After a historic 35-year run, Phantom of the Opera officially is being taken off of Broadway on February 18, 2023. 

The musical, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, opened at Broadway’s Majestic Theatre in 1988, and spanned a total of 13,925 performances by the end of its run. The story follows the Phantom, a disfigured ghost who haunts a Paris Opera house. He falls in love with a vocalist in the play the Opera house is putting on named Christine and continuously schemes to get her to return his feelings. Since its opening, it had seemed to become a staple within musical theater, but after the COVID-19 pandemic began, Phantom was hit hard. 

Like many other shows, Phantom suffered from a decline in ticket sales once Broadway opened back up. According to the New York Times, in the week of September 11, the show made $867,997. Unfortunately, this amount, which mirrors weeks prior, is not enough to keep up with the weekly cost of the extravagant musical. 

The show is not without its loyal fans though. After the announcement of the closure, ticket sales went up by 2 million dollars.

Before its death though, the Phantom made a name and reputation for itself. In its opening year, Phantom won 7 Tony Awards, including the Best Musical category. Since then, it has won over 70 major awards. 

In the past year, the play has continued to make history. Beginning as an understudy in 2021 and progressing to the lead in February 2022, Emilie Kouatchou was cast as the first black Christine on Broadway. For now, it looks as though she will be closing the show out. 

Although Phantom of the Opera is closing, the legacy will continue to live on in the soundtrack, movie adaptation, and memories of those who went to see it throughout the years. 

If Simmons students would like to attend a performance before the closing, they can purchase Amtrak tickets to New York City for as low as $31 and tickets to the performance for as low as $40.