Cocktail Party Fact: Andrew Lloyd Webber and Trevor Nunn (who had directed Cats) began working on an early version of Aspects of Love in the early 1980s. Lloyd Webber decided at some point that the material was not appropriate for the story, so he stopped and turned his attention to the Phantom of the Opera, reusing many of the tunes he had written for Aspects. When an early draft of Phantom was presented, Nunn was understandably upset that the songs he had worked on were being recycled and, even more so, that he had been left out of the new project. After Lloyd Webber had agreed that Hal Prince would direct Phantom, Nunn caused a bit of a ruckus and producer Cameron Mackintosh fired Prince and hired Nunn to direct. But Lloyd Webber was furious. He fired Nunn and re-hired Prince, who did eventually direct the show.

Here’s The Plot: The show starts with a prologue set at an auction for artifacts from the (fictional) Opera Populaire in Paris. The 70-year-old Vicomte de Chagny (Raoul) sees a paper mache monkey playing an organ and is reminded of Christine and the Phantom of the Opera. The next item is the great chandelier, now in pieces, but suddenly the chandelier rises up to the top of the theatre, we hear the Phantom’s theme, and the show begins. The first scene takes place at a rehearsal where we meet the main characters. As the prima donna, Carlotta, begins to sing “Think of Me,” a large painted drop falls and almost hits her, sending her back to her dressing room in hysterics. The slightly sinister, extremely mysterious Madame Giry tells the new opera managers this was a message from the Phantom, that they must leave his box open for him at every performance and must continue his salary of 20,000 francs a month. They refuse. A chorus girl, Christine Daae, is persuaded to step up and try Carlotta’s song. Her voice is wonderful. She confesses to her friend Meg that she has a secret teacher who has been coaching her. Raoul hears Christine sing at a performance and comes backstage afterward to compliment her. Inside her dressing room, Christine sees the Phantom in her mirror and as he beckons her to follow, she steps through the mirror and follows him down into the depths of the opera house, through an underground lake, to his lair beneath the Opera Populaire.

While there, Christine comes up behind the Phantom and rips his mask off, angering him greatly. The Phantom demands of the managers that Christine be given the lead in the opera’s latest production, but the managers refuse. So in the middle of the next performance, Carlotta begins croaking like a frog in the middle of her song. Christine is rushed on in her place just as the stage manager’s body falls from the flies, dead. Raoul hurries Christine away, up to the roof of the opera house where he confesses his love to her, but the Phantom hears this and grows even angrier.

As the performance continues, the Phantom hurls the great chandelier down, crashing onto the stage as Act I ends. As Act II begins, the Phantom demands that the Opera Populaire produce the opera he has written for Christine, with her in the lead. The managers refuse, but Raoul convinces them to do it, as a trap to catch the Phantom. The Phantom’s opera is produced and on opening night, he steps into the male lead himself. Christine recognizes him and as he proposes to her, she rips his mask off for everyone to see. He runs back to his lair, with Christine in tow, pursued by Raoul and everyone else. Back in his lair, he captures Raoul and the Phantom tells Christine that if she marries him, he will spare Raoul’s life. Otherwise Raoul will die. Out of pity for him, Christine kisses the Phantom full on the lips, and he is so moved by her act of kindness, he releases Raoul, and before the angry crowd reaches them, the Phantom disappears.

Memorable Melodies: “Think of Me,” “Angel of Music,” “The Phantom of the Opera,’ “Music of the Night,” “All I Ask of You,” “Masquerade,” “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again,” “The Point of No Return.”

Vital Statistics: Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart, book by Lloyd Webber and Richard Stilgoe, additional lyrics by Stilgoe. Originally directed in London and on Broadway by Harold Prince. Opened at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London October 9, 1986, and is still running. Opened at the Majestic Theatre in New York on January 26, 1988 and is still running.

Why See It?: This is not the greatest score ever written, but some of the melodies are quite beautiful, and on occasion the lyrics rise to the level of the melodies. It is an ashamedly romantic musical, full of lush orchestration and high emotion. The physical production, with brilliant direction by Hal Prince and production design by Maria Bjornson, is even better than the material. It can be a genuinely thrilling evening of theater.