Al Hirschfeld "Phantom of the Opera" hand signed lithograph printers proof, circa 1988 Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford in Phantom of the Opera. This is a rare printers proof. Dimensions: 26" wide x 16.5" high. The frame measures 33" wide x 24" high. The frame is lightly distressed and the mat has a minor wave. Very good vintage condition. The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Charles Hart, based on the 1910 French novel of the same name by Gaston Leroux. Its central plot revolves around a beautiful soprano, Christine Daae, who becomes the obsession of a mysterious, disfigured musical genius living in the subterranean labyrinth beneath the Paris Opera House. The musical opened in London's West End in 1986, and on Broadway in 1988. It won the 1986 Olivier Award and the 1988 Tony Award for Best Musical, and Michael Crawford (in the title role) won the Olivier and Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Musical. It is the longest running show in Broadway history by a wide margin, and celebrated its 10,000th Broadway performance on 11 February 2012, the first production ever to do so. Albert Hirschfeld (June 21, 1903 – January 20, 2003) was an American caricaturist best known for his black and white portraits of celebrities and Broadway stars. In 1924, Hirschfeld traveled to Paris and London, where he studied painting, drawing and sculpture. When he returned to the United States, a friend, fabled Broadway press agent Richard Maney, showed one of Hirschfeld's drawings to an editor at the New York Herald Tribune, which got Hirschfeld commissions for that newspaper and then, later, The New York Times. Hirschfeld's style is unique, and he is considered to be one of the most important figures in contemporary drawing and caricature, having influenced countless artists, illustrators, and cartoonists. Permanent collections of Hirschfeld's work are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.