MINNEAPOLIS - The "Phantom of the Opera" is here ... and not just inside your mind.
Cameron Mackintosh's new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's masterpiece has returned to the historic Orpheum Theatre in downtown Minneapolis for a nice, long holiday run.
The staging and scenery has taken an updated look while the award-winning music is exactly what audiences know and love.
KARE 11's Bryan Piatt got a chance to go behind the scenes, to get a glimpse of how this incredible production comes to life.
Let's start with the costumes ...
Each of the intricate costumes are truly a work of art. The show incorporates most of the Maria Bjornson designs from the very first production -- and a few pieces have been maintained since the original and appear in today's touring show (those are more than 25 years old).
Since each piece features delicate beading, corsets and heavy layers of gorgeous fabric, some of the costumes are quite heavy. That includes the infamous cape that the Phantom wears, which features a lot of beading on the back -- all which is done by hand.
Beyond the detail in each costume, there's the sheer volume. The show features more than 1,200 costume pieces from beginning to end. And that doesn't even count the accessories -- there are more than 120 wigs that travel with the show, of which 50 are used every night and there's even a stock of facial hair ... yes, 50 mustaches travel from city-to-city.
And of course there's the chandelier, which is truly a star all on its own.
Here are a few fun facts about this iconic piece:
-- More than 6,000 crystal beads are on the dramatic-dropping chandelier and each strand alone has 632 beads.
-- There are 20 LED external globe lights.
-- The chandelier drops at 10 feet per second.
-- The dramatic scene when the chandelier comes crashing down is completely automated and features pyrotechnics, lights, fog and pneumatics.
-- The design of the chandelier was done by Howard Eaton, who also designed the 2012 Olympic rings. It is based on the actual Paris Opera House Chandelier but is not an exact replica.