STAGE

The British tabloid press was less than thrilled with reviews that American critics gave the new Broadway production of the long-running London musical “Phantom of the Opera” and accused the New York Times of “savaging” the show’s composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and its leading lady, Sarah Brightman. “Phantom fury! Stunned Andrew sulks at critics’ cruelty” screamed the Sun’s headline. The Daily Mail accused Frank Rich of being in a “sour mood,” adding that “he set out to destroy the Lloyd Webber night of triumph.”