The Phantom of the Opera newspaper articles and interviews relating to the Paris Opera House, and the character Erik (the phantom) who fills the roles of the "mad genius", disfigured monster, and one of three in a love triangle all at once. Fitzpatrick argues that all of these elements make the book good for light reading. Myers agrees that the novel makes for a good "airplane read", but says that it fails in terms of being a good mystery novel. She claims that one of the book's downfalls is that one of the important characters - the mysterious Persian - is introduced too late in
Phantom of the Opera (1976 musical) of the story. As Ken Hill rummaged through a used bookstore, he picked up a copy of Gaston Leroux's "The Phantom of the Opera" novel and eventually produced it as a stage musical. The show started off as a production at Morecambe Pier as the first staged musical version, and then when Hill was working as Director of Productions for the Newcastle Playhouse. This first production was produced at The Duke’s Playhouse in Lancaster on 26 July 1976, where it proved to be a hit. It was directed by John Blackmore, designed by Clare Lyth, with musical direction by Gary