Out after 35 years: Broadway stops “Phantom of the Opera”.
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Out after 35 years
Broadway cancels Phantom of the Opera
9/17/2022 5:04 a.m.
In February, after more than three decades, it should be over: “Phantom of the Opera” is removed from the program on Broadway in New York. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s well-known musical continues to be seen elsewhere.
The musical “Phantom of the Opera” on Broadway in New York will be canceled in February 2023 after 35 years. The longest-running show on Broadway ends Feb. 18, according to industry site broadway.org. Experts blamed the decision on the loss of viewers due to the corona pandemic.
The musical with the music of the British Andrew Lloyd Webber premiered on January 26, 1988. As a rule, eight performances a week were shown on Broadway. About 19.8 million people saw the musical in New York alone. According to the “New York Times,” the show’s box office results had recently fallen. After the end of pandemic restrictions, “The Phantom” initially got off to a strong start in the fall of last year, but high operating costs could not be covered.
In the week ending September 11, approximately $868,000 (€867,000) was raised. This income isn’t high enough to keep a musical with a large cast and sophisticated set design going. In total, the Broadway musical grossed $1.3 billion, according to the Broadway League. The decision to end it was still surprising, as the musical is a tourist attraction and an integral part of the Broadway landscape.
According to the newspaper, the musical can also be seen elsewhere: The London production closed in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, but resumed a year later with a smaller orchestra. The first production in Mandarin is planned for next year in China. Antonio Banderas is also working on a Spanish-language production.
Since its London premiere in 1986, the piece has been seen by more than 145 million people in 183 cities around the world. It is performed in 17 languages. Model for the “Phantom of the Opera” is the 1911 novel by Frenchman Gaston Leroux about a musical genius with a disfigured face who lives in the catacombs of the Paris Opera around 1870 and falls in love with a young singer. The murderous phantom hides his face behind a mask.
