Due to the global coronavirus pandemic, Broadway shows have been canceled or postponed, leaving fans without new performances to watch. Fortunately for those missing the shows, The Phantom of the Opera will be free to watch online for two days.
On Friday, April 17 at 2 p.m. ET, the YouTube Channel The Shows Must Go On will release a full-length recording of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera at Royal Albert Hall starring Sierra Boggess and Ramin Karimloo. The show will be free and available for two days.
Webber announced the channel on April 2, 2020 with a video. In the video, he said that he and Universal came up with the idea for the channel and announced that one of his musicals would be shown every Friday for “the next few weeks.”
The ‘Phantom of the Opera’ Video is Scheduled for 2 p.m.
The video for The Phantom of the Opera will go live at 2 p.m. ET on YouTube. If you want to be reminded when it is up, you can go to the YouTube channel and set a reminder for yourself so you don’t forget when it finally goes live.
The stream supports a variety of organizations helping out during the global coronavirus pandemic. They also encourage viewers to donate to Acting for Others, Broadway Cares, Actors Benevolent Fund and more.
Phantom of the Opera is Webber’s greatest hit. It tells the story of a romance between a young singer and a mask-wearing serial killer who has been stalking her from his lair beneath her house. It was adapted from Gaston Leroux’s novel, and 130 million people have already seen the show. It is the longest-running show in Broadway history has grossed more than $6 billion worldwide.
The Footage Comes From the 2011 Anniversary Celebration
In order to mark the 25th anniversary of Phantom of the Opera, Laurence Connor directed a new showing of the performance at London’s grand Royal Albert Hall in 2011. The performance, which was produced by Cameron Mackintosh, featured 200 performers in the cast and orchestra.
There were three total performances, and they were edited together to create the film. That film was later shown in theaters.
Phantom of the Opera sequel stars Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess reunited to play the Phantom and Christine and they’re supported by Hadley Fraser, who portrayed the uninteresting love interest Raoul and Wendy Ferguson who played the diva Carlotta.
There was a lengthy encore performance recorded where the show’s original Broadway and West End stars Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman take the stage and sing their signature numbers.
Note that the show will only be available for 24 hours in the UK and Ireland. It will be available to view for the full 48 hours for everyone else.
The Phantom of the Opera will be available to stream on The Shows Must Go On YouTube pages beginning at 2 p.m. ET.
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