Last Broadway curtain call for ‘Phantom of the Opera’ is April 16
“The Phantom of the Opera” is letting the curtain fall Sunday after a three-decade run on Broadway.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s beloved musical has reportedly “played to over 145 million people worldwide in 41 countries, 183 cities, and in 17 languages — and it has received 70 major theater awards including seven Tony Awards and four Olivier Awards,” according to CNBC.
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Variety reported that the musical was losing money after increased spending hikes due to COVID-19 costs and the decrease in post-lockdown ticket sales.
“Over the years, the number of good weeks at the box office started to shrink,” British producer Cameron Mackintosh said. “Now you look at a $1 million week at the box office and you think, ‘Oh, thank God, we’ve broken even.’ That’s a huge mental shift.”
The New York Times reported that the musical had actually intended to close in February, but after the original announcement of the show’s closure, sales had spiked and the date was extended to April 16.
“What a phenomenal response there has been to the show ending,” Mackintosh said. “We’ve sold out virtually everything that we have on sale.”
The Deseret News reported Mackintosh hinted a possible return of the show at a later time.
“Gaston Leroux’s opera ghost may be disappearing for now, but there is no doubt that Andrew Lloyd Webber’s masterpiece will continue to enchant audiences in London and around the world — and one day will return to Broadway,” Mackintosh said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Reactions to ‘Phantom’ leaving Broadway
Despite the announcement of closure, the public has been buying the tickets in higher volumes than normal, according to The New York Times.
37-year-old Lucas Perez, who reportedly bought tickets as soon as the announcement of the closure was released to the public, said, “It felt like I was saying goodbye to an old friend, to someone I’ll never see again.”
Perez continued, “I was very nostalgic the whole time. There’s something about the experience of ‘Phantom’ that other shows don’t have.”
Though the box-office sales for the musical would go through times of triumph and falter, there is no mistaking that Broadway’s longest-running show started selling more when taken away and given back to the community, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“The reason it is sold out is because it’s coming off, absolutely,” Mackintosh said. “We know that one of the reasons that it’s doing it is because this year is your last chance to see the great show.”
