Erik (The Phantom of the Opera) took roughly four hours per performance to put the prosthetics on in the original London productions. On Broadway, it was cut to roughly three, and over the years has been reduced to 45 minutes. More than one Phantom has described make-up disasters onstage. Michael Crawford recounts a story where he pulled away from the kiss at the end only to see that "[his] lower lip was now hanging off Sarah [Brightman]'s face!". To cover the flub, he pulled her back for another kiss and "took back the lips" and kept that side of his head turned away from the audience.
The Phantom (play) Paris in 1820, Boucicault adapted the story, shortening it to two acts and retitling it. The previous version included a third act that took place in the future. This play was one of the first plays performed in America that looked at the supernatural and influenced our understanding of supernatural phenomenon in popular culture. As one of Boucicualt's minor plays, not a lot of writings about productions and critiques were found. As did many of Boucicault's plays, "The Phantom" was first produced in England. The play premiered on 14 June 1852 at The Princess's Theatre. It came to America in