You lose track of what is real and what is imagined - seems unbelievable fertile territory for us to run around in.” firsthand accounts sparked this idea of what would the Phantom’s world be like? All if his baroque fantasies, anything that could pass through his dark mind could become reality.

They also had the latest technology, like a baby incubator. But a sideshow was nothing like what we think of a sideshow. In this small amount of space you had … a burlesque show next to … shows that were staging operas from Europe next to a battle re-creation with hundreds of people next to a sideshow. And it was a place where inhibitions were lower, and you could see things you could not see anywhere else in the world.

But back in those times it was the playground of the rich and the famous, as well as the lower classes. Slater says, “Coney Island at the turn of the century was not the Coney Island we know today. Meghan Picerno plays Christine Daae in 'Love Never Dies.' (Joan Marcus / Courtesy)

Phantom of the opera sequel