{"id":48550,"date":"2025-01-26T12:06:08","date_gmt":"2025-01-26T12:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/aerospace\/the-longest-running-show-in-broadway-history-opened-on-this-date-in-1988-read-why-its-legacy-is-so-controversial\/"},"modified":"2025-01-26T12:06:08","modified_gmt":"2025-01-26T12:06:08","slug":"the-longest-running-show-in-broadway-history-opened-on-this-date-in-1988-read-why-its-legacy-is-so-controversial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=48550","title":{"rendered":"The Longest-Running Show in Broadway History Opened on This Date in 1988. Read Why Its Legacy Is So Controversial"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Broadway posters as seen in the summer or 2011, when\u00a0Phantom of the Opera<\/em>\u00a0was still running, more than two decades after it opened.
\n Raymond Boyd \/ Getty Images<\/span>
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When The Phantom of the Opera<\/em> opened on January 26, 1988, there was no way to know that it would become the longest-running show in Broadway history.<\/p>\n

Created by English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber<\/a>, who based his beloved musical on Gaston Leroux\u2019s novel of the same name, Phantom<\/em> is the story of a gifted soprano, Christine Daa\u00e9. Following a successful performance at the Paris opera house<\/a>, Christine confesses that she\u2019s been tutored by an \u201cAngel of Music,\u201d who turns out to be a mysterious \u201cphantom\u201d who lives in\u2014and perhaps curses\u2014the theater. From there, the storyline unfolds as a love triangle among the Phantom, Christine and Raoul, Christine\u2019s childhood friend.<\/p>\n

Lloyd Webber made his Broadway debut with Jesus Christ Superstar<\/a> <\/em>in 1971, followed by popular musicals like Evita<\/a><\/em> in 1979 and Cats<\/a><\/em> in 1982. Less than two years after opening on London\u2019s West End<\/a> in October 1986, Phantom<\/em> debuted in New York City at Manhattan\u2019s Majestic Theatre. It starred English actor Michael Crawford as the Phantom and Sarah Brightman, Lloyd Webber\u2019s then-wife, making her Broadway debut as Christine.<\/p>\n

The show became an instant hit. In its first year, it took home seven Tony Awards<\/a>, including the award for Best Musical<\/a>. By the early \u201990s, it was still playing to standing-room-only crowds<\/a> and producing record-breaking box-office sales<\/a>. For over three more decades, Phantom<\/em> \u201cphans<\/a>\u201d flocked to see this spectacle-based production\u2014which included trap doors, a masked ball and an elegant one-ton chandelier<\/a> that comes crashing down to the stage for the musical\u2019s first-act finale\u2014some of them catching dozens of performances throughout its tenure.<\/p>\n

In 1989, Phantom<\/em> launched its first national tour, putting on more than 3,000 performances as part of its touring circuit that lasted until 2010.<\/p>\n

But the Covid-19 pandemic spelled trouble for Broadway\u2019s Phantom<\/em>. In March 2020, Phantom<\/em> temporarily closed, staying shuttered for 586 days before reopening on October 22, 2021. The show\u2019s audience never returned to its pre-pandemic attendance levels. Less than a year later, producers announced<\/a> the production\u2019s record-breaking run would end in February 2023.<\/p>\n

But when patrons learned that the musical was leaving Manhattan, a surge in ticket sales led to a two-month extension. By the time the show closed on April 16, 2023, Phantom had played 13,981 Broadway performances.<\/p>\n

CNN called<\/a> Phantom \u201cthe most enduring relic of the \u201980s era of musicals built on spectacle,\u201d which also included \u201cmega-musicals\u201d like Miss Saigon<\/em> and Cats<\/em>. But the show is not without its controversy, especially in the era of the #MeToo<\/a> movement. Its storyline focuses on the Phantom\u2019s dangerous obsession with his prot\u00e9g\u00e9e, Christine: one in which he sabotages her rival, threatens the life of her love interest and even kidnaps her.<\/p>\n

But the show\u2019s plotline has long been eclipsed by its sheer dazzle\u2014a spectacle that still fuels its popularity despite its Broadway demise. \u201cIt\u2019s no exaggeration to say that Lloyd Webber and The Phantom of the Opera<\/em> have changed the trajectory of musical theater,\u201d writes Sage Young in a post<\/a> for uDiscoverMusic. \u201cThe show\u2019s crossover impact introduced millions of new fans to the art form, and more than a few musicals that came afterward owe their sense of scale and spectacle to the international hit.\u201d<\/p>\n

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