In February, after more than three decades, it must come to an end: “Phantom of the Opera” will be dropped from the program on Broadway in New York. The famous music of Andrew Lloyd Webber will continue to be featured elsewhere.
The musical “Phantom of the Opera” on Broadway in New York will close in February 2023 after 35 years. The longest-running show on Broadway will end on February 18, industry site Broadway.org said. Experts blamed the loss of spectators due to the corona pandemic for the decision.
The musical premiered on January 26, 1988, with music by British Andrew Lloyd Webber. As a rule, eight performances were shown a week on Broadway. About 19.8 million people watched the music in New York alone. According to the “New York Times”, the show’s box office results recently declined. After the end of pandemic restrictions, “The Phantom” initially made a strong start in the autumn of last year, but the high operating costs could not be covered.
In the week ending September 11, approximately $868,000 (€867,000) was earned. The income is not high enough to sustain a musical with a large cast and elaborate stage design. Broadway musicals grossed $1.3 billion in total, according to the Broadway League. The decision to end it was still surprising, as the musical is a tourist magnet and an integral part of the Broadway landscape.
goes somewhere else
According to the newspaper, the music could be seen elsewhere: London production closed in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, but resumed a year later with a smaller orchestra. The first production in Mandarin is due in China next year. Antonio Banderas is also working on a Spanish-language production.
Since its premiere in London in 1986, the play has been viewed by more than 145 million people in 183 cities around the world. It has been shown in 17 languages. The model for “Phantom of the Opera” is a novel by Frenchman Gaston Leroux from 1911 about a musical genius with a distorted face who lives in the deluge of the Paris Opera around 1870 and falls in love with a young singer. goes. The murderer hides his face behind the phantom mask.
