Meet the Ultimate Phantom Fan (160 Shows and Counting!)

With its electronic riffs and moody story of unrequited love, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera is one of the world’s most famous musicals, seen by over 160 million people. And as this global phenomenon celebrates its 40th anniversary in October, for some people Phantom isn’t just a great musical; it’s become part of their lives.

Peter Cavanna first saw Phantom in 1988, two years after its West End premiere, and estimates that he’s now seen it around 160 times. Some of the cast and crew even know to say hello to him! Ahead of the anniversary, we spoke to Peter about why Phantom’s Gothic melodrama, ability to surprise, and dedicated “Phandom” keep him coming back.

It Started With “The Music of the Night”

Back in the ‘80s, eager fans had to post off for a ticket, and they didn’t even know what date they’d get. “It seems incredible now,” says Peter, who listened to the cast recording countless times before he saw the show in London. He wasn’t alone: “Most people who loved Phantom of the Opera probably heard it before they ever saw it.” 

By the time he saw the show in 1988, he knew the score and story by heart. “I wore out my double cassette [of the cast recording]. And I had imagined it in my mind long before I ever saw it. And still, to this day, if I hear the score, I might be more likely sometimes to go back to what I imagined it looked like than to what it actually does look like on the London stage.”

For the first few trips, he ordered two tickets, hoping that he might find a date to take with him. The date didn’t appear back then, but it didn’t matter: he only had eyes for the spectacle on stage. Its combination of Gothic melodrama, stunning visuals, and a superlative score sealed the deal.

“I think what grabbed me was the theme of unrequited love. The music is genius. It’s a genius score; I wouldn’t alter a single part of it […] It just hits me in all the right places.”

Why See the Same Show 160 Times?

Many musicals have developed passionate fandoms, and there are even Comic Con-style theatre conventions popping up on both sides of the Atlantic. But what makes a show change from something you enjoy to something you’ve seen over 100 times?

For Peter, part of the appeal is that no performance is the same as the last: “What fans love is the nuances that different actors bring to different scenes.” 

Despite knowing Phantom well enough to pick up on even the smallest changes, the show can still surprise him. “Intellectually, I know the plot, but when I’m actually in the theatre […] I’m surprised by what’s happening, even though I know what’s going to happen. It’s all new every time.”

Above all else, he can’t get enough of the dramatic final scene.

“It’s all brilliant but that last 12 minutes is really why I keep going back. I’m waiting to see: what will the actors do with this today? Where’s the nuance going to be? That, to me, is the electric moment of the show.”

While the fanbase has their favourite Phantoms (Ramin Karimloo, for example, is very popular), Peter’s favourite, Tim Howar, earned the title because of how he made those crucial 12 minutes feel. Howar was so “dangerous” that, “for one moment, I really believed that the story would be changed. That’s a phenomenal thing for an actor to do.” It left such an impression that he even flew to Athens to see Howar’s performance again.

Finding a Phantom Family

Although Peter didn’t find a date in the early days, Phantom did bring another type of relationship into his life. The show has a dedicated community of “Phans” who meet up online and in person to enjoy the show.

“It creates an eclectic group, so it’s not people who are necessarily my age, my gender, my religion, my viewpoint. They’re all different, but Phantom brings them together.” 

This community is now just as central to his experience as the show itself. One theatre friend is now affectionately known as “auntie”. Peter, meanwhile, often plays uncle to newer fans, meeting them at their first show or giving them stage door tips, and he always makes sure he has time either side of a performance for a coffee and a chat with other Phans.

 “They’re with people who are their people,” he says. “They sort of get them.”

Is There a Perfect Seat for Phantom?

Peter is very familiar with His Majesty’s Theatre and thinks there might not be a perfect seat. In fact, Phans love to watch it from different areas of the auditorium, hoping to spot new details. 

He also wants to make sure every new audience member enjoys the show as much as he does. Since 2018, Peter, as peterc12, has added more than 120 seat reviews of His Majesty’s Theatre to SeatPlan, and helped many more audiences find the best seats for Phantom of the Opera in London with his tips from across the auditorium.

“For me, it’s just sharing the love. Especially if I’ve got a bad seat, I’m trying to warn someone not to go there because I want them to really enjoy the show.”

Sometimes, he even ends up helping himself. When Peter was recently considering a seat, he headed to SeatPlan for advice… and found his own review from a few years earlier: “I thought, this is me from the past warning me today!” 

“Let the Spectacle Astound You”: Phantom of the Opera at 40

As Phantom approaches the big 4-0, Peter believes it could keep running forever because “It’s just as exciting to a 15 year old as it is to a 55-year-old”. 

His own love of the show hasn’t faded. “How incredible it is to fall in love with something that you know won’t disappoint you […] I feel really blessed.”

And what would someone who’s seen Phantom 160 times say to someone experiencing it for the first time? While Peter personally loves the front row for spotting every nuance, he’d recommend a Royal Circle seat to take in the spectacle, stagecraft and surprises, as well as the deeply human story.

And he thinks that Phantom says it best:

“It’s just an extraordinary experience in London that you’ll simply never forget. One of the lines in Act 2 is ‘let the spectacle astound you’ and that’s what Phantom of the Opera has been doing for 40 years. Its spectacle has been astounding people.”

The Phantom of the Opera turns 40 on 9 October, 2026. It is currently booking until 13 March 2027.