Longest-Running show is coming to an end on Broadway: The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera comes to an end on Broadway
New York’s longest-running Broadway show has announced that it will be closing. It will play its final show on February 18, 2023. Rising production costs and low box office are the main causes, as it fell victim to the post-pandemic financial crisis. A few weeks before closing the show, it will be celebrating its 35th anniversary in January.
During the pandemic, the Majestic theater was closed for 18 months. When it reopened, it had a big downfall in audience members. The openings kept doing damage, with members of the show getting Covid-19 and not being able to cover the expensive production costs, forcing the theater to close again. When it reopened for the second time, while there were a lot of excited fans, there was still not enough enthusiasm for the shows. Broadway then made its decision to end its course.
The Phantom of the Opera is a story about a facially disfigured, masked man who is haunting the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris. He then falls in love and becomes obsessed and creates music for soprano singer Christine Daae.
Opening in 1988, Broadway, “The Phantom of the Opera ” became the first Broadway musical to surpass 10,000 performances and made 1.2 billion dollars. It was the largest in income and had a lot of employees, around 400 actors.
An interview with an anonymous source, who has a background with theater said, “It’s upsetting for many people but it’s also a good opportunity for other musicals to get some spotlight. Hopefully, I get to watch it again for my birthday this November on Broadway before it closes.” If audiences want to watch it, they could take a trip to London and Australia since there will be performances of it. English musical composer, Andrew Llyod Webber will also be carrying out a new production stage in Mandarin, China in 2023.
Fans will be upset since there are characters whom many favors. “How heart-breaking, this show was the one that got me to be a fan of musicals,” Canyon high school student Chris said. Throughout the years, many fans have said that the musical, Phantom of the Opera, was at least one of the performances that got many hooked into the theater.
After the Phantom of the Opera closes its final curtain, “Chicago” and “The Lion King” will be the next shows that will be the long-running musicals on Broadway. Which one will be the most popular one to stand, like The Phantom of the Opera? Hopefully, one day in the future, it will rise again and the show will be performed once more on Broadway.
Ashley Chinchilla is a senior at Golden Valley high school and is part of the new journalism class. She was born in Sylmar, Los Angeles, California, and raised in Santa Clarita. She is excited to write stories about Culture, Entertainment, Arts, and Local community issues since there are interesting topics to write about and to alert everyone of what is happening in the world and it's very easy to catch visuals of these stories that can get a lot of viewers.
She loves to paint, read, and do photography, she also loves Halloween. She was also a part of a Christmas cooking competition for College of the Canyons in 2018.
Being a student journalist matters to her by being a part of something at school and getting to learn how to write, edit, and publish. She's learning about journalism and being more social, and it has been an exciting experience. She plans to go to the College of the Canyons and study Psychology, and get a Phd.