Wednesday, August 22, 2001
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Wednesday, August 22, 2001 |
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'The Music of the Night' Fox Theatre presents new Broadway classic 'The Phantom Of The Opera'
By MICHAEL
BOYLAN
A scorned employee of the Paris Opera House, whom everyone considers dead, lives on in the catacombs beneath the opera house. He terrorizes all those who inhabit the building, until he falls in love with a new singer. The "Phantom" devotes all of his time to making her a star and he will do so by any means necessary. That is the story behind "The Phantom of the Opera," the classic novel by Gaston Leroux and now, some would say, the most popular musical of all time. The Fox Theatre will present Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera" Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8, Sunday evenings at 7:30 and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2. Additional performances will be Thursday, Aug. 23 at 2 p.m.; Monday, Sept. 10 at 8 p.m., and Thursday, Sept. 13 at 2 p.m. Ticket prices range from $62.50 to $17.50. The musical premiered at Her Majesty's Theatre in London Oct. 9, 1986, winning every major British theater award including the Olivier and Evening Standard awards. A year and a half later it opened on Broadway with a then-record advance of $18 million. Worldwide, "The Phantom of the Opera" has had over 50,000 performances and has been seen by over 63 million people. With worldwide box office sales of over $3 billion it is the most successful entertainment venture of the 20th century, surpassing such blockbuster films as "Titanic," "E.T." and "Star Wars." This production of "The Phantom of the Opera" stars Ted Keegan as "Phantom," Rebecca Pitcher as "Christine" and John Cudia as "Raoul." Cudia was recently on Broadway in "Les Miserables" and Pitcher and Keegan are familiar with their roles as they have played Christine and Phantom on Broadway. There are 36 people in the company and the sets and costumes are exquisitely elaborate. Tickets for "The Phantom of the Opera" can be purchased at the Fox Theatre Box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 404-817-8700 or online at www.broadwayseries.com. |
