The musical - a fixture on Broadway since 1988, weathering recessions, war and cultural shifts - will play its final performance on Broadway on Feb. 18.
The musical, a fixture on Broadway since 1988, will play its final performance on Broadway on Feb. 18."Phantom of the Opera," Broadway's longest-running show and an icon of New York City theater, will close early next year. Josh Einiger has more."The Phantom of the Opera" - Broadway's longest-running show - is scheduled to close in February 2023, the biggest victim yet of the post-pandemic softening in theater attendance in New York.
It is a costly musical to sustain, with elaborate sets and costumes as well as a large cast and orchestra. Box office grosses have fluctuated since the show reopened after the pandemic - going as high as over $1 million a week but also dropping to around $850,000. Last week, it hit $867,997 and producers may have seen the writing on the wall.
"As a producer you dream that a show will run forever. Indeed, my production of Andrew's 'Cats' proudly declared for decades 'Now and Forever.' Yet 'Phantom' has surpassed that show's extraordinary Broadway run. But all shows do finally close," producer Cameron Mackintosh said in a statement.