‘The Phantom’ strips for Vegas

A new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera” will have a permanent home at the Venetian in Las Vegas. A 90-minute version of the musical, to be housed in a $25-million theater to be built for the production, will be directed by Harold Prince, winner of 20 Tony Awards. It is slated to open in spring 2006. Several years ago, before the Blue Man Group found a permanent home for its show at the Luxor, co-founder Matt Goldman told The Times, “We drove all around Los Angeles, trying to find the theater district, and we found it in Las Vegas.” With the Tony Award-winning musical “Avenue Q” scheduled to begin an open-ended run on the Strip in 2005, the evidence to support Goldman’s observation mounts.