Little, who plays the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, which opens in Jacksonville this week, was just breaking into the acting business in 1983 when he was cast in the chorus of Evita at the Darien Dinner Theater in Connecticut.

On opening night, with 32 critics in the house, including one from The New York Times, the actor who played Che had such severe laryngitis he couldn't perform. So Little, who had been given the job as Che's understudy primarily because his beard and long hair looked right for the part, went on stage.

As a result, he got his membership in Actors Equity, the union that represents stage actors. He also got 32 favorable reviews to add to his resume.

It's a resume that includes work on Broadway and in national tours of Cyrano The Musical, Fiddler on the Roof, Anything Goes and, most recently, The Phantom of the Opera.

His first 2 1/2 years in Lloyd Webber's Phantom (there are several other musical versions of Phantom, including one in which Little played the title role at a regional theater in Tennessee), Little worked on Broadway, first as a member of the chorus, then as Raoul.

Two-and-a-half years ago, he moved to the national tour in the role of the Phantom, a horribly disfigured man with a magnificent voice who lives in the catacombs beneath the Paris opera house.

Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera is the most successful stage musical of all time. It has been seen by more than 108 million people in 12 countries and has generated worldwide ticket sales of more than $2.6 billion. When asked for his theory on why the show is so successful, Little said, ''I really, truly don't have an answer.''

Then he proposed one. ''Some people like the romance. Some people like the music. Some people like the technical stuff. . . . The success of this one, the acclaim, I put to [producer] Cameron Mackintosh. This is a brilliantly produced show.''

In fact, he said, while he doesn't consider Phantom to be the best musical ever written - he prefers Fiddler on the Roof and West Side Story - ''it will go down as the most famous Broadway musical ever written and as the best production in Broadway history.''

In fact, the production is so elaborate that Mackintosh's Really Useful Theatre Company paid for $250,000 in improvements to the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts' Moran Theater so it can accommodate Phantom's first visit to Jacksonville. The show, which has played on Broadway since 1986, is in its fourth year on national tour.

Advance trucks for the show began arriving Wednesday to start the load-in process for the Jacksonville show even as Little and company continued with their appearance in Fort Myers.

He talked by phone last week from his dressing room, where he was in the process of getting made up for the night's performance. Playing the Phantom requires elaborate makeup that takes about 45 minutes to apply before each performance, Little said.

After his Jacksonville appearance, Little will take a three-month leave of absence from the show so he can join his wife, Barbara McCulloh, in New York, where she will play Mrs. Darling in a production of Peter Pan starring Cathy Rigby.

Then he will return to the touring production of Phantom, playing the role Michael Crawford originated in 1986. ''I would love someday to have the kind of opportunity Michael Crawford had, to create a really memorable role in a great musical,'' he said. ''In the meantime, as long as I can make money to pay my bills, I'm happy.''

The Phantom of the Opera, which is being presented by the FCCJ Artist Series, will open at the Times-Union Center Wednesday and continue through March 27. Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. each Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday; 8 p.m. each Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday; with additional performances at 1 p.m. Thursday and March 25; and at 7:30 p.m. March 22. Ticket prices range from $17 to $69.50 and are available at the Times-Union Center box office and at all TicketMaster outlets. Tickets can be purchased by phone by calling (904) 632-3373 or 1-888-860-2929.