THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Tour Coming to Andrew Jackson Hall

Cameron Mackintosh's spectacular new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA premieres at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Jackson Hall March 9-20, 2016. With newly reinvented staging and stunning scenic design, this new version of PHANTOM is performed by a cast and orchestra of 52 people, making this one of the largest productions on tour in North America.

Tickets for PHANTOM go on sale Friday, December 18, at 10:00 a.m. CT online at TPAC.org, by phone at 615-782-4040, and at the TPAC Box Office, 505 Deaderick Street, in downtown Nashville. For group tickets, please call 615-782-4060.

"It's wonderful to have a new production of PHANTOM touring America now that the show has celebrated 27 years on Broadway," said Andrew Lloyd Webber. "Director Laurence Connor has done an amazing job, and this production has received huge critical acclaim in the U.K."

"With PHANTOM still the reigning champion as the longest-running production on Broadway after 27 phenomenal years, with no end in sight, I'm delighted that this spectacular new production of PHANTOM has been as well received in the U.S. as the brilliant original," said Cameron Mackintosh. "With an exciting new design and staging, retaining Maria Björnson's amazing costumes, the new PHANTOM is thrilling audiences and critics alike all over again - the music of the night is soaring to dazzling new heights."

Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music graduate Chris Mann takes on the leading role as the Phantom. Mann earned notability as a finalist on NBC's The Voice. Since then, his debut album, Roads, hit #1 on Billboard's Heatseekers Chart, and he starred in his own PBS television special: A Mann For All Seasons. Mann has performed with the National Symphony for President Obama, at Christmas in Rockefeller Center, and headlined his own symphony tour across the country.

Mann is joined by Katie Travis as 'Christine Daaé,' Storm Lineberger as 'Raoul,' Jacquelynne Fontaine as 'Carlotta Giudicelli,' David Benoit as 'Monsieur Firmin,' Edward Staudenmayer as 'Monsieur André,' Anne Kanengeiser as 'Madame Giry,' Phumzile Sojola as 'Ubaldo Piangi' and Morgan Cowling as 'Meg Giry.'

The Ensemble includes Krista Buccellato, Nick Cartell, Dan Debenport, Steve Czarnecki, Tynan Davis, Mark Emerson, David Foley, Jr., Celia Hottenstein, Christopher M. Howard, Edward Juvier, Ted Keener, Jay Lusteck, Laura Mann, Kathryn McCreary, Shane Ohmer, Quinto Ott, Rebecca Robbins, Eric Ruiz, Allan Snyder, Travis Taylor and Marguerite Willbanks. The Corps de Ballet includes Sarah DeBiase, Christina Dooling, Julie Eicher, Abigail Mentzer, Lily Rose Peck, Alexandra Pernice, Tara Sweeney and Micki Weiner.

The brilliant original production of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA last played the Andrew Jackson Hall stage 14 years ago, and this engagement of the spectacular new production holds a significant place in the nonprofit performing arts center's history.

"In TPAC's 35-year history, no other Broadway production has played more weeks or sold more tickets than THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, and it remains one of the most requested shows in our audience surveys," said Kathleen O'Brien, TPAC's president and chief executive officer. "Presenting it for the first time in 1994 put our Broadway series on a new level, and we're thrilled to present again this magnificent newly-staged production with its beautiful music, haunting characters, and, of course, the majestic chandelier."

Cameron Mackintosh's spectacular new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is presented by Cameron Mackintosh, The Really Useful Group, and NETworks Presentations. Directed by Laurence Connor (who co-directed the new production of LES MISERABLES currently running on Broadway and around the world, as well as the award-winning new production of Miss Saigon now playing in London and coming to Broadway in 2017 and national tour in 2018, and the stage version of the movie School of Rock now playing at Broadway's Winter Garden), with choreography by Scott Ambler, set design by Paul Brown, Tony Award-winning original costume design by Maria Björnson, lighting design by Tony Award-winner Paule Constable, sound design by Mick Potter, and musical supervision by John Rigby. The production is overseen by Matthew Bourne and Cameron Mackintosh. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA: music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; lyrics by Charles Hart (with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe); book by Richard Stilgoe and Andrew Lloyd Webber; orchestrations by David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Based on the classic novel Le Fantôme de L'Opéra by Gaston Leroux, PHANTOM tells the story of a masked figure who lurks beneath the catacombs of the Paris Opera House, exercising a reign of terror over all who inhabit it. He falls madly in love with an innocent young soprano, Christine, and devotes himself to creating a new star by nurturing her extraordinary talents and employing all of the devious methods at his command.