the Majestic Theatre , surpassing Cats to become the longest running show in
Broadway history.
The occasion was marked by assemblies of past actors who have portrayed the
roles of "Christine" and "The Phantom" and speeches by some members of the
creative team, including composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, director Hal
Prince, choreographer Gillian Lynne, and producer Cameron Macintosh.
A character from Cats symbolically passed the record for the longest running
show to the phantom during the curtain call.
The musical, which opened in London in 1986, has been seen by more than
80m people worldwide.
"There is no formula for success in musical theatre. It's just one of those
things - it happened," -said Webber - "So I don't really know...I think it's a
primal tale, it's highly romantic. I think most people feel there's something
about themselves that they'd like to alter in their physical appearance, and
perhaps they relate to the phantom for that reason. The extraordinary thing,
which is a bit overwhelming, is that it's my own show that I'm taking the
record off, which I never thought would happen to me in my career at all.
The only thing that has hit me is it's an achievement I'll never be able to top."
The show's producer, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, said: "The musical is a kind of
beauty-and-the-beast story. It appeals to everyone because it is about an
impossible love, which I think many of us have had."
A gala performance took place on Monday, followed by a masked ball at the
Waldorf Astoria Hotel attended by original star Michael Crawford.
“They say you never forget the first time, and it was 18 years ago tonight that
many of us on this stage ... first walked forward and presented our first
preview of Phantom of the Opera on Broadway,” a visibly moved Crawford
said after the actors in the current production took their bows. “And the other
first time is tonight. I actually saw the show for the very first time. It’s as
magical out front as it is back here.”
Lloyd Webber also appeared moved: "I've got to say, I don't think I have ever
been more nervous in my life. I'm totally overwhelmed," the composer of the
show's lushly romantic music said.
Lord Lloyd-Webber's ex-wife Sarah Brightman, the first singer to play female
lead Christine, was unable to attend the event due to recording commitments.
Both Lloyd Webber and Mackintosh are wary about predicting how long the
musical will run.
A new generation has been turned on to Phantom through the release of the
movie version and then the DVD, said Mackintosh. Both have given the
musical new life at the box office.
And now, is there life after Phantom for the two men?
Mackintosh is busy with several other projects, including co-presenting the
Broadway hit Avenue Q in London, where the musical will open in June. And
in the fall, Macktinosh and Disney will produce the stage version of Mary
Poppins in New York at Disney's New Amsterdam Theatre. An opening is set
for Nov. 16.
Lloyd Webber plans to put on his producing hat, too. He may have a hand in
producing the first recording for a young U.S. singer, 14-year-old Andrea Ross.
Then there is an upcoming London revival of Evita, directed by Michael
Grandage, that Lloyd Webber said is "going to be more Latin than the
original." Auditions are down to three actresses for the title character, he
revealed - with a decision to be made after he returns to London from the
Phantom festivities.
Besides producing a revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of
Music, planned for next October at the London Palladium, the composer is
reading three projects right now that may find their way to the stage but he
declined to elaborate.
"I don't want to rush into writing something for the sake of it. Having written
14 musicals now, you don't want to make the 15th something you're doing
because you feel you have to," Lloyd Webber said.
