‘Phantom of the Opera,’ Broadway’s Longest-Running Musical, Extends Final 2023 Run

Daniel Kreps
·2 min read
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"Phantom Of The Opera" 34th Anniversary Performance - Credit: Bruce Glikas/Getty Images
"Phantom Of The Opera" 34th Anniversary Performance - Credit: Bruce Glikas/Getty Images

The Phantom of the Opera, the longest-running musical in Broadway’s history, will stick around a little longer, with the producers announcing an extended final run through April 16.

Back in September, it was announced that the smash Andrew Lloyd Webber musical would close Feb. 18, 2023. But as The New York Times reported today, Nov. 29, the announcement of its impending end caused a spike in interest and ticket sales. Just last week, during the Thanksgiving holiday, Phantom enjoyed its highest-grossing week ever, bringing in $2.2 million.

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“What a phenomenal response there has been to the show ending,” producer Cameron Mackintosh said. “We’ve sold out virtually everything that we have on sale.”

Phantom of the Opera opened on Broadway in Jan. 1988 and won the Tony Award for Best Musical that year. It’s set to celebrate its 35th anniversary next year and its run has comprised nearly 14,000 performances.

“As a producer you dream that a show will run forever,” Mackintosh said back in September. “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.”

While Phantom initially rebounded out of its Covid-19 hiatus with weekly $1 million grosses, ticket sales had softened in recent months, and the musical brought in $867,997 during the week ending Sept. 11, the Associated Press reported.

While that total seems impressive, it didn’t cover the cost of the production, which features a largely-than-usual cast and orchestra; the New York Post reported that Phantom was losing $1 million a month prior to Friday’s announcement, citing a downtrend in post-pandemic tourism.

The Phantom of the Opera, the story of a masked musician living beneath a Paris opera house, was the first-ever Broadway musical to stage over 10,000 performances; it’ll accrue 13,925 in total when the final curtain drops in Feb. 2023.

Remarkably, the musical has run even longer on London’s West End — where it first opened in 1986 — before it closed in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The musical has since reopened in London — albeit with smaller orchestra and more cost-cutting measures, the New York Times noted — where it has now been staged over 14,000 performances, second only to Les Miserables among musicals.

This story was updated 11/29/22 at 2:08. p.m. ET with news of Phantom of the Opera‘s extended final run.

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