POTO: The Phantom of the Opera Magazine

Zine
Title:	POTO: The Phantom of the Opera Magazine
Organizer(s):
Author(s):
Cover Artist(s):
Illustrator(s):
Type:
Date(s):	from 1997 to 2000 at least
Topic:
Medium:	print
Frequency:
Fandom:	Phantom of the Opera
Rating(s):
Warning(s):
Language:	English
External Links:
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POTO: The Phantom of the Opera Magazine was a Phantom of the Opera zine of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

About

POTO was a full-scale magazine; it did have some fanart and fiction here and there, but it was more devoted to information, articles, and advertisements for various different Phantom-related things, including interviews with performers at the time in Lloyd Webber’s stage show, pieces on Phantom-themed events around the world, anniversaries and reviews of various stage shows, information on Phantom-based media and where to buy it, and so on. It was primarily centered on the Lloyd Webber musical (obviously), but as you can see from Lon Chaney’s shining face up there, it did nod to other versions of the story now and then.

As you can see from the cover of the second issue up there, it was absolutely the place for fandom gossip and possible news (yes, that was a rumor about John Travolta being offered the part of the Phantom in the film adaptation of ALW’s musical!). Other interesting tidbits from that issue alone include a rumor that Joel Schumacher would be directing the movie but that his office had refuted this claim and said he was no longer involved (this is in 1997, years before he actually did direct the film in 2004!), and a small article about the rumored lawsuit against ALW by the Leroux estate, which claimed it was said that he had circumvented copyright and might owe them over three million pounds.

Cover Art

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  Cover art for the Millennium Edition of POTO, artist Bradley J. Parrish

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  Cover art for the issue #1, artist Sharon Young

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  Cover photograph for the issue #2, the USPS-issued Lon Chaney Phantom stamp that came out in 1997

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  Cover photograph for the issue #3 is credited to Robert C. Ragsdale of The Live Entertainment Corp. of Canada and shows Peter Karrie as the Phantom in the Toronto production that year (1997 or 1998)

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  Cover photograph for the issue #4 is credited to Juan Hernandez and shows Christine Daae sporting her Phantom tattoo.