Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera is synonymous with Broadway theater. The seven-time Tony Award-winning musical concluded a 35-year run on Broadway with its final show at the Majestic Theatre on April 16, 2023. Inspired by Gaston Leroux’s 1910 book of the same name, Webber premiered the musical at his home in Sydmonton, England, in 1985. It later moved to London’s West End and opened on Broadway with previews beginning January 9, 1988.
By the end of its final show on Broadway, The Phantom of the Opera had been played a record 13,981 times, making it the longest-running show in Broadway history. Only two others—the 1996 Chicago revival and The Lion King—had been shown more than 10,000 times as of September 2023. Phantom grossed $1.36 billion in box office revenue and attracted an audience of more than 20 million during its run on Broadway.
Played in 35 Countries
While it was a mainstay on Broadway for 35 years, Phantom has also been played around the world in 35 countries. Performances have been held in more than 160 cities and the show has been translated into 15 languages. It had a world tour in 2019 that involved shows in Dubai, Manila, and Kuala Lumpur, and had previously been produced in countries like Canada and Hungary. The 2003 Hungary production was the first to feature changes to the musical’s direction and scenic and costume design.
Phantom is also still playing at His Majesty’s Theatre in London, where it has been since September 1986.
Ken Hill and the First Phantom Stage Production
Webber isn’t the only composer to transform Leroux’s book into a musical, nor was he the first. Ken Hill, a former collaborator with Webber, actually wrote the music for the first-ever stage version of Phantom, which debuted in 1976 as more of a comedy as opposed to Webber’s dramatic and suspenseful show. Webber was in attendance for a performance of Hill’s 1984 revival of the show and was inspired to create a more lavish production of Phantom, with Hill penning the lyrics.
However, Webber instead worked with lyricist Charles Hart to create the now iconic musical. Hill later brought his version on a North American tour and both shows ran simultaneously in London in 1991.
The Mask and Make-Up
The half-face white mask is the defining iconography of The Phantom of the Opera. The mask, which covers the Phantom’s disfigured face, was originally full-faced, but this made it difficult for Michael Crawford, who first played the character in the West End and on Broadway, to see and speak. Maria Bjornson created the new mask and Christopher Tucker prepared the scarred flesh make-up, which looked so real that it disgusted British royalty.
In 1988, People magazine reported that Britain’s Queen Mother told actor Michael Crawford, “Put your mask back on,” when she met him backstage in costume. Meanwhile, Princess Diana, who saw the show three times, described the sight of Crawford’s face in the ghoulish makeup as “horrid.” Bjornson won the 1988 Tony Award for Best Costume Design for her work on the production.
Applying both the make-up and mask was a complex process that took about two hours. In addition, it took make-up artists about 20 minutes to remove the layers of foam latex from Crawford’s face at the end of each show. Because it was such a time-consuming process, Crawford would eat liquid meals between shows when performing in a matinee and evening show on the same day.
The Film Adaptation and its Delay
There was talk about a film adaptation of Webber’s musical in the 1980s, but the legendary composer wanted authentic representation of his creation with most of the same elements and actors from the musical, including Crawford and Sarah Brightman, Webber’s then wife, in the lead roles of the Phantom and his love interest, Christine Daaé. However, Webber and Brightman divorced in 1990 and the film adaptation was shelved for more than a decade.
The film, finally released in 2004, starred Gerard Butler as the Phantom, although he wasn’t the first choice. Hugh Jackman, John Travolta, and Antonio Banderas were considered for the role, and Banderas even performed a recording studio session before he was replaced by Butler. The film made more than $150 million worldwide.
Actors Who Have Played the Main Characters on Broadway
Since Crawford and Brightman first played the lead roles of the Phantom and Christine, dozens of actors have had the pleasure of doing so in theaters worldwide. During its 35-year run on Broadway, 16 actors played the Phantom and 36 played Christine. Howard McGillin holds the distinction of playing the Phantom longer than any other actor, with more than 2,500 performances from 1999 to 2009.
Norm Lewis made history as the first Black actor to play the Phantom on Broadway in May 2014. Robert Guillaume, in a 1990 Los Angeles production, was the first Black man to play the Phantom in any venue. Emilie Kouatchou, who joined the Broadway cast full-time in 2022, is the first Black woman to play Christine.