Phantom of the opera script andrew lloyd webber pdf Continue The phantom of the Opera (musical) redirects here. For other musicals based on the novel by Gaston Leroux, see the Phantom of the Opera (disambigation). 1986 musical Ghost OperaPosterMusicAndrew Lloyd WebberLyricsCharles Hart Richard Stillgo (optional) BookRichard StilgoeAndrew Lloyd WebberBasisThe Ghost Operaby Gaston LerouxPremiere9 October 1986; 34 years ago (1986-10-09): Her Majesty's Theatre, LondonProductions1986 West End1988 Broadway1989 US Tour (Christine Tour)1990 US Tour (Raoul Tour)1993 US Tour (Music Box Tour)1993 UK Tour1999 UK Tour2012 UK Tour2013 North American Tour2020 UK and Ireland tourAwards1986 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical1986 Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best New Musical1988 Tony Award for Best Musical1988 External Circle Critics Award for Best Broadway Musical The Phantom of the Opera is a British Musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber , the words of Charles Hart and the book by Lloyd Webber and Richard Stilgoe. Based on Gaston Leroux's 1910 French novel of the same name, its central plot revolves around a beautiful soprano, Christina Daash, who becomes an obsession with a mysterious, mutilated musical genius living in an underground labyrinth under the Parisian house of Lyce. The musical opened in London's West End in 1986 and on Broadway in 1988. In 1986, he won the Olivier Award and the 1988 Tony Award for Best Musical, while Michael Crawford (starring) won the Olivier Award and the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. It is now the longest show in Broadway history, and celebrated its 10,000-strong Broadway performance on February 11, 2012, the first production ever to be staged. It is the second-longest musical in the West End, after Les Mis'rables, and the third longest West End show overall, after The Mousetrap. With a worldwide gross revenue of more than $6 billion and a total box office of more than $1 billion on Broadway, Phantom was the most financially successful entertainment event until The Lion King surpassed it in 2014. By 2011, it had been seen by more than 130 million people in 145 cities in 27 countries. In 1984, Lloyd Webber contacted Cameron Mackintosh, co-producer of Cats and Song and Dance, to propose a new musical. He aspired to a romantic play, and offered Gaston Leroux's book The Phantom of the Opera as the basis. They are filmed as the 1925 Lon Cheney and the 1943 Claude Raines film version, but neither saw any effective way to make the leap from film to scene. Later, in New York, Lloyd Webber found a thubroton copy of the original, long-printed Leroux novel that supplied the necessary inspiration for developing a musical: I was actually writing something different at the time, and I realized that's the reason I hung up because I was trying to write a basic romantic and I've been trying to do that since I started my career. Then with Phantom, he was there! Lyricist Lloyd Webber first approached Jim Steinman to write the lyrics because of his dark obsession, but he refused to meet his obligations on Bonnie Tyler's album. Alan Jay Lerner was recruited, but he became seriously ill after joining the project and was forced to leave; none of his contributions (mostly featuring the song Masquerade) are credited to the show. Richard Stilgo, the author of the lyrics for Starlight Express, wrote most of the original texts for the production. Charles Hart, a young and then relatively unknown lyricist, later rewrote many of the lyrics as well as original lyrics for Think of Me. However, some of Stilgo's initial contributions are still present in the final version. Phantom is primarily a sung musical, but there are disparate lines of conversational dialogue. Inspired in part by an earlier musical version of the same Ken Hill story, Lloyd Webber's score is sometimes operatic in style but maintains the form and structure of the musical throughout. Full-fledged opera passages are reserved mainly for supporting characters such as Andre and Firmin, Carlotta and Pianga. They are also used to provide the content of fictional operas that take place in the show itself, viz., Hannibal, Il Muto, and Phantom's masterpiece, Don Juan Triumph. Here, Lloyd Webber pastiches different styles from the great operas of Meyerber to Mozart and even Gilbert and Sullivan. These plays are often presented as musical fragments, interrupted by dialogue or action sequences to clearly define show shows. Musical excerpts from Phantom's opera Don Juan Triumphator, heard in the latter stages of the show, are dissonant and modern, which perhaps suggests that the Phantom is ahead of his time artistically. Designed, directed and choreographed by Maria Bjornson, she designed and choreographed more than 200 costumes, including intricate dresses in the Masquerade sequence. Her myriad designs, including a