Phantom of the Opera "The Phantom of the Opera" remains a favorite among theatergoers in New York City and the world. With its spooky settings, opulent costumes, penny-dreadful plot and time-bested trickery, today this ghoulish musical is more full than ever of amusingly incongruous references. Set in a haunted theater, "Phantom of the Opera" shares the gothic headbanger's fixation on the macabre. As the Svengali-like master and his demented muse descend into the "The Music of the Night," the feel-good ethos of most musicals is cast asunder. The Phantom may be a piteously misshapen outcast but he's also a mass murderer. As for his inamorata, she's warped beyond repair. "Phantom" proves an eerily unlikely long-term survivor: a Broadway immortal that encourages you to "surrender to your darkest dreams."