The Phantom of the Opera: All you need to know about the legendary musical
He's back, The Phantom of the Opera!
Last updated 8th Oct 2021
October 2021 marks a whopping 35 years since The Phantom of the Opera opened on the West End. The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical has become a staple both in the West End and Broadway with the Phantom's mask one of the most well-known icons in theatre.
Here we'll dive into everything you need to know about the hit musical including the show's history, who's in the cast and how to get tickets.
What is The Phantom of the Opera about?
The Phantom of the Opera is based on the 1910 French novel of the same name by Gaston Leroux. The musical tells the story of Christine Daaé, a soprano at the Paris Opéra House. Beneath the opera house lives a mysterious, masked musical genius who becomes obsessed with Christine.
Who's in the cast?
The West End production of The Phantom of the Opera stars Killian Donnelly (Les Misérables, Kinky Boots) in the titular role, Lucy St Louis (Motown the Musical, The Book of Mormon) plays Christine Daaé and Rhys Whitfield (Summer and Smoke, Jesus Christ Superstar) as Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny.
The cast also includes Saori Oda as ‘Carlotta Giudicelli’, Matt Harrop as ‘Monsieur Firmin’, Adam Linstead as ‘Monsieur André’, Greg Castiglioni as ‘Ubaldo Piangi’, Francesca Ellis as ‘Madame Giry’ and Ellie Young as Meg Giry. At certain performances the role of ‘Christine Daaé’ will be played by Holly-Anne Hull.
They are joined by Leeroy Boone, Corina Clark, Edward Court, Lily De-La-Haye, Hywel Dowsell, Jemal Felix, Erin Flaherty, James Gant, Eilish Harmon-Beglan, Yukina Hasebe, Olivia Holland-Rose, Grace Hume, James Hume, Donald Craig Manuel, Jonathan Milton, Janet Mooney, Tim Morgan, Beatrice Penny-Toure, Michael Robert-Lowe, Nikki Skinner, Tim Southgate, Ashley Stillburn, Manon Taris, Anouk Van Laake, Skye Weiss, Simon Whitaker and Karen Wilkinson.
Who wrote Phantom?
The music for The Phantom of the Opera was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and is probably one of his most famous musicals (which is quite impressive considering how famous all the others are).
The lyrics were written by Charles Hart who also collaborated with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black for Aspects of Love. Charles also penned the lyrics for Bend It Like Beckham. The book and additional lyrics were written by Richard Stillgoe.
Charles Hart on Scala Radio
You can hear Charles on Scala Radio when he joins Jack Pepper from 6pm on Saturday (9th October).
Who directed Phantom?
Harold Prince, (often referred to as Hal Prince) was the director for The Phantom of the Opera. Harold has worked on several famous productions, another Lloyd Webber show he worked on was Evita. He directed many of Stephen Sondheim's musicals including Follies, A Little Night Music and Sweeney Todd.
Harold was also a co-producer on the original 1954 production of The Pajama Game and the 1957 production of West Side Story.
Who choreographed Phantom?
The Phantom of the Opera was originally choreographed by legendary choreographer Gillian Lynne. Gillian's also worked on other Lloyd Webber musicals including Cats which is renowned for its brilliant choreography.
In 2018 the New London Theatre, the original home of Cats was renamed after her making it the first West End Theatre to be named after a non-royal woman. The theatre is now home to Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella.
Adapted staging and choreography for Phantom is by Chrissie Catwright.
Where is The Phantom of the Opera in London?
The London home of The Phantom of the Opera is Her Majesty's Theatre which is located on the Haymarket just a short walk from Piccadilly Circus. Her Majesty's Theatre has been the place to see Phantom in the West End since the show opened in 1986.
Has Phantom won any awards?
Phantom had three nominations at the 1986 Laurence Olivier Awards where it won Best New Musical and Michael Crawford won Best Actor in a Musical for the role of the Phantom. The show also won two more Olivier Awards later on, Most Popular Show in 2002 and the Magic Radio Audience Award in 2016.
The Broadway production received 10 Tony nominations at the 1988 Tony Awards where they won seven including Best Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (Michael Crawford once again), Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical (Judy Kaye) and Best Direction of a Musical (Harold Prince).
Is there a film version?
The original novel has had multiple film versions but the Andrew Lloyd Webber version got its big screen adaptation in 2004. The film was directed by Joel Schumacher and had Gerard Butler in the titular role and Emmy Rossum as Christine.
Is Phantom closing?
Not at all! Fears for the future of the West End production came when all theatres were forced to close their doors in March 2020 because of the Coronavirus pandemic. In the summer of that year producer Cameron Mackintosh said that Phantom would be closed permanently.
However, that did not end up being the case, the time was used to get some much needed renovation work done on the theatre and set and the Phantom returned to Her Majesty's Theatre in July 2021!
When did The Phantom of the Opera open in London?
The Phantom of the Opera began previews on 27th September 1986 and had its official opening night on 9th October 1986 meaning the show has been running for 35 years!
Is Phantom the longest running musical?
