PHILADELPHIA (March 23, 2011)—The longest-running show in the history of Broadway will make its way to Saint Joseph's University next month, when the Cap & Bells Dramatic Arts Society closes its 83rd season with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s masterpiece The Phantom of the Opera. The show, which is the first university-level performance in the Philadelphia region, opens Thursday, April 7 at 8 p.m. and runs through Sunday, April 17.

Written by Webber and Charles Hart, the musical opened on Broadway in 1988 and won six Tony Awards that year, including Best Musical. It has since been seen by more than 100 million people worldwide in productions in 149 cities.

Renee Dobson, M.F.A., the show’s director and an associate professor of fine and performing arts, acknowledged the test of putting on a show as well-known as Phantom. “It’s iconic,” she said. “This cast has never lived in a world without it on Broadway, and it’s a difficult enough show to perform without so many people knowing it. It has been a pleasure watching them rise to the challenge.”

To help scale the grandiose production to a more manageable size for Bluett Theater, Dobson enlisted the help of Paul Weimer, the associate scenic designer for the original run in New York. “His job was to make all the sets fit in the touring houses when the show went on the road,” she said. “We’re not trying to imitate the Majestic Theater. Our production has similar elements and the same spirit as the original, but it’s been recreated for our space.”

Dobson encourages all types of audience members – those who are familiar with its canon and those who have never seen it – to attend. “If you know the show, you’ll recognize a lot of things that are familiar, but you’ll also find some surprises,” she said.

The show runs April 7-9 and 15-16 at 8 p.m. and April 17 at 2 p.m. in Bluett Theatre, Post Hall, on Overbrook Ave. near 56th St. Tickets are $16 for general admission, $9 for all students and SJU faculty and staff and $5 for senior citizens and children under 12. To reserve tickets, call 610-660-1181. For more information on the show or Cap & Bells, visit http://www.sju.edu/capandbells.