mask, 'The Phantom,' with Julia Udine as 'Christine Daaé,' Ben Jacoby as 'Raoul,' Jacquelynne Fontaine as 'Carlotta Giudicelli,'Craig Bennett as 'Monsieur Firmin,' Edward Staudenmayer as 'Monsieur André,' Linda Balgord as 'Madame Giry,' Frank Viveros as 'Ubaldo Piangi' and Hannah Florence as 'Meg Giry.'

Mark Campbell has been seen across the country in the National Tours of Mamma Mia!and Guys & Dolls. His regional credits include The Old Globe, Cape May Stage, Virginia Stage Company and Arkansas Rep. Julia Udine makes her touring debut with PHANTOM. Regionally, she starred as Maria in West Side Story and appeared on "Law and Order SVU."Chicago native, Ben Jacoby has performed at the Marriott Theatre, Milwaukee Rep, Maine State Music Theatre and the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Jacquelynne Fontaine's stage and opera credits include The Student Prince (Kathie, Pittsburgh CLO), A Little Night Music(Charlotte, Indiana Rep), La Traviata (Violetta) and was Miss California 2006. Craig Bennett's Broadway credits include A Tale of Two Cities, South Pacific and Miss Saigon.Edward Staudenmayer's Broadway credits include Wonderland, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me and Beauty and the Beast (1st National Tour). Linda Balgord received a Drama Desk Award nomination for The Pirate Queen and has also been seen on Broadway in Gypsy, La Cage Aux Folles, Cats and Passion. Iron Frank Viveros originated the roles of Bloat The Blowfish in Disney's Finding Nemo: The Musical and Chef in Yellow Brick Road. Hannah Florence appeared in Scandalous (Broadway) as well as Where's Charley(Encores!), Anna Nicole (NYC Opera/BAM) and Mary Poppins (1st National Tour).

The Ensemble includes Adam Bashian, Nick Cartell, Dan Debenport, Amy Decker, Mark Emerson, Cooper Grodin, Michael Thomas Holmes, Celia Hottenstein, Christopher Howard, Merritt David Janes, Amy Justman, Edward Juvier, Dustin Layton, Luke Lazzaro, Jay Lusteck, Katie McCreary, Grace Morgan, Christy Morton, Quinto Ott, Eric Ruiz and Marguerite Willbanks. The Corps de Ballet includes Morgan Cowling, Anjelica Bette Fellini, Ramona Kelley, Abigail Mentzer, Lily Rose Peck, Tara Sweeney and Micki Weiner.

For more information on the production, visit www.ThePhantomOfTheOpera.com.

Andrew Lloyd Webber said, "It's wonderful to have a new production of PHANTOM touring America in the same year that the show celebrates 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.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA continues its record-breaking runs in London and on Broadway. There are currently five productions around the world: the flagship London production (26 Years and counting), New York (25 years and counting - PHANTOMcelebrated its 25th Anniversary on Broadway on January 26 of this year), Budapest (Hungary), Kyoto (Japan, also celebrating 25 years and counting), and Seoul (Korea).

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.

The new touring production of The Phantom of the Opera will be the first to tour the U.S. in three years. There have been three previous U.S. National Tours 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 spectacular new production of The Phantom of the Opera will play the following cities and theatres in the 2013/14 season:

Providence, RI Providence Performing Arts Center Nov. 27-Dec. 7, 2013

Minneapolis, MN Orpheum Theatre Dec. 13-Jan. 5, 2013

Chicago, IL Cadillac Palace Theatre January 9-March 2, 2013

Columbus, OH Ohio Theatre March 5-16, 2013

Philadelphia, PA The Academy of Music March 19-April 13, 2013

Rochester, NY Auditorium Theatre April 16-27, 2013

Cincinnati, OH Aronoff Center April 30-May 11, 2013

Greenville, SC The Peace Center May 14-25, 2013

Schenectady, NY Proctors May 28-June 8, 2013

Appleton, WI Fox Cities PAC June 11-22, 2013

Boston, MA Boston Opera House June 26-July 20, 2013

Milwaukee, WI Uihlein Hall July 23-August 3, 2013

Des Moines, IA Civic Center September 10-21, 2013

Additional cities will be announced at a later date. For more information on the production, visit www.ThePhantomOfTheOpera.com.