GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — For the first time, a Broadway show will run for two weeks at DeVos Performance Hall as West Michigan welcomes The Phantom of the Opera.
Broadway Grand Rapids announced the show will be part of its 2015-2016 series. The show will debut May 18, 2016, and will run through May 29.
The following is part of a news release from Broadway Grand Rapids:
Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group are delighted to announce that their spectacular new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA will make its Grand Rapids premiere in at DeVos Performance Hall for 16 performances May 18-29, 2016. With newly reinvented staging and stunning scenic design, this new version of PHANTOM, the most successful musical of all-time, will be performed by a cast and orchestra of 52, making this one of the largest productions on tour in North America.
This exciting announcement follows the approval by the Kent County Convention/Arena Authority to upgrade DeVos Performance Hall to allow for this spectacular show. The commissioners voted unanimously to make structural improvements in order to allow shows of this caliber to play on the DeVos Hall stage. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA will mark the first time Broadway Grand Rapids will have a touring show on stage for 2 weeks. Commissioners applauded the opportunity to enhance the community’s reputation as a destination city. Current Broadway season ticket holders will have first opportunity to secure tickets for this landmark event in the 2015-16 season.
For more information on the production and a video sneak peek, please visit http://www.ThePhantomOfTheOpera.com/USTour
Andrew Lloyd Webber said, “It’s wonderful to have a new production of PHANTOM touring America now that the show has celebrated over 25 years on Broadway. Director Laurence Connor has done an amazing job and this production has received huge critical acclaim in the UK.”Cameron Mackintosh said, ”After a glorious celebration of 25 phenomenal years on Broadway with no end in sight, I’m delighted to be able to bring this dazzling new production of PHANTOM — which has been phenomenally well-received by both audiences and critics in the U.K this past year — to North America. With an exciting new design and staging, retaining Maria Björnson’s amazing costumes, I am confident North American audiences will fall in love with the PHANTOM in his new guise — for the first time or all over again.”
The new production of PHANTOM has been an enormous hit on its inaugural UK tour with audiences and critics alike…
“An intense and spectacular new production with a stunning new design,
fresh drama and added momentum.”
“Cameron Mackintosh’s flawless new PHANTOM is the best production of this musical ever.”
“Take a deep breath and prepare to be dazzled; this kind
of gorgeous escapism is exactly what audiences need.”
“A PHENOMENON.”
“Andrew Lloyd Webber’s luscious music – a great theatrical experience PHANTASTIC.”
This new production of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is directed by Laurence Connor (the 25th Anniversary production of Les Misérables now on Broadway) with choreography by Scott Ambler, set design by Paul Brown, Tony Award®-winning original costume design by Maria Björnson, lighting design by Tony Award®-winner Paule Constable, sound design by Mick Potter and musical supervision by John Rigby. The production is overseen by Matthew Bourne and Cameron Mackintosh. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; lyrics are by Charles Hart (with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe) and the book is by Richard Stilgoe and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Orchestrations are by David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
There are currently seven productions of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA around the world: the flagship London production (27 Years and counting), New York (26 Years and counting), Sapporo (Japan, 25 Years and counting, in repertory), Budapest (Hungary), Hamburg (Germany), the Asian Pacific Tour and Cameron Mackintosh’s spectacular all-new production now on North American Tour. The next international opening will be in Taipei, China in September 2014.
Since its debut, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has grossed over $5.6 billion worldwide, with over 65,000 performances that have been seen by 130 million people in 29 countries and 150 cities in 13 languages. The show has won more than 70 major theater awards.
There have been three previous U.S. National Tours of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA that grossed over $1.5 billion in combined box office sales and played 216 engagements in 77 cities for an unprecedented total of 36 years and over 14,500 performances to 31 million people.
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.
