‘The Phantom of the Opera’ Plays It’s Final Broadway Performance

It is in excess of now, the songs of the night time. The Phantom of the Opera has performed its remaining effectiveness on Broadway. Right after a report-breaking 35-year operate, the curtain fell on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s famed musical on Sunday, April 16. At the time of closing, The Phantom of the Opera was the longest-functioning Broadway musical, having operate for 13,981 performances.

The Phantom of the Opera had haunted the Majestic Theatre given that January 26, 1988. Since then, it has been noticed by over 20 million individuals and built around about $1.3 billion. The demonstrate at first opened in London’s West End in 1986, and following turning out to be a accomplishment, New York audiences were being eagerly waiting around for it to be transferred to the Fantastic White Way.

Based on the 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux, The Phantom of the Opera tells the story of a masked figure who roams the Paris Opera Property. A musical genius, the phantom falls in like with a youthful soprano named Christine Daaé. A bloody tale of jealousy and obsession unfolds in excess of a sweeping score published by Webber.

“I imagine the enduring appeal is for the reason that it really is so romantic and due to the fact audiences escape into it,” stated late director Harold Prince for the show’s 25th anniversary on Broadway. “It has a entire world of its own. And whatever challenges they have out on the street and in their daily life, they arrive in below and it’s like a small kid tripping on a fairy tale or anything. Only this is a slightly hazardous just one. But the point is, I imagine that they escape from actuality for a pair of several hours and in a passionate entire world.”

Regrettably, its attraction wasn’t plenty of to maintain it afloat. The exhibit relied closely on global tourism, which has still to rebound to pre-pandemic numbers. On top rated of that, inflation and the steep cost tag to run the exhibit, which was about a million dollars per 7 days, negatively afflicted its longevity. Now, the 125 men and women it took to run the clearly show, which includes cast, musicians, and crew—some of whom have been with the show for three decades—will have to seem for a occupation in other productions.

Despite the sadness of looking at this kind of an establishment conclusion, the two performers and admirers turned the closing performances into a celebration of the Phantom’s legacy. Actor Ben Crawford had been scheduled to surface as the title character for the last functionality but was sidelined very last minute because of to a bacterial an infection. Considering that the display will have to go on, it was actor Laird Mackintosh—who had been with the exhibit for 6 years and returned to the organization to understudy the position in its final months—who was the a single to don the mask and the cape for the past time. For the last bows, the forged was joined by the stagehands, who obtained a perfectly-deserved spherical of applause—something that doesn’t happen in regular Broadway performances. Immediately after the ultimate curtain, Andrew Lloyd Webber explained, “It’s just awesome, definitely, what has occurred.”

The Phantom of the Opera, Broadway’s longest-working musical, played its ultimate efficiency soon after a 35-yr run.

At the time of closing, The Phantom of the Opera had played 13,981 performances.

Centered on the 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux, The Phantom of the Opera tells the tale of a masked musical genius who roams the Paris Opera Property.

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h/t: [NPR]

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