Cybill Shepherd and Victoria Principal were among the celebrities who turned out for the West Coast premiere of the "Phantom of the Opera" at the Ahmanson Theater.
Shepherd arrived with her 9-year-old daughter, Clementine Ford, for the musical spectacular created by Andrew Lloyd Webber.Cher, Tom Selleck, Dudley Moore, Patrick Swayze, Richard Chamberlain, Gene Kelly and Sammy Davis Jr. also were expected for the opening-night show, publicist Ann Abrams said.
The big names also were invited to the Shrine Auditorium for a post-performance gala with the cast, including Tony Award-winner Michael Crawford, who plays the phantom, Abrams said.
The "Phantom" is a tale of a disfigured musician's unrequited love for a beautiful singer, set in a labyrinthine Paris Opera House and staged with Webber's characteristic awesomeness.
Ticket sales to the show, which opened in London in 1987 and New York last year, have been so brisk in Los Angeles that the production is expected to stay at least two years, Abrams said.