25 Years of Phantom on Broadway

It’s been 25 years since the first chandelier crashed from the ceiling of Broadway’s  Majestic Theater onto the stage in front of a stunned crowd at the macabre show, The Phantom of the Opera. Back then, the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber’s wife and muse Sarah Brightman played the starring role of Christine Daaé, the Berlin Wall was still standing, and current pop culture icons like Adele, Rihanna, and Michael Cera were still buns in the oven.

But today, The Phantom of the Opera remains as popular as it was when it debuted on Broadway on January 26, 1988. As the longest-running show ever on The Great White Way and arguably the most popular entertainment event in history, Phantom has grossed $5.6 billion in its 25 year history and has been seen by over 130 million people in 28 countries and 148 cities and has been performed in 13 languages.

To celebrate this unparalleled accomplishment of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and director Harold Prince, both of whom continue to work on the production, the cast performed at the Majestic Theater for an invite-only crowd gussied up in black tie on January 26, exactly 25 years after Phantom first made its way across the Atlantic following its massive success in London’s West End. Sarah Brightman, now divorced from Webber, attended the event alongside dozens of former cast members and four former phantoms who were invited to sing a few of their numbers onstage. While Webber wasn’t able to make the show due to recent back surgery, he sent his regards via video message and said, “I really wouldn’t have missed this for the world.” Afterwards, the guests rendezvous-ed at a party at the New York Public Library.

At the moment, theatergoers can expect to see Hugh Panaro in the title role, one of the few actors ever to have been cast both as the Phantom and Raoul (his nemesis), as well as Broadway rookie Samantha Hill as Christine.

Adapted from the 1909 French novel of the same name, Andrew Lloyd Webber & co.’s theatrical iteration incorporates the music of the eponymous Paris Opera into the story of a young soprano (Christine,) who unintentionally woos a mysterious man lurking beneath the theater with her voice. Following a masquerade ball, a kidnapping and a strangling, the romance-horror musical’s climactic conclusion erupts for all to be moved and mesmerized.

But it isn’t just Phantom’s numerous plot twists and turns that keep audiences coming back for more. For some, the legendary musical is a reminder of childhood vacations to Broadway and the magic of the theater. Luckily, it doesn’t look like Phantom will be disappearing from the stage anytime soon. Here’s to another 25 years!

[Via NPR]