‘Phantom Of The Opera’ Closed On Broadway As Longest-Running Musical—Here’s The Entire Top 10

The Phantom of the Opera staged its final show on Sunday, ending a 35-year, 13,981-performance run as Broadway’s longest running production—thousands more performances than any other show in the top ten.

Key Facts

• The Phantom of the Opera debuted in 1988 and won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Leading Actor in a Musical (Michael Crawford), Featured Actress in a Musical (Judy Kaye) and Direction of a Musical (Hal Prince).
• Phantom’s music was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber with lyrics by Charles Hart.
• Most of the ten longest-running Broadway shows have closed, except for Chicago, The Lion King and Wicked.

Longest Running Broadway Shows

1. The Phantom of the Opera: 13,981 performances (Opened January 26, 1988, and closed April 16, 2023)
2. Chicago (1996 revival): 10,329 (Opened November 14, 1996)
3. The Lion King: 9,944 (Opened November 13, 1997)
4. Wicked: 7,485 (Opened October 30, 2003)
5. Cats: 7,485 (Opened October 7, 1982, and closed September 10, 2000)
6. Les Misérables: 6,680 (Opened March 12, 1987, and closed May 18, 2003)
7. A Chorus Line: 6,137 (Opened July 25, 1975, and closed April 28, 1990)
8. Oh! Calcutta!: 5,959 (Opened September 25, 1976, and closed August 6, 1989)
9. Mamma Mia!: 5,758 (Opened October 18, 2001, and closed September 12, 2015)
10. Beauty and the Beast: 5,462 (Opened April 18, 1994, and closed July 29, 2007)

News Peg

Phantom shut down on Sunday after 35 years because of lingering damage done by the Covid-19 pandemic, inflation and declining international tourism. The musical had long been a tourist attraction because of its status as an iconic Broadway production. The crowd for the final performance was invitation-only, including actors who had once been in the musical and some fans who had won a lottery. Lloyd Webber delivered a speech after the final curtain, thanking fans for their support and dedicating the show to his son Nick, who died of gastric cancer last month.

Key Background

Phantom, which is based on a 1910 French novel of the same name, follows the exploits of a masked “phantom” who haunts the Paris Opera and falls in love with a beautiful young soprano. The show first premiered in London in 1986 before opening in New York two years later. The musical spent its entire Broadway run in New York City’s Majestic Theatre, where it became the longest-running Broadway show in 2006 and became the first Broadway production to reach a milestone 10,000th show in 2012. The musical stopped production in March 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic and reopened in October 2021. Coming back from the pandemic was a struggle: While the box office stagnated, production costs rose more than $100,000 per week after the show reopened, making weekly costs about $950,000, producer Cameron Mackintosh told the New York Times.

Source: Forbes

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