THE BIZ

A friend who attended “The Phantom of the Opera” before Davis Gaines took over the lead last month, overheard the typical Phantom worship from women in the audience. “I’ve seen the show 20 times, with both Crawford and (Robert) Guillaume, I play the tape every day and I would die for that man,” seemed to be the general consensus of those in line for the ladies’ room.

These Phantom phanatics can take a bow--on May 31, the play entered its second year at the Ahmanson Theater and became the longest-running musical in L.A. history. But before the entrepreneurs in the audience go opening a Lindy’s franchise on Third Street, here’s a reality check: In New York, “Chorus Line” managed to step, kick, kick, thrust for 15 years; in Washington D.C., the one-man musical “Banjo Music” played to packed houses for 10, and Chicagoans braved that horrible weather for four years to see “Pump Boys and Dinettes.”

Ladies, ladies, it seems you have your work cut out for you.