Media Gallery: Patch Goes Behind the Scenes of Ward Melville's "Phantom"

It's being hailed as the first authorized, fully-staged high school performance of The Phantom of the Opera. And it's especially unique, says director Linda Contino, because Ward Melville is in relatively close proximity to New York City, where Phantom is in its 20th year of production – it's rare for an outside company to get the rights when it's being professionally staged nearby.

Directed by Contino with orchestral direction and set design by Phil Preddice, Phantom opens Thursday night at 8 p.m. at Ward Melville High School and runs through Saturday night. The production stars Leanne Contino as Christine, Chris Sarling as Raoul, and Ryan Cooper as The Phantom. Patch was granted behind-the-scenes access to the show this week, where we spoke to the cast and crew and got a preview of what's to come.