Most musicals have some sort of love interest or love story, but none are so disturbing as the one in Phantom of the Opera. Like any good drama, it involves a rival, unrequited love, and even kidnapping – all communicated to the audience through singing.

Is your interest piqued yet? If you’ve never seen the movie or the play, then you’re in for a surprise. If you’ve only seen the movie, seeing the plot unfold in person is another thing entirely. The play toys with the audience’s emotions just as much as the Phantom toys with Christine. It’s a drama you have to experience to understand.

A Dark Plot

The phantom is both the protagonist and the villain in the play, as he controls what the theater (the setting for the play) does, who it hires, and which roles they give out. He does this partly out of musical genius and partly because he’s bitter.

That same Phantom, who isn’t a ghost but a man who lives in the bowels of the theater, finds Christine, a chorus girl, full of talent and starts to tutor her. With his help, she goes from backup singer to lead soprano. That’s what he wanted – except for the fact that it attracts the attention of another man. That man, the Viscount of Chagny, sweeps her off her feet and takes her away from the phantom. This turns out to be a grave mistake.

Suspense and Song Lyrics

To find out what happens between Christine and the Phantom and learn the fate of the Viscount, you’ll have to see the musical in person. But be warned – you’ll come away with the songs stuck in your head for days. It’s an adventure that only someone in the 19th century could have thought up.