“The Phantom of the Opera” draws its final curtain call after 35 years of shining

“Bóng ma trong nhà hát” hạ màn lần cuối sau 35 năm tỏa sáng Billboard advertising the Broadway musical "The Phantom of the Opera" at Times Square in New York, the US. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

After 35 years and nearly 14,000 performances - the longest run in Broadway history, the musical “The Phantom of the Opera” closed its curtain for the last time on April 16.

“The Phantom of the Opera” is a hugely popular musical by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber about a masked musical genius (Phantom).

He fled from the society he hated, taking refuge in the maze of basements and vaults beneath the Opera House in Paris, France.

He fell in love with the beautiful supporting actress Christie, taught her to sing opera and was cast in the leading role that shook Paris. However, his unrequited love broke his heart.

To date, the classic musical has attracted 20 million viewers and grossed $1.4 billion in ticket sales.

In the final performance, the Majestic Theater of the Broadway stage system recorded a "sold out" phenomenon with the number of audiences reaching up to 13,981 people.

Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber also appeared to the applause of thousands of spectators.

He dedicated the performance to his son who died of cancer in March of this year.

Despite the record-breaking run of “The Phantom of the Opera,” producers have decided to close the musical as it struggles to recover from an 18-month Broadway shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last September, British producer Cameron Mackintosh said the musical was running at a loss due to relatively low international visitor numbers returning to New York City following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rising production costs, around $950,000 per week, are also a factor that has prevented producers from continuing to invest in staging the play.

Since its debut in January 1988, “The Phantom of the Opera” has created a great attraction for New Yorkers as well as tourists, thereby becoming a symbol of the famous theater district.

Over the past 35 years, an estimated 6,500 people have participated in and served in nearly 14,000 performances of this play, including nearly 450 actors.

“The Phantom of the Opera” is adapted from the French novel of the same name by novelist Gaston Leroux.

The production won seven Tony Awards in 1988, including Best Musical, and has been the longest-running show in Broadway history since January 9, 2006. After 18 months of forced closure due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the famous Broadway musical theater in New York City (USA) lit up again on September 14, 2021.

Broadway was one of the first performance venues to decide to close after the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in the US in mid-March 2020, but was the last performance venue to reopen in the US in the "new normal ."

Broadway management has spent months upgrading air filtration systems and figuring out ways to ensure social distancing at a musical theater known for its blood, sweat and tears.

(Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

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