The Phantom of the Opera returns to the Queen City this month

This post is brought to you in partnership with Blumenthal Performing Arts. All opinions are our own.

Raise your hand if you know every song from The Phantom of the Opera by heart. Keep it raised if you’re as excited as this writer is that Phantom returns to the stage this winter at Blumenthal Performing Arts.

As part of its North American tour, the show opens Wednesday, Jan. 17 and runs until Sunday, Jan. 28 at the Belk Theater at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center.

The musical, based on the French novel of the same name, follows the story of Christine, a young soprano in the Paris Opera, and the disfigured ‘phantom’ who lives under the opera house and hides his face with a mask. In his jealous love, The Phantom boosts Christine’s career and thwarts her attempts to get close to an old friend and lover, Raoul.

It’s got everything a musical theater lover wants: drama, romance and otherworldly music abound. You’ll be hooked.

Don’t just take our word for it. So far, critics have raved about the production, calling it “bigger and better than ever before.”

Phantom features a cast and orchestra of 52 people and breathtaking special effects. The famous chandelier scene, for one, incorporates a real chandelier that weighs one ton and has more than 6,000 beads. It was designed by Howard Eaton Lighting, the lighting design firm behind the Olympic rings for the London games. Throughout the show, more than 85 moving lights are used to create the surreal, mystical world of the Paris Opera house in the late 1800s.

In addition to putting on a great show, the Charlotte production of The Phantom of the Opera created a few jobs this month, too. In each city on the tour, the production hires 75 local stagehands to load the all of the set design, lighting and costumes into the theater. Plus, 35 local stagehands are needed during the performance.

For a few more interesting notes about the musical, look to the costumes. For the nine-day event, more than 1,200 costume pieces, 120 wigs and 50 false mustaches are used by the cast.

You can learn more about the show and snag your set of tickets here.

For more information about The Phantom of the Opera and Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, visit their website or Facebook page.

This story was originally published January 4, 2018 at 8:00 PM with the headline "The Phantom of the Opera returns to the Queen City this month."