The Phantom of the Opera in Manila!

        The Phantom of the Opera is here…inside my mind.

         After years of waiting, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera” has finally arrived in the Philippines! Webber’s musical was brought to Manila by the Lunchbox Theatrical Productions, Concertus Inc., and The Really Useful Group. It had been staged in the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) from August 25 – September 30. But due to the popularity that the musical has gained, the show has been extended up until October 14.

        It was last March when I found out that the musical is going to be shown here in the Philippines and just after the announcement, people have started raving through twitter on how eager they are to purchase tickets for the show. Luckily, Smart Infinity and Citi card holders were given a chance to buy tickets (with a discount) starting March. While the rest can only buy their tickets from the month of May and onwards. Fortunately, I managed to buy a ticket last April due to Citibank. Everyone knows how thrilled I was to watch the show!

Facts:

-       The musical was based on Gaston Leroux’s novel, The Phantom of the Opera (French: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra).

-       Andrew Lloyd Webber adapted the novel in to a musical. It premiered in Her Majesty’s Theatre (London) on September 27, 1986, and in the Majestic Theatre (Broadway) on January 9, 1988. The original cast for both premieres were Michael Crawford (Erik/Phantom), Sara Brightman (Christine Daaé) and Steve Barton (Raoul).

-       It is considered as the longest running show on Broadway; and the second longest running show in West End.

-       Joel Schumacher made a film adaptation (2004) of the novel starring Gerard Butler (Erik/Phantom), Emmy Rossum (Christine Daaé) and Patrick Wilson (Raoul)