'The Phantom Of The Opera' Returns To South Florida--Time Is Running Out

The Longest-running show in Broadway History!  

RETURNS TO SOUTH FLORIDA TO HIGHLIGHT THE HOLIDAY

THEATRICAL SEASON OPENING DECEMBER 23 THROUGH

JANUARY 17 AS A MAJOR SPECIAL OF BROADWAY ACROSS

AMERICA-FORT LAUDERDALE PRESENTED BY FLORIDA

THEATRICAL ASSOCIATION AT THE BROWARD CENTER  

The Cameron Mackintosh/Really Useful Theatre Company, Inc. production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, directed by Harold Prince,  will make a return to South Florida as a major presentation of the 2009-2010 theatrical season when it opens Wednesday, December 23, brings in New Year 2010, and runs  through Sunday, January 17. Well remembered by local theater goers for its phenomenal run when it opened on February 26, 1991 as the premiere presentation of the newly built theater, this 4-week run will mark another landmark presentation as a major "special" of Broadway Across America-Ft. Lauderdale presented by Florida theatrical Association at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.  

Tickets for all performances are currently on sale at the Broward Center box office, 201 SW Fifth Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312, all Ticketmaster outlets and Broadwayacrossamerica.com or by phone at 954-462-0222 or 1-800-982-ARTS (2787) Discounts for groups of 15 or more are available by calling toll free 1-866-900-7469 or 954-462-0222.                                                 

Heading the 36-member company as The Phantom is Tim Gleason, with Trista Moldovan as the young soprano, Christine, and Sean MacLaughlin as Raoul.  Also featured will be Kim Stengel as Carlotta Giudicelli, D.C. Anderson as Monsieur André, Michael McCoy as Monsieur Firmin, Nancy Hess as Madame Giry, John Whitney as Ubaldo Piangi and Jessi Ehrlich as Meg. At certain performances, Kelly Jeanne Grant plays the role of Christine.                                               

Tim Martin Gleason (The Phantom of the Opera).  After completing a record-setting tenure as Raoul with 3 different American companies of Phantom, Tim returns to the national tour, this time as the masked man.  He began his Phantom journey with this very company in 2001 as member of the ensemble.  He quickly took over the role of Raoul, which he played for over three years. He then had the honor of playing Raoul for the record-breaking Broadway Company when Phantom became the longest-running show in Broadway history.  Mr. Gleason next originated the role of Raoul for Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular.  In September of 2007 he rejoined the Broadway cast for an additional year and a half.  With his time in all three companies, Mr. Gleason is the longest-running Raoul in American history, playing the role more than 2,600 times.  Mr. Gleason received a BS in psychology from Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia and actually pursued a business career for 4 years before deciding to become an actor.  Prior to Phantom, he has originated several roles, including Romeo in Terrence Mann's musical Romeo & Juliet at Goodspeed and Adam Gernstein in The Rhythm Club at Signature Theatre, a role for which he received a prestigious Helen Hayes Award nomination. 

Trista Moldovan (Christine Daaé) is delighted to join the U. S. National Tour of The Phantom of the Opera.  Most recently, she had the honor of working with Julie Andrews in the John Bucchino musical Simeon's Gift.  She also appeared as 'Cosette' in the regional premiere of Les Misérables at the Pioneer Theater Company.  Off-Broadway/NYC: Sally in Me and My Girl (Musicals Tonight), Rachel in Paul Revere (Theatreworks) and Seffa in Faces of War (Makor Center). Regional credits:  Gypsy (Louise), Nine (Carla), Born Yesterday (Billie Dawn), Carousel (Julie) and Cabaret (Sally).   Television: "The Guiding Light," "All My Children" and "As the World Turns."  Trista is a proud graduate of the Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music.  

Sean MacLaughlin (Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny)  is proud to perform the role of Raoul.  Broadway:  Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Woman in White. Performed the roles of Vikram in Bombay Dreams" and Armand in Elton John's Lestat;  Off-Broadway: The Audience and Requiem for William.  Some favorite regional credits include: The Kennedy Center productions of The Sondheim Celebration: Merrily We Roll Along  and Ken Ludwig's re-tooling of Tom Sawyer; Signature Theatre:  the workshop of Michael John LaChiusa's The Highest Yellow, Forum (Hero), Into The Woods (Rapunzel's Prince), The Rink (Dino), Grand Hotel (Erik);  Flat Rock Theatre: Thoroughly Modern Millie (Jimmy), The Rainmaker (Starbuck), Children of Eden (Cain /Japheth), I Love You, You're Perfect...( Man 2);  Hangar Theater: My Fair Lady (Freddy). TV/Film:  HBO's "Something the Lord Made" (Dr Swedlin) and appeared in PBS' Great Performances "South Pacific : In Concert from Carnegie Hall". Sean thanks his family for their constant love and support. Member of Actors' Equity since 1999.  

The Phantom of the Opera has music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and is directed by Harold Prince.  Lyrics are by Charles Hart (with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe) and the book is by Richard Stilgoe and Andrew Lloyd Webber.  Production design is by Maria Bjornson, lighting by Andrew Bridge and sound by Martin Levan.   Musical staging and choreography is by Gillian Lynne.  Orchestrations are by David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

                 

Based on the classic novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux, The Phantom of the Opera tells the story of a masked figure who lurks beneath The catacombs of the Paris Opera House, exercising a reign of terror over all who inhabit it.  He falls madly in love with an innocent young soprano, Christine, and devotes himself to creating a new star by nurturing her extraordinary talents and by employing all of the devious methods at his command. 

With total worldwide grosses estimated at over $5 billion, The Phantom of the Opera is the most successful entertainment venture of the twentieth century, surpassing such blockbuster films as Titanic, Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park and Star Wars.   The show had its world premiere on October 9, 1986 at Her Majesty's Theatre in London, winning every major British theatre award including the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards.  The New York production opened on January 26, 1988 where it won seven 1988 Tony^® Awards, including Best Musical. 

Over 80 million people in 124 cities in 25 countries have seen The Phantom of the Opera.   Worldwide, the show consistently plays to larger audiences and in longer engagements than any other musical in history.  On January 9, 2006, The Phantom of the Opera became the longest-running show in Broadway history surpassing Cats' record-holding run of 7,485 performances. The show celebrated an unprecedented milestone on January 26, 2008 when it reached its twentieth anniversary on Broadway. 

The Phantom of the Opera will begin on Wednesday, December 23 through Sunday, January 17, 2010. Performances are Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8:00pm and Sunday evenings at 7:30pm with matinees Saturdays, Sundays at 2:00pm.  Other holiday performances include Thursday December 24 at 1:00pm, Wednesday, December 30 at 2:00pm, Thursday December 31 at 7:00pm.  Ticket prices range from $27.00 to $75.00 and are now on sale at the Broward Center box office, 201 SW Fifth Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312 all Ticketmaster outlets and Broadwayacrossamercia.com or by phone at 954- 462-0222.  Discounts for groups of 15 or more are available by calling toll free 1-866-900-7469 or 954-462-0222  

The Fort Lauderdale engagement of The Phantom of the Opera is presented by arrangement with Broadway Across America.. Visit the official The Phantom of the Opera website at www.thephantomoftheopera.com.

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