(New York) It’s a symbol of Broadway that is disappearing: after 13,981 performances in 35 years, The Phantom of the Opera, the oldest musical in New York’s famous theater district, closed the curtain for good on Sunday, victim of audiences that were too low after the pandemic.
Highlight of the show, the heavy and majestic chandelier of the Opera fell for the last time at the Majestic Theater, the historic setting near Times Square of the theatrical and musical work created by Andrew Lloyd Webber, from the French novel by Gaston Leroux.
In the presence of its creator, the show team received a long standing ovation from the public, applauding wildly, while the famous chandelier made a very last appearance in the crowded 1,600-seat hall, AFP noted.
Andrew Lloyd Webber, who composed pieces for the May coronation of Charles III, dedicated this show to his son who died of cancer in March. “Thank you all, thank you New York for being a great home for us”.
It was an “extraordinary” last performance, according to Daniel Wright, 56, a spectator who had already attended several performances.
“ There were so many moments when I cried, I had goosebumps, it was just a well-designed show”, he told AFP.
“There are reasons why this show has been around for 35 years. It’s a timeless classic, which has touched so many people.”
In total, since its New York premiere in 1988, the story of the ghost who lives hidden in the basements of the Paris Opera and falls in love with the ballerina Christine will have brought in 1.4 billion dollars in revenue, attracted nearly 20 million spectators, and employs around 6,500 people, including 450 actors, estimates the production.
Two years after its creation in London, where the work continues to be performed, The Phantom of the Opera had become a blockbuster on Broadway with its orchestra and period costumes. She had triumphed at the Tony Awards, winning seven awards in 1988.
But “ the world has changed”, underlined in the New York Times in September 2022 the British producer Cameron Mackintosh. He explained that after the COVID-19 pandemic, which closed Broadway for 18 months, the show, highly dependent on international tourists, had become too expensive – “a little less than 950,000 net dollars” per week – for its receipts .
Between musicians, actors and technicians, it takes about 125 people to run it.
“There is a tipping point, where the number of good weeks has decreased too much to compensate for the lost weeks, and at that point there is only one sensible decision to be made”, he added. , amid Broadway hits for musical biopics like MJ: The Musical about Michael Jackson.
Still, amid the final salutes, Cameron Mackintosh highlighted the show’s triumph.
“In our wildest childhood dreams, we could never have imagined the success of Phantom,” he said.
The announcement of the closure had revived entries, so much so that the ax was pushed back from February to April and some are wondering if a tour will not be announced. This week, the last seats were selling for over $500 on booking sites.
Major renovations will be undertaken at the Majestic Theatre.
Now, the longest running musical in New York will be Chicago, which premiered in 1996, ahead of The Lion King.
The cultural and tourist heart of New York, the 41 theaters on Broadway, which attract around 200,000 and 300,000 spectators a week, bring in an average of more than $30 million in weekly revenue.
Christina Lewis and her teenage daughter Sparrow, both fans of the Phantom of the Opera, are ready to go to London to see once again the spectacle they have already seen at least 11 times.
“It’s sad that the show is ending, but we are very, very excited to be able to be here and to have witnessed the last curtain raiser. We cried several times throughout the evening,” said Ms. Lewis, a 36-year-old nurse.
They are among the spectators who are already demanding the return of production.
Another spectator, Richard Rodriguez, 38, wants him “to come back, the Phantom to come back!” »
