Phantom Of The Opera (1986 Broadway)

 Holy Cow! I can not believe that this musical masterpiece is 40 years old this year. Last year, I wrote a blog post about the Phantom of the Opera which was a book written by Gaston Leroux over 100 years ago. But then, in 1986, the world was introduced to the musical adaptation of the great story thanks to the efforts of Andrew Lloyd Webber who created the music along with lyricists Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe.

Stilgoe along with Lloyd Webber also did the libretto and follows the plot from the book where singer Christine Daae, who becomes the obsession of a mysterious and disfigured musical genius aka the Phantom of the Opera who lives in a labyrinth beneath the Paris Opera house.

The musical made its debut again back in 1986 at the West End theatre in London and from there onward left a legacy like no other. Winning numerous awards, gross billions of dollars worldwide, is the longest running opera show in history and has been seen by 100s of millions of people in multiple countries and cities.

Now, although I am not into many broadway shows, the Phantom of the Opera was not only my introduction to the Phantom in general, but the first musical I enjoyed along with Grease. 

The original cast was Michael Crawford who played the part of the Phantom, Sarah Brightman played the role of Christine Daae and Steve Barton (RIP) as Raoul.

I absolutely love this musical! Heck! I just love the Phantom of the Opera itself! As mentioned in an earlier blog post about the Phantom, I really could relate to Erik, being an awkward kid and feeling like a monster at times. I felt so sorry for him even though he was being obsessed with Christine. 

Erik was born with deformity and seeing him trying to find love only to realize that he has become a monster and thanks to Christine, Erik was able to find peace and learn what true love really means. Just thinking about it still makes me cry, but it works when it is executed properly.

For example, the love triangle between the Phantom, Christine and Raoul. Christine and Raoul have known each other since childhood and she shows great affection towards him as he represents a wholesome, rich and Christian marriage. On the flip side, Christine is also drawn towards the Phantom because she pities him for living a life of darkness and loneliness due to his deformity as well as seeing him as her Angel of Music.

Personally I really love listening to the opening song the "Phantom of the Opera" song where the Phantom takes Christine to his lair, it just gets me so pumped up for the show. Although I must say, the song All I Ask of You and Masquerade/Why So Silent are quite enjoyable as well.

Like I said before, I am not into many musicals, but this one really hits home for me and it amazes me that it came out 40 years ago.

Such a timeless classic! Thank you to Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe and all of the actors and actresses who played these great characters. I especially want to thank Gaston Leroux for writing such a masterpiece.

Happy 40th Phantom!

Until Next Time!

God Bless and Be Safe Everybody! 🙏🙏🙏

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