<P> Phantom began previews at Her Majesty 's Theatre in London 's West End on 27 September 1986 under the direction of Hal Prince , then opened on 9 October . It was choreographed by Gillian Lynne and the sets were designed by Maria Björnson , with lighting by Andrew Bridge . Michael Crawford starred in the title role with Sarah Brightman as Christine and Steve Barton as Raoul . The production , still playing at Her Majesty 's , celebrated its 10,000 th performance on 23 October 2010 , with Lloyd Webber and the original Phantom , Michael Crawford , in attendance . It is the second longest - running musical in West End ( and world ) history behind Les Misérables , and third overall behind The Mousetrap . </P>
who played the first phantom of the opera
Michael Crawford