Broadway’s longest running show “The Phantom of the Opera” will close its doors on February 2023 after ticket sales are dropping to an all time low.
Broadway’s longest-running show “The Phantom of the Opera” by Andrew Lloyd Webber, will see its final run on Saturday, February, 18 (Saturday, Phl. time) at Broadway's Majestic Theatre, according to Michael Borowski of The Publicity Office.
The final five months of the staple Broadway show is due to the major decrease of ticket sales, recently dropping from 255,000 weekly attendees in May to about 180,000 attendees in September, said The Broadway League.
Prior to the Broadway show's final curtain, "Phantom" will celebrate its 35th anniversary on January 26 with director Seth Sklar-Heyn at the helm, Borowski said.
“The Phantom of the Opera” by Webber is widely based on the classic novel written by Gaston Leroux and was originally helmed by director Harold Prince with Michael Crawford playing the first Phantom, together with Sarah Brightman, Judy Kaye and other theater actors.
The story revolves on a 19th century story of an aspiring opera singer Christine Daaé, who is taught by the mysterious character of Phantom in developing her vocal skills but then took a dark turn when the Phantom picks Christine to be his muse but she has already fallen in love with an arts benefactor named Raoul.
However, Cameron Mackintosh, the show’s producer and a frequent collaborator of Webber, assures that “The Phantom of the Opera” will eventually be back in Broadway for a comeback sometime in the future.
"There is no doubt that Andrew Lloyd Webber’s masterpiece will continue to enchant audiences in London (West End) and around the world – and one day will return to Broadway,” said Mackintosh.
Borowski also assured that international productions of the show will continue, including the show’s ongoing London production which will celebrate its 36th year on October 9 and the recently premiered Melbourne version will also continue.
A new addition to the shows include Phantom's Mandarin-language version which is set to debut in China in 2023 and a Spanish-language venture with Antonio Banderas has been announced.
Tags: #Broadway, #musical, #Phantom