The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)
The musical opened in London's West End in 1986, and on Broadway in 1988. It won the 1986 Olivier Award and the 1988 Tony Award for Best Musical, and Michael Crawford (in the title role) won the Olivier and Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Musical. It is the longest running show in Broadway history by a wide margin, and celebrated its 10,000th Broadway performance on 11 February 2012, the first production ever to do so. It is the second longest-running West End musical, after "Les Misérables", and the third longest-running West End show overall, after "The Mousetrap".
The Phantom of the Opera (1962 film)
"The Monthly Film Bulletin" wrote: "The absurd, much-filmed story crumbles—at any rate here—once the "ingénue" is reconciled to The Phantom as her mentor; but its Gothic elements are rich enough to defy time ... Surprisingly tasteful for a Hammer film, the production is also quite imaginative (The Phantom's rocky, water-lapped lair, complete with organ and double-bed) and careful." Howard Thompson of "The New York Times" called the film "a real disappointment ... In the hands of the British, with Herbert Lom as the opera ogre, the result is ornate and pretty dull. Whatever happened, chaps?" "Variety" wrote that the film "still provides a fair measure of goose pimples to combat some potential unwanted yocks. In the shadow of its predecessors the current 'Phantom' seems a reasonable booking for average houses, without doing anything to erase oldtimers' memories of the earlier versions." "Harrison's Reports" gave the film a grade of "Fair", writing, "The story of creative fakery, revenge and danger is not only loosely woven together, but its believability is weak. Its dénouement is thin and vaporish."