ARTS

The Phantom Went Phffft: Michael Crawford, the world’s most popular phantom, did a vanishing act and missed Sunday’s and Tuesday’s performances of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera� at the Ahmanson Theatre. A spokeswoman for the show said that Crawford was down with a bad case of the flu. Understudy Norman Large stood in for him, though some members of the audience went home disappointed that they had missed seeing Crawford. “The show is promoted and advertised as ‘Phantom of the Opera,’ � the spokeswoman explained. “The public is notified when there are cast replacements. Crawford is important to the show, but nobody’s name is above the title.� Understudy Joseph Dellger was expected to perform Wednesday and it is still uncertain when Crawford will be well enough to return to the role.