AGDee: The next time Phantom is in town check to see if they do discount tickets the day of the performance. I know here in AZ at Gammage the theatre (for certain productions and Phantom is one of them) will sell the tickets super cheap because they want a full house. For example, the tickets I bought for my mom for Christmas cost me 70 bucks per ticket. If the theatre does the discount day of sell I might get them for 30-35. I know at Gammage they did specials for students (now I'm not sure if it was for all students since Gammage was on a college campus) but you could ask.
Also, if you know how far in advance Phantom is coming to your theatre you might be able to save the money up. Theatres will usually announce their "upcoming" season in around June. For me, Phantom isn't on their "season" schedule, it is a "bonus" show and I got a postcard in the mail letting me know about it a year in advance.
Ignore the critics. There is a critic here in AZ who I don't think has ever seen the stage version so because he hasn't seen the stage version he really "didn't understand" the movie and why the characters were doing what they were doing. Dummy. (Can you tell I don't like critics.
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