Musicals that actually DESERVE to be the longest running...

Phantom rightly deserves it's title as longest running musical. Great music, dazzling spectacle, romantic (and tragic) love story, and at the core of it all - it's PURE THEATER, which is more than we can say about a lot of the short-lived musicals on Broadway today.

The story is timeless - that's why it's done so well.

no, les mis should have stayed while Phantom should have left. I find it annoying actually.

---

I'm just not sure what you mean by "deserve." It would seem the shows that keep people coming in year after year are indeed the ones that "deserve" to be the longest running, whether you like the show or not.

---

"Phantom... - it's PURE THEATER, which is more than we can say about a lot of the short-lived musicals on Broadway today.

Can't believe you said that one.

Updated On: 12/12/05 at 03:01 PM

All I know is Cats had no reason to be on Broadway as long as it was...

I didn't say anything about anyone's entitlements...I just said I love to see when people "phantom hate".

I'm know Phantom isn't going anywhere for along time....but what's going to happen Beauty and The Beast take the title?
People are going to "Beauty Hate".

---

I love Phantom and think it deserves to be the longest running show on broadway. Many new shows are closing within weeks because of lack of attendence, and some are just bad *imo*. Phantom is still up there after this long, so i def. believe it should be the longest running show. ^_^

If it was up to me, the original production of A CHORUS LINE (the most rapturous theater-going experience I've ever witnessed) would still be running with no apparent end.

I hate Phantom (on stage, that is. I'm one of the few people who liked the movie) and Cats with a passion. I also hate Celine Dion, Everybody Loves Raymond and anything associated with Julia Roberts. I realize that my tastes are often not the mainstream, but not only is there a market for these things, there's a huge market. Someone makes these things popular.

Again, I just don't get what makes one show more "deserving" over another.

---

But why? If the audiences dried up, why should that show deserve to still be here?

---

Okay, should I rephrase to say that I think that it was deserving of more audience attention than it got? I just think that it was a great production.

I don't have a problem with the long-running shows that are mentioned here, I'm just always sad that there have been some that seem like they SHOULD have been hits that for whatever reason aren't. Maybe "deserve" isn't the right word. More wishful thinking?

The thing that really bothers me about the whole situation is the number of people who make regular trips to NY to see Phantom, and yet have not seen anything else on Broadway, or off-Broadway for that matter. I have a friend who comes up to NY from NC and virtually EVERY time she comes here, she wants to see Phantom. I've been with her twice, but last time, I forced her to see Harvey in Hairspray (a week before he left), Bernadette in Gypsy (just weeks before it closed) and Little Shop of Horrors. If Phantom was far and away the BEST thing to ever grace the boards, I might understand. Even Les Miz was better, but not the best thing I've seen on Broadway. Most of the things I'VE thought are the best generally have shorter runs.

---