Broadway Theatre in Summit, IL, will get its original Phantom back -- Scott Cheffer -- when the show reopens there Jan. 29 for a run through April 20. Candlelight Dinner Playhouse's 1992 staging of Phantom, which won that year's Jefferson Award as Best Musical, will return with several leads intact, including Cheffer, Karen Leigh (Christine), Ron Beattie, Marilynn Bogetich (Carlotta) and Lee Pelty. Jeff-winner William Pullinsi again directs, with choreography by Rudy Hogenmiller and James Harms. Sets are by William Fosser, costumes by Jack Kirkby, lighting by Geoffrey Bushor, and musical direction by Tom Sivak.

Phantom was created by the same musical team who wrote the Tony Award-winning musical Nine, with Yeston writing the words and music, and Kopit writing the book. Adapted from the same novel as Andrew Lloyd Webber's Broadway hit Phantom of the Opera, the musical differs slightly from the Broadway production in storyline, and the score is not sung through like an opera. Both works are based on Gaston Leroux's gothic novel.

The plot revolves around the mysterious and disfigured music teacher, the Phantom, who woos and falls in love with his young soprano student -- a romance ending in disaster. Songs include the Phantom's "You Are Music," Christine and Carlotta's "Home," and Christine's "My True Love."

The original 13-week production ran at 98 percent box-office capacity, with repeat attendance estimated at more than 50 percent. The 13 weeks eventually extended to more than a year.

For tickets to see the Candlelight Phantom, which begins previews Jan. 23, call (708) 496-3000.

--By Blair Glaser and David Lefkowitz