SPOTLIGHT ON THE 2011 TONY AWARDS: DAY 31 - Hal Prince, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Michael Crawford & THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

As a super-special Spring extension of BroadwayWorld's SOUND OFF column, every day until the Tony Awards on June 12 we will be presenting a spectacular new entry in the SPOTLIGHT ON THE 2011 TONY AWARDS series featuring a particularly entertaining, interesting, relevant and exciting Tony Awards-related clip from the last sixty-three years of the ceremonies and subsequent seasons on Broadway with a rundown and commentary on the sights, sounds and showmanship on display in each carefully chosen selection - all, of course, coming in anticipation of Broadway's biggest night, which will be broadcast on CBS this year, as always. Once again this year, BroadwayWorld is the official home of the 2011 Tony Awards and we will also be featuring exclusive interviews, articles, photos, video content, interactive features and more in the coming days and weeks leading up to the event so be sure to check back daily for your theatre fix!

Considering the fact that it is Broadway's longest running show - and, not only that, but also the most successful entertainment of all time - the top spot in our 2011 31 Days of the Tony Awards Countdown should be, must be and is: THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and its multi-Tony-winning composer and producer, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, its director, Hal Prince - the King of the Tony Awards with 21 wins - as well as the original Phantom himself, Tony-winner Michael Crawford. Now that original PHANTOM composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has written a sequel to the smash hit musical juggernaut - the wildly different LOVE NEVER DIES; two different versions of it, to be exact: one in the West End, and, the exceptionally elaborate Simon Phillips production in Australia - a dicey proposition for a show that, for me, delivers on its premise and possesses a score with the potential to be just as classic as PHANTOM's iconic score undoubtedly is - the world of PHANTOM is reaching a new generation in a whole new way. With clips of Michael Crawford performing alongside Lord Lloyd Webber's then-wife Sarah Brightman - the score's inspiration and the original Christine in the West End and on Broadway - on that year's Tony Awards, as well as the 2006 Tony Awards tribute to PHANTOM's legendary director - as well as EVITA's, also by Andrew Lloyd Webber - the one and only Hal Prince, twenty-one-time Tony Award winner - we also can boast a bevy of clips featuring Tony-winner Michael Crawford singing the show's most famous song, "The Music Of The Night". What a trio - and what a note to go out on -Crawford's in "MOTN" and otherwise!

The Phantoms of the Musical Theatre

Taking the composer of the two longest-running shows in Broadway history, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and CATS - none other than Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber - and bringing him together with the most respected and accomplished director in musical theatre - looking back now, nearly twenty-five years later, it looks like THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA was destined to become a classic and achieve worldwide notoriety and success from the very start. Yet, it almost fell apart. The essential ingredient that made everything click - every single element come together and form a cohesive whole - was undoubtedly the ingenious casting of the endlessly charismatic Michael Crawford. Known at that time mostly for his comedy roles - though he appeared in the film versions of HELLO, DOLLY and A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM many years before PHANTOM - Michael Crawford had also performed in some West End shows such as CHARLIE & ALGERNON and BARNUM. But, it was not until PHANTOM that Crawford got the chance to display his considerable dramatic chops as well as sing a score possessing the power and gravitas as many of the finest roles in even opera itself, as well as in the classic musical theatre canon. It was a mesmerizing performance in a dazzling show with a rapturous score. For those three reasons alone, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and the three men who made it all come together and become something even greater are due our very best tribute if only for the sheer number of people the show has employed over the decades - on Broadway, the West End and all around the world. Of special note, also, is the fact that Andrew Lloyd Webber has recently scored new songs for an all-new production of THE WIZARD OF OZ in the West End starring none other than Michael Crawford as the Wizard. EVITA is coming back to Broadway, as well, starring Ricky Martin - more than thirty years after Hal Prince's original multi-Tony-winning production. So, here we go, down once more - come and enjoy the music, the magic and the mask one more time as we take one last longing look back on this, Broadway's biggest night, Tony night, which - as we all know - happens starting at 8 PM on CBS! Don't miss it - and all of our extensive coverage of it here before, during and after the show at BroadwayWorld, the home of the 2011 Tony Awards.

Also, be sure to check back for the special SOUND OFF review of the 2011 Tony Awards hosted by Neil Patrick Harris first thing tomorrow morning. Who knows what will happen - and we will have a complete, thorough rundown as only we can do.

So, kicking the final night of our countdown off, here is the 1988 Tony Awards performance of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA featuring a medley of the title song and the show's most famous anthem, "The Music Of The Night", performed by Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman and introduced by that year's host, Ms. Angela Lansbury.

Next, here is Michael Crawford's heartfelt, touching and exuberant acceptance speech after winning Best Actor In A Musical, as presented by Bernadette Peters and Joel Grey.

Now, go back almost ten years before that and witness Andrew Lloyd Webber and Hal Prince's first collaboration together: the 1979 Tony-winning Best Musical, EVITA, featuring that year's Tony-winners Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin, alongside the Peron of Bob Gunton, leading the blazing Act One Finale, "A New Argentina". Is that a belt or a yodel? Whatever it is: it is unforgettable and riveting - and that is in no small part due to Ms. LuPone's titanic performance and Hal Prince's sparse and striking staging.

Following that, here is Best Actress In A Musical Betty Buckley leading "Memory" from CATS on the 1983 Tony Awards CATS was originally directed by Trevor Nunn, by the way. Wow - what a tail-tingling caterwaul and complete investment in the character's lives - all nine of them! CATS and THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA not only share places as the longest-running Broadway shows, but, also, of course, both possess scores by Andrew Lloyd Webber - and both mega-musicals also took home the same amount of Tony Awards in their respective years, with CATS taking seven and PHANTOM scoring seven, both times including the coveted Best Musical top honors - seven being the same number as EVITA won, by the way, which was directed by eventual PHANTOM director and ALW collaborator Hal Prince who won for Best Director PHANTOM, as well.

From a look at Andrew Lloyd Webber's CATS to a focus on Hal Prince, next, here is Howard McGillin performing a portion of "The Music of The Night" at the 2006 Tony Awards tribute to Mr. Prince in honor of PHANTOM becoming the longest-running show in Broadway history and surpassing CATS' two-decade record - more than twenty years after Mr. Prince won the Tony Award for Best Director for his work on PHANTOM.

Finally, check out Michael Crawford's reprise of his inimitable Tony and Grammy-winning "Music Of The Night" performance on the 1991 Tony tribute sequence "The Year of the Musical Actor". Even sans mask Crawford assumes the position of the dark angel at the core of the show's soul - no one has, could or will ever do the role like he did, clearly.

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Now, as a special bonus, we have Michael Crawford performing "Tell Me On A Sunday" from Andrew Lloyd Webber's SONG & DANCE on THE Johnny Carson SHOW from the early 1990s.

Will tonight's Tony telecast contain a clip as classic as any in our countdown? The cast of the film version of COMPANY - incidentally, a show originally directed on Broadway by Hal Prince - purports to be quite a fantastic opener, so we may very well have a hit show on our hands, after all, folks! But, classic? We'll have to wait and see about that - and, at last, the wait is almost over!

Be sure to check back tomorrow for the SOUND OFF 2011 Tony Awards in-depth review and be sure to send us your favorite Tony Awards clip if one of your favorites didn't make this year's countdown! Also: what was your favorite of the 100+ clips featured over the last 31 days? We'd love to know!

As for the countdown? Until next year…