The Phantom Of The Opera Will Close On Broadway

The sad news has been announced that after 35 years, The Phantom Of The Opera will close on Broadway. Unfortunately, the longest running show on Broadway simply could not recover following the pandemic closure, and will close its doors in February 2023.

The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway

The musical has played on Broadway since 1988, “weathering recessions, war and cultural shifts”, spanning a great deal of history, as a spokesperson for the production announced earlier in September.

The final performance will be on 18^th February, which sadly marks 35 successful years since the production opened, and if all goes to plan, will be the last of 13,925 shows. Despite taking in considerable amounts at the box office, the cost of running is just unsustainable.

A statement on the official website explained:

“We are sad to confirm that after 35 years on Broadway, Phantom will play its final performance at the Majestic Theatre on Saturday February 18th, 2023.

Tickets are currently on sale for performances through January 22nd, 2023, and we expect the final block of tickets to be placed on sale shortly.”

While the show’s producer Cameron Mackintosh expressed his sadness, saying:

“As a producer you dream that a show will run for ever. Indeed, my production of Andrew’s Cats proudly declared for decades ‘Now and Forever.’ Yet ‘Phantom’ has surpassed that show’s extraordinary Broadway run. But all shows do finally close.”

Based on a novel by Gaston Leroux, Phantom of the Opera tells the story of a disfigured composer who haunts the Paris opera house and falls madly in love with an innocent young soprano, Christine. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s lavish songs include Masquerade, Angel of Music, All I Ask of You and The Music of the Night.

Facts about Phantom of the Opera

• Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical version of The Phantom of the Opera is one of the most successful pieces of entertainment of all time, produced in any media, and its success is continuing all over the world.

• The first production opened in London in 1986 and since then the show has been seen by more than 145 million people in 183 cities and performed in 17 languages over 70,000 performances with an estimated gross of $6 billion.

• The countries are England, United States of America, Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Eire, Austria, Sweden, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Scotland, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Hungary, Poland, Wales, Estonia, Russia, Singapore, Korea, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Philippines, China, Czech Republic, Thailand, Turkey and Finland.

• The box office revenues are higher than any film or stage play in history, including Titanic, ET, Star Wars and Avatar.

• Phantom has played for almost 30 years and over 12,000 performances at Her Majesty’s Theatre, London.

• Phantom has played in 15 different languages: English, French, German, Japanese, Danish, Polish, Swedish, Castilian, Hungarian, Dutch, Korean, Portuguese, Mexican Spanish, Estonian and Russian.

• The show has won over 70 major theatre awards including 3 Olivier Awards, an Evening Standard Award, 7 Tony Awards including Best Musical, 7 Drama Desk Awards and 5 Outer Critic Circle Awards.

• The original cast recording was the first in British musical history to enter the charts at number one. Album sales now exceed 40 million.

• On 9 January 2006 the New York production overtook Cats to become the longest-running show in Broadway history with its 7,486th On 7 July 2014 it celebrated its 11,000th performance on Broadway.

• The closing of Phantom means the next longest running show crown will be Chicago, which started in 1996. The Lion King is the next longest, as it started performances in 1997.

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