It's hard to believe that the Phantom of the Opera first opened on Broadway over 30 years ago! It has remained the most famous Broadway show for decades and has been seen by millions from all over the world. But why? To find out, I met up with Meghan Picerno, who recently made her Broadway debut as Christine Daae.

Scroll below to watch our backstage tour of Phantom of the Opera on Broadway and find out why this show should be on your "New York City Bucket List"...



One of my favorite parts about the tour was going into the costume room to see Meghan's dresses! Lucky for her, the entire wardrobe was specially made for her vs. wearing older costumes from previous cast members. They were absolutely stunning... and heavy! For instance, her "wedding dress" bustle weighs over 30lbs! Can you imagine having to wear that and run around the stage while singing high notes? Me either. But Meghan does this flawlessly 6x a week! Incredible!

Click here find out more about Meghan's career and her Broadway debut!

After Meghan showed me more of her favorite costumes, it was time for her to over to her make-up call. She mentioned, that "it takes her about 2hrs to do her make-up, dressed in her first costume and warmed up before the curtain rises". She then introduced me to Michael Borowski (who has been the Press Agent for Phantom of the Opera for over 20 years) to continue our tour! All media that comes that is produced by the Phantom of the Opera show on Broadway has to be approved by him. He knows EVERYTHING there is to know about the show and is the biggest "phan" that I've met.



Michael took me on the magical Majestic Theatre stage to see what it's like to stand where the cast performs and to get a closer look at the legendary chandelier. I found out that the chandelier weighs over a ton and it's decorated with 6,000 beads!

It was honestly a dream come true to see it up close. Afterward, he took me backstage to see where they store some of the other iconic props. I was surprised to discover that a lot of them are stored above the stage, including the giant stairway that's used during the masquerade performance.



Michael then surprised me with a tour that not many get to take... a tour below the stage! He said that if the Phantom was real, this is where he would have been lurking in-between performances. He said there have even been a few accounts of ghosts that have appeared in this darky and spooky part of the theater.

Around the catwalk (that is used by the cast to quickly cross the stage for an upcoming scene) were tons of ropes with pullies to pull up the candelabra that come up from the ground when the Phantom and Christine float down to his lair (seen above). So much goes into keeping this show so iconic and fresh for every person that visits the Majestic Theatre to see the show. In fact, Michael told me that there are over 150 people on stage and off stage that come together to make this performance happen. WOW! For that alone, it's definitely something that's worth seeing.



If you haven't yet, watch the video above to see why Meghan Picerno and Michael Borowski say this show should be on your New York City Buckelist... ?For me, it's a must-see and something you can watch over and over again because of Andrew Lloyd Webber's timeless music, the captivating love story and the mystery behind the mask.

It was an absolute dream come true to go behind the scenes of the Phantom of the Opera set for our exclusive backstage tour and I hope you enjoyed getting of peek of it too.



Did you know that there is a sequel to the Phantom of the Opera??? There is! Click HERE to find out more about it via my interview with Meghan a few years back when she was Christine Daae in Love Never Dies!

What do you love most about the Phantom of the Opera? Leave us a comment below!

Written by Kari Lincks Coomans