After over 30 years in production The Angel of Music is making its triumphant return to Dallas at The Music Hall at Fair Park in Dallas from December 19th through January 6 and it’s better than ever!

Looking for a last minute Christmas gift idea?  Anyone in your family would love to see this production!  Seen it before?  I’ve seen it several times before and it never gets old.  This is a new fresh production with beautiful new set designs and even more intense drama!   Maybe your children have never seen it before?  This Phantom will amaze and delight the new generation!  Really, this musical is for everyone in your family.

I had the incredible opportunity to interview the new Phantom, Quentin Oliver Lee before the musical started and I was very impressed with both his presence and his graciousness.  He gave me some insight into his background and aspects of his performance.  Quentin has starred in Porgy and Bess, Lion King and several other productions. He has found that starring in Phantom has presented some unique challenges.  Such as the unique music of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s that is challenging to sing due to the number of minor and flat notes that you’re required to sing.  Also human elements such as Phantom’s darkness, anger, and frustration were quite challenging for him to display.  But having such a great leading lady as, Eva Tavares (Christine) helped him tremendously in his performance.  It also takes over an hour for The Phantom’s make-up to be applied and at least 30 minutes to take off each night.  He loves the role though and is looking forward to performing in Dallas the next two weeks.

The media also got an exclusive peek in the house an hour before the musical began to see the real star of the musical be prepared for her performance – The Giant PHANTOM Chandelier!  Stage Manager, Mitchell Hodges gave us several amazing details about the chandelier itself and the preparation that goes into it.  Such as:

• Each production has their own uniquely designed and created chandelier which is modeled the chandelier after one in the Palais Garnier, Paris’s opera house.
• The Chandelier weighs 2000 pounds so it’s a real challenge to get it into each theater on the tour.
• It is made up of 6,000 beads consisting of 35 beads to each string and includes several pounds of gold leaf.
• The touring version falls at 5.5 miles per second in the opening act.
• The original version was built by 5 people in 4 weeks.
• It takes crew members over an hour each night to prepare the chandelier and wrap it in silks before each performance.
• In the opening auction scene, a system of magnets and a weight in a tube at the bottom of the medallion sucks the bag inside the chandelier, revealing its splendour.
• There are 50 wirelessly controlled pyro elements concealed inside the chandelier. It launches three fireworks called “gerbs.” There are also 40 smaller firecrackers that go off like gunshots.
• It can be very scary when it drops and takes some audience members by surprise.  He said there have been multiple screams from the audience when it drops!

We also heard from Mitchell some wonderful trivia about the dazzling costumes worn in Phantom:

• Each performance has 230 costumes, 14 dressers
• Each actor has their own set of costumes.
• Each actor has 2 sets of costumes and can’t use the costume twice in a day.
• There are costume fixes every day because of the heavy use.
• Some costumes weigh more than 40 pounds.
• Some wardrobe changes are made in 15 seconds!

With newly reinvented staging and stunning scenic design, this new version of PHANTOM is performed by a cast and orchestra of 52, making this one of the largest productions on tour in North America.  So if you’re looking for some last minute Christmas gifts or even if you’re not, you will not be disappointed in this incredible performance of The Phantom of The Opera!

To purchase tickets, visit:  DallasSummerMusicals.org, call 800-745-3000 or visit the Music Hall at Fair Park’s Box Office at 909 1st Avenue, Dallas TX 75210. Ticket prices start at $26 (pricing subject to change).  For more information on the production and a video sneak peek, please visit www.ThePhantomOfTheOpera.com/ustour/