It is not, the West End production is currently in second place for the West End's (and the world's) longest running musical. The top spot is held by Les Misérables which has been running almost exactly a year longer having opened at the Barbican on 9th October 1985.
The musical does however hold the title for Broadway's longest running musical with the production in New York running since January 1988.
WATCH: Classic trailer for The Phantom of the opera
How to get tickets to The Phantom of the Opera in London
Tickets for The Phantom of the Opera can be bought online from the LW Theatres website.
For Access bookings you can contact access@lwtheatres.co.uk and include the name of the show in the subject. LW Theatres also offer an Access scheme designed to make it easier to purchase Access and companion tickets. Full information for the LW Theatres Access Scheme can be found on their website.
Love musicals?
If you enjoy musicals, have you tried out Scala Premium station 'Time to Sing? From choral, opera, and musicals, our Time to Sing station celebrates the very best vocal music. Find out more here.
Scroll through our favourite Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals:
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Andrew's first real success came with his theatre adaptation of Joseph's story and his "coat of many colours". The show began life as a 15-minute school performance in London in 1968, and by 1974 it had developed into its current iteration. The show has starred many famous faces through the years including David Cassidy, Jason Donovan, Donny Osmond, Phillip Schofield, Stephen Gately and Lee Mead all playing the titular role. A 1999 film adaptation saw Donny reprise his role of Joseph.
The musical was revived in 2019 with a new production at the London Palladium with Jac Yarrow in the lead role. The production made a return in 2021 following the pandemic and is currently on tour.
Jesus Christ Superstar
Another of Andrew's musical to borrow its plot from the bible, Jesus Christ Superstar follows the last week of Jesus' life before he was crucified. The show started out as a rock opera album, before it was made into a fully-fledged musical. The show opened on Broadway in October 1971, with rock god Alice Cooper even playing King Herod in 1996 in London.
Evita
Releasing Jeeves after Jesus Christ Superstar, Andrew chose a biographical topic for his next musical - focusing on the life of Eva Perón, the second wife of Argentine President Juan Perón. The show's most famous song is 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina', and was made into a film in 1996 with Madonna in the lead role (pictured) starring alongside Antonio Banderas and Jonathan Pryce.
Cats
Taking inspiration from T. S. Eliot's poetry book Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, the show's plot may be slightly tenuous but the production itself is always marvellous. Its most famous song is 'Memory', sang by the character of Grizabella who was originated by theatre legend Elaine Paige, reprising her role for the 1998 film. Other famous faces to have played the role are Pussycat Dolls' Nicole Scherzinger, Beverley Knight, Leona Lewis and Jennifer Hudson in the 2019 film adaptation. Fun fact: Judi Dench was all set to originate the role of Grizabella, but tore her Achilles tendon just before the show began. She later played Old Deuteronomy in the 2019 film.
Starlight Express
If cats weren't hard enough to emulate on stage for three hours, ALW then decided to write a musical purely about trains! The actors traditionally perform the show on roller skates, and the titular song is possibly the most well-known. Premiering in 1984, the original West End production ran for eight years before a revised version launched in 1992 and ran for 10 years.
The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera is the longest running Broadway musical and the second longest-running West End musical - and no surprise, as it's one of the most beloved shows of all time. Based on the novel of the same name by Gaston Leroux, the story follows the titular Phantom, a disfigured music genius who lives in a labyrinth underneath the Paris Opéra House who becomes obsessed with singer Christine.
Sunset Boulevard
Based on the 1950 film of the same name, Sunset Boulevard follows the story of a former Hollywood star who clings to her old life - ending in complete tragedy. The most well-known song is 'As If We Never Said Goodbye', and the show initially ran from 1993 until 1997.
Whistle Down the Wind
Another musical based on a film, Whistle Down the Wind premiered in 1996 and the story followed that of the 1961 movie. It originally opened in the US, before a reworked run in the West End in 1998. One of the most famous songs from the show is 'No Matter What', which was recorded at the time by Boyzone for the concept album and went onto become one of their biggest hits.
Love Never Dies
A sort-of sequel to Phantom, Love Never Dies premiered in 2010 and followed the characters of the Phantom, Christine, her husband Raoul and their son Gustave 10 years after the events of the original. It opened on the West End with Sierra Boggess and Ramin Karimloo reprising their roles from as Christine and the Phantom at the Royal Albert Hall 25th Anniversary Cast in 2011.
School of Rock
Yet another musical based on a film, School of Rock was something a bit different for Andrew, following the same story as the 2003 Jack Black movie: a rock singer who has fallen on hard times poses as a music teacher. It premiered in the US in 2015 before transferring to the West End in 2016. Its final performance was in March 2020, to make way for Andrew's upcoming musical, Cinderella.
Cinderella
Which brings us to... Cinderella! Andrew's most recent musical is a modern interpretation of the original story. The West End production starred Carrie Hope Fletcher in the titular role and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt as the Stepmother. The musical's opening was postponed multiple times by the COVID-19 Pandemic but eventually opened in 2021 to rave reviews.
The West End production ended its run in June 2022 with the show now running across the pond on Broadway under the new name 'Bad Cinderella'.