‘Phantom’ 35-year Broadway run ends 10 years after Las Veags show closed
“Phantom of the Opera” played its final show Sunday on Broadway, a run of 35 years and nearly 14,000 performances.
As reported by Playbill, at the invite-only performance, it was a who’s who of current and former stars of the show. Sarah Brightman, Sierra Boggess, Meghan Picerno and current leads Laird Mackintosh, Emilie Kouatchou, John Riddle—they all walked the pre-show red carpet.
But there was one opera ghost who was missing. The show’s original Phantom, Michael Crawford, was notably absent. It wasn’t because he was trying to pull a disappearing act. He did, in fact, leave a note. In a Facebook post, Crawford wrote that his absence was due to some “ill-timed emergency dental surgery.”
The New York City closing comes more than 10 years after the popular “Phantom — The Las Vegas Spectacular” closed its six-year, 2,691-performance run at The Venetian on Sept. 2, 2012.
“Millions” have attended the desert staging, according to producers as reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The run began June 12, 2006, when it played 10 performances a week.
Prince, the 21-time Tony Award winner, helped revise his London and Broadway staging to the specifications of a new $40 million theatre — and to the taste of Las Vegas tourist audiences, who tend to like their shows flashy and under two hours (so they can do more gambling, shopping or dining).
Prince did not personally accept his Special 2006 Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in New York City that year — he was in the middle of rehearsals for this unique Phantom.
Contact Marvin Clemons at mclemons@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Marv_in_Vegas on Twitter.
