‘Phantom of the Opera’ makes final run in Pittsburgh

Phantom of the Opera

Aug. 25 though Sept. 19

Benedum Center

Aug. 25- Sept…. Phantom of the Opera

Aug. 25 though Sept. 19

Benedum Center

Aug. 25- Sept. 14

“The Phantom of the Opera” is giving Pittsburgh a chance to experience the man behind the mask and the thrill and intrigue behind the centuries-old tale of dark obsession and unrequited love.

The Phantom will run rampant in Pittsburgh from Aug. 25 through Sept. 19 thanks to The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Pittsburgh Symphony and Broadway Across America. The show will be a part of the 2010-11 PNC Broadway Across America-Pittsburgh series.

Originally published as a novel in 1911 in France by Gaston Leroux under the name “Le Fantôme de l’Opéra,” “The Phantom of the Opera” was adapted as a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and debuted at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London on Sept. 27, 1986.

Since then, the show has picked up incredible speed and grossed more than $5 billion, making it “the most financially successful musical of all time,” according to thephantomoftheopera.com.

It became the longest-running Broadway performance overtaking the record set by “Cats” on Jan. 6, 2006 with its when it overtook the record set by “Cats” with its 7,486th performance. “It is the only Broadway show ever to reach 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st birthdays,” also reaching its 22nd in January of 2010.

“The Phantom of the Opera,” directed by Harold Prince, is the story of a young performer at the Paris Opera House who begins accepting musical tutelage from a man she refers to as her “Angel of Music.”

This mysterious, masked teacher whose face is marred by some unknown deformity wants more from Christine Daaé than what appears, yet she naively continues on with their lessons, all the while falling in love with another man.

The Phantom wreaks havoc on the opera house and the lives of the performers on his zealous quest for Christine’s heart and commitment.

The story reaches its climax when the Phantom steals Christine away and forces her to decide the outcome of her life and of the story: Stay with the Phantom forever or live without her true love, who will be killed at the hand of the Phantom.

The Paris Opera House is a real place and has been around since the end of the 19th century.

“Anyone familiar with a large opera house would testify that it is an extraordinary labyrinth of people and passageways, but the Paris Opera House … was remarkable by any standards,” according to the Phantom site.

Its majestic appearance and maze-like layout make the Paris Opera House the perfect inspiration for the Phantom’s eerie and imposing tale. The 17-story fortress, complete with stables for the “opera horses” and a lake beneath the building, will be played this fall by the Steel City’s own Benedum Center, bringing all the majesty and the intrigue of the Phantom to our doorstep.

Performing will be a 36-member cast from The Cameron Mackintosh/Really Useful Theatre Company. The show will star Tim Martin Gleason as the shrouded main character and Trista Moldovan as Christine Daaé, the innocent object of the Phantom’s oppressive fixation.

Tickets can be purchased at the Box Office at Theater Square, 655 Penn Ave., by phone at 412-456-6666 or online at www.pgharts.org.