Forget London's West End or New York's Broadway - the best place to see The Phantom of the Opera is Dunedin's Regent Theatre.
Musical Theatre Dunedin technical stage manager Garry Gibson was not surprised by the comments of Brian and Rosemary Beresford, of Dunedin, who believe the city's Phantom production was better than the show they had seen at Her Majesty's Theatre in London's West End.
Mr Gibson said unlike the local cast, actors in professional theatres could become complacent after performing the musical for decades.
The London run was in its 29th year and in New York it was in its 27th year.
''It's just another job for them, whereas these guys [Musical Theatre Dunedin cast and crew] know they've only got eight performances to put the show of their life on, and they put their heart and soul into it every night, because it's such a short, limited season.''
The Dunedin musical was halfway through its season and the reaction could not have been better, Mr Gibson said.
''I can't fault anything; everything is going as it should ... It's ticking over absolutely perfectly.''
In previous productions, Musical Theatre Dunedin had cast actors from outside Dunedin, but this time the group's board decided to use local performers, he said.
More than 1200 people attended each of the first four performances and the audience had been a mix of younger and older people, he said.
The tickets for the final four performances, from tomorrow to Saturday, had been selling well.
''I've been told the Saturday is almost sold out, which is great for Musical Theatre Dunedin to have a show of such great success.''
The production cost about $500,000 and included about 50 crew, a 23-member orchestra and a cast of 38, including main actors James Adams (Phantom) and Hayley Carrick (Christine).
Theatre-goers spoken to by the Otago Daily Times said it was a wonderful performance, including couple Brian and Rosemary Beresford, who thought it was "much better" than once they'd seen in London.
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