chandelier, underground gondolas, and sweeping staircases, earned her several awards. Hal Prince, director of Cabaret, Candide, Stupidity and Evita Lloyd Webber, directed the production, while Gillian Lynn, Deputy Director and Choreographer of Cats, provided a holistic musical production and choreography. The West End and Broadway First preview of Sydmonton's first preview of the first act was staged at Sydmonton (home of Lloyd Webber) in 1985, starring Colm Wilkinson (later a Toronto production star) as Phantom, Sarah Brightman as Christine (later Christina), and Clive Carter (later a member of the London cast) as Raoul. This very pre-production used the original by Richard Stilgoe lyrics, and many songs carried names that were later changed, such as What Time Did to Me (Think Of Me), and Paper (Notes). The phantom's original mask covered the entire face and remained in place throughout the performance, obscuring the actor's vision and drowning out his voice. Maria Bjornson has developed now an iconic semi-prima to replace it, and exposing the sequence has been added. Clips of this preview were included on the 2004 film production DVD. The West End Phantom began previews at Her Majesty's Theatre in London's West End on 27 September 1986, under the direction of Hal Prince, and then opened on 9 October. It was staged by Gillian Lynn, and the scenery was designed by Maria Bjornson, with lighting by Andrew Bridge. Michael Crawford starred with Sarah Brightman as Christina and Steve Barton as Raoul. The production, which was played at Her Majesty's Theatre, celebrated its 10,000th performance on October 23, 2010, which featured Lloyd Webber and the original Phantom Michael Crawford. At its close, it was the second-longest musical in West End (and world) history after Les Mis'dables, and third overall behind Mousetrap. On October 1 and 2, 2011, the Royal Albert Hall hosted the 25th anniversary of the stage performance, which was shown in cinemas around the world. The production was produced by Cameron Mackintosh, director Lawrence Connor, musical production and choreography by Gillian Lynn, stage design by Matt Kinley, costume design by Maria Bjornson, lighting design by Patrick Woodroff and sound design by Mick Potter. The cast included Ramin Karimloo as Phantom, Sierra Boggessi as Christine, Hadley Fraser as Raoul, Wynne Evans as Pianga, Wendy Ferguson as Carlotta, Barry James as Monsieur Firmin, Gareth Snook as Monsieur Andre, Liz Robertson as Madame Geary, and Daisy Maywood as Meg. Lloyd Webber and several original actors, including Crawford and Brightman, were present. THE DVD and Blu-ray performances were released in February 2012, and it began airing in March 2012 on the PBS television series Great Performances. In March 2012, a new production directed by Lawrence Connor began a tour of the UK and Ireland to celebrate the show's 25th anniversary, starting with the Royal Plymouth Theatre and travelling to Manchester, Bristol, Dublin, Leeds, Edinburgh, Milton Keynes, Cardiff and Southampton. John Owen-Jones and Earl Carpenter alternated as The Ghost, with Katie Hall as Christina and Simon Bailey as Raoul. The 30th anniversary was october 10, 2016 with a special look of the original cast during the curtain call. Production was forced into a long hiatus, starting on March 16, 2020 as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the arts. In June 2020, it was announced that the show will not open in 2020. After that, it was confirmed that the reconstruction of the scenery and the theater would require an extended closure. On July 28, 2020, producer Cameron Mackintosh stated that the production had been closed for good, but was determined to return to the West End sometime in the future. Lloyd Webber has denied claims of a permanent closure. It was later confirmed that the show would return with a completely new physical production of Maria Bjornson's original design, in a renovated theatre. Broadway at the Majestic Phantom Theatre began Broadway previews at the Majestic Theatre on January 9, 1988 and opened on January 26. Lloyd Webber had hoped to open in Toronto before Broadway, but political pressure forced the change. Crawford, Brightman and Barton played their roles in the West End. The production continues to play In Majestic, where it became the first Broadway musical in history, surpassing 10,000 performances on February 11, 2012. On January 26, 2013, the production celebrated its 25th anniversary with its 10,400th anniversary. It is, with more than 3,500 performances, the longest-running show in Broadway history. The 30th anniversary was January 26, 2018 with special events and an additional performance during the week. By April 2019, Phantom had been delivered more than 13,000 times. Critical reviews were mostly positive at the opening. Frank Rich of The New York Times writes, It might be a terrible time in The Phantom of the Opera, but you have to work on it.