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align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial"><FONT
face=Georgia>Perpetually touring ‘Phantom’ still evergreen and thoroughly
entertaining </FONT></SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: "></SPAN></P>
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align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT face=Georgia></FONT></SPAN></B> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt"
align=center><SPAN
style='BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt; FONT-FAMILY: ; BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 1pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt; COLOR: ; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 1pt; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in'><FONT
face=Georgia>Bob Abelman</FONT></SPAN><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'></SPAN></P>
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align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style='BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt; FONT-FAMILY: ; BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 1pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt; COLOR: ; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 1pt; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in'><FONT
face=Georgia>Cleveland Jewish News, The News Herald, The Morning
Journal</FONT></SPAN></I><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'></SPAN></P>
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style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
face=Georgia> </FONT></SPAN></B><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; tab-stops: 95.25pt"><FONT
face=Georgia><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: en-gb">In
1993, </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial">investors
wondered whether the long-running, Tony Award-winning “The Phantom of the Opera”
w</SPAN><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: en-gb">ould
draw audiences on tour if it skimped on its expensive Broadway production values
and if it could earn a profit if it did not skimp on its expensive production
values.</SPAN></FONT></P>
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style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; tab-stops: 95.25pt"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: en-gb"><FONT
face=Georgia></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Georgia><SPAN
lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: en-gb">They
went with big.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The </SPAN><SPAN
lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: en-gb">touring
production currently on stage at the Keybank State Theatre is </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat; BACKGROUND-ATTACHMENT: scroll; BACKGROUND-POSITION: 0% 0%; COLOR: ; LETTER-SPACING: 0.3pt; mso-bidi-font-family: arial">performed
by a cast and orchestra of 52, employs</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: en-gb">
<SPAN lang=EN-GB>a huge contingent of crew, and requires truckloads of costumes,
wigs, scenery, set pieces and technology.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: ">At the center of the stage is a
foreboding, 10-ton rotating rotunda that opens at different phases of its orbit
to reveal the Corps de Ballet dressing room, the ostentatious and comically
overcrowded opera managers’ office, the </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; LETTER-SPACING: 0.15pt; mso-bidi-font-family: arial">opulent
opera house stage,</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: "> the underground labyrinth,
and the Phantom’s lair.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And there
is tons of dry ice.</SPAN></FONT><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; LETTER-SPACING: 0.15pt; mso-bidi-font-family: arial"></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; tab-stops: 95.25pt"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: en-gb"><FONT
face=Georgia></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; tab-stops: 95.25pt"><FONT
face=Georgia><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: en-gb">Has
the show drawn audiences and earned profits?<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Well, this </SPAN><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: en-gb">is
</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial">“Phantom’s”
</SPAN><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: en-gb">seventh
often sold-out visit to our city, so do the math.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; tab-stops: 95.25pt"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: en-gb"><FONT
face=Georgia></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face=Georgia><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style='BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt; FONT-FAMILY: ; BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 1pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt; COLOR: ; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 1pt; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in'>For
more of this article, go to </SPAN></I><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><A
style='href: "http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/bob_abelman/"'><FONT
color=#0000ff>www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/bob_abelman/</FONT></A></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>