Also this issue: Spontaneous Combustion Dance, drums and tabla combine to light up the Painted Bride. -Deni Kasrel Out of this World -Susan Hagen Lee Blessing -Interview by David Anthony Fox He Talks Pretty -David Anthony Fox Family Affair -Debra Auspitz Quilting Bucks -Helen i-lin Hwang From Chippendale to Talavera -Lori Hill Moving to the Desert -Deni Kasrel

October 17-23, 2002

artpicks

Phantom Planet

As far as huge-budget, world-famous musicals go, The Phantom of the Opera is one of the most entertaining and least offensive. You will not be serenaded by big cats, you don't have to be pissed off that stupid Marius ignores Eponine until she dies and there are absolutely no roller-skates, helicopters or Disney tunes. The never-ending tour (directed by Harold Prince) comes back to Philadelphia this week. Phantom tells the tale of a masked man who lives beneath the Paris Opera House, content to torture all who enter, until he falls in love with a soprano, Christine Daaé (originally played by Phantom composer Andrew Lloyd Webber's then-wife, Sarah Brightman). From there, the Phantom's tricks are dedicated to making Christine a star. Sure, the show's got its share of schmaltz ("Music of the Night" should be buried along with "Memories"), but somehow this high-tech extravaganza manages to strike an emotional chord.

The Phantom of the Opera, Oct. 23-Dec. 1, $26.25-$79, Forrest Theatre, 1114 Walnut St., 800-447-7400.

—Debra Auspitz