“Phantom of the Opera,” Andrew Lloyd Webber’s blockbuster musical about love, obsession, and a mysterious masked singer, is closing on Broadway after a history-making 35-year run.
On Sunday, that majestic chandelier at Broadway’s Majestic Theatre will drop one final time — its 13,981st time, to be exact — as the beloved musical takes its final bow.
Based on Gaston Leroux’s classic 1910 novel of the same name, “Phantom” has won more than 70 major theater accolades — including a Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical in 1986, and a Tony Award for Best Musical in 1988 — since premiering on London’s West End in September 1986.
On Jan. 26, 1988, the soon-to-be phenomenon opened on Broadway. During its New York run, “Phantom” shattered every possible record for advance sales, capitalization, total gross, total attendance and longevity, according to its producers.
It became Broadway’s longest-running show more than 17 years ago, in January 2006, but it has since nearly doubled that figure.
Around the world, more than 145 million people in 41 countries and 183 cities have watched the show, which has been performed in 17 languages.
In New York City, the show’s nearly 14,000 performances have been seen by 19.9 million people, grossing more than $1.3 billion.
The show has also been “the largest single generator of income and jobs in Broadway and U.S. theatrical history,” producers say, employing an estimated 6,500 people (including 450 actors) in New York since opening over three decades ago.
The original cast recording, which sold more than 40 million copies worldwide, is one of the bestselling cast recordings of all time, according to Playbill.
Its unprecedented success has also helped to revitalize the economy of cities across the U.S., bringing some of Lloyd Webber’s best-known songs — including “Think of Me” and “The Music of the Night” — to around 31 million people who attended more than 14,500 performances in 77 cities.
Producers estimate that its three original U.S. tours grossed more than $1.5 billion, making “Phantom” one of the most successful and continuously touring shows in U.S. history.
“Phantom” tells the story of a disfigured masked man who lives in the catacombs beneath the Paris Opera House. After falling madly in love with a young soprano, he becomes obsessed with her and begins using devious methods to make her into a star.
Originally set to close on Broadway in February,
More Top Picks Best Galaxy Projectors For Kids Rooms
its final performance was pushed to April 16, after producers said a closing announcement led to “instant sold-out status.”In fact, the show’s eight performances for the week ending April 9 were completely sold out, raking in around $3.65 million according to numbers compiled by The Broadway League, the national trade association for the Broadway industry. A year ago, in the week ending April 10, the show had brought in just over $830,000.
Shortly before the COVID-induced lockdown, the show was averaging about $1 million per week.
On Friday, Mayor Eric Adams handed Lloyd Webber a ceremonial Key to the City award, celebrating the 75-year-old Brit as Broadway’s “greatest” force.
“A true, true contributor to Broadway, and he keeps the lights on in our hearts,” Adams said during a press conference outside the Majestic Theatre.