Phantom Opens Broadway: Webber's Musical Phenomenon
Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera opened at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway on January 26, 1988, and did not close for over thirty-five years. The production earned back its entire million investment within months and went on to gross over .3 billion on Broadway alone, making it the highest-grossing entertainment event in New York City history. The show's centerpiece was a collapsing chandelier that cost ,000 to build. Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman starred in the original London production, with Brightman being Webber's wife at the time. The musical transformed Broadway economics by proving that a single mega-production could sustain premium ticket prices indefinitely, spawning the era of spectacle musicals that emphasized visual production values over intimate storytelling. When it finally closed in April 2023, it had been performed 13,981 times.
January 26, 1988
38 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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