Shattering the Chandelier: The Phantom of the Opera [BTS]

Get the full story of the chandelier stunt from The Phantom of the Opera. From inspiration to execution, this behind-the-scenes look is fascinating.

When I was a kid, there was no bigger Broadway show than The Phantom of the Opera, and I begged my parents to take me. I didn’t speak to them for weeks when I found out they saw it in London’s West End without me. (I may have been a bit of a melodramatic theater nerd.) I loved everything about the musical, from the music to the plot, and despite the problematic storyline (which I only realized was problematic years later), I sobbed when the Phantom lost the girl in the end. Ri-dic-u-lous! But true.

I knew everything about The Phantom of the Opera, backward and forwards, when I finally saw it in the Majestic Theater. Or, at least, I thought I did. But nothing could prepare me for the extravagant chandelier stunt. Of course, I knew it was coming, but the whole sequence blew my mind when I saw it in person! And even though I’ve seen crazier stunts on stage in the decades since I saw that show, I’m still fascinated by the whole event.

Get the full story of The Phantom of the Opera’s chandelier, including the inspiration for the stunt, its history, and what it takes to drop it safely every performance in the video below:

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