Phantom Closing? — Page 48

The8re phan said: "Someone please tell me that Cam Mack was booed...... it will really help me sleep tonight to know that he was"

Or you could look at it this way - that you would never have seen it at all without him. If the show had been getting the audience response all last year that it got once the closing was announced, it wouldn't have closed. You can only operate at a loss for so long. Not a popular opinion I know, but those are the facts.

I had to laugh when I saw the headline it said Crawford out Mackintosh will play. Showing my age that I'm thinking when was MIchael Crawford playing and who knew Cameron Mackintosh could sing?

Ben Crawford Out Of Final Broadway Performance of PHANTOM; Laird Mackintosh Will Play The Title Role (broadwayworld.com)

Penna2 said: "The8re phan said: "Someone please tell me that Cam Mack was booed...... it will really help me sleep tonight to know that he was"

Or you could look at it this way - that you would never have seen it at all without him. If the show had been getting the audience response all last year that it got once the closing was announced, it wouldn't have closed. You can only operate at a loss for so long. Not a popular opinion I know, but those are the facts."

The fact is that Cameron has a history crying poverty to close long running shows just to cheat the original creatives and to sign new contracts with people who will do it cheaper. The show could have been doing remarkably well and he still would have closed it. This plan was in place long before covid came along. ALW told us plain and simple that the closing of this show is unnecessary, and that is the fact that matters here, not whatever publicity marketing nonsense CM came up with to distract us.

The first one showed up on eBay. $500 for auction bid or $1000 for direct purchase. WOW!

eBay Link

ALW and Mackintosh made speeches tonight, according to Michael Paulson. The former dedicated tonight’s performance to his late son.

Phantom4ever said: The show could have been doing remarkably well and he still would have closed it. This plan was in place long before covid came along. ALW told us plain and simple that the closing of this show is unnecessary, and that is the fact that matters here, not whatever publicity marketing nonsense CM came up with to distract us.

The fact of the matter is that when it opened after Covid, it was doing well for the first three months, then it started to tank and only recovered when the closing was announced. So, your argument makes no sense. Had the show been bringing in an audience and covering costs, it would still be open. You don't close a successful show, particularly one that doesn't depend on a "star" to carry it.

I have said this before if you are going to close a long-running show because of low ticket sales, then keep it closed. Don't rush to bring it back and scale it back. I really hope to god they do not do that here! Let the people move on from Phantom and then, maybe in 10 years or so, bring it back with a new creative team. To rush it back to Broadway is a MASSIVE slap in the face to Hal Prince, Gillian Lynne, and Maria Bjornson! I can tell you now that if Hal Prince were still alive, this would make him more furious than ever!

Majority of people who bought tickets to Phantom in 2019 and early 2020 were tourists (especially foreign tourists.) There was a thread back in 2019 or 2020 asking if Phantom would ever close and all of us stated as long as there's tourism in NYC, it wouldn't close. I'll try to find that thread.

When Phantom reopened in fall 2021, tourism wasn't fully back to 2019 levels yet (especially foreign tourists). Even when they announced the closure of Phantom back in Sept 2022, tourism wasn't fully back yet.

As a New Yorker, it does seem like NYC is back to normal but it's not the same as 2019 and I know friends in the hotel industry who tell me some hotels have sitll not reopened for financial reasons.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Video-Watch-the-Complete-Final-THE-PHANTOM-OF-THE-OPERA-Curtain-Call-on-Broadway-20230416

Not sure if Ben had a good night?

https://twitter.com/crawdady21/status/1647732731202134020

Updated On: 4/17/23 at 12:41 AM

TBFL said: "Dylan Smith4 said: "I have said this before if you are going to close a long-running show because of low ticket sales, then keep it closed. Don't rush to bring it back and scale it back. I really hope to god they do not do that here! Let the people move on from Phantom and then, maybe in 10 years or so, bring it back with a new creative team. To rush it back to Broadway is a MASSIVE slap in the face to Hal Prince, Gillian Lynne, and Maria Bjornson! I can tell you now that if Hal Prince were still alive, this would make him more furious than ever!"

What show closed because of low ticket sales? Neither Phantom or Les Mis closed for that reason. Phantom closed in July 2020, 4 months into the pandemic lockdowns, the same as every other show had done.There was no audience.and no ticket sales at all. When it finally reopened over a year later was with the new changes made. Same with Les Mis. The original Phantom creatives still get credits and still receive royalties, just at a lower rate. You can't run a production that size when the money slows down Youb either scale it down or close it.

Phantom on Broadway was losing money. Therefore it closed. It happens with every single show. It made an awful lot of people, onstage, backstage, an awful lot of money, including Cameron, and rightly so. Without him it wouldnt have happened like it did. IHe doesn't have to put his own money into it, regardless of how much he might have, what would be the point?



How do you know Hal would be furious? Did you know him personallly? Or maybe he would understand how a business actually works.

Some folks here don't quite get the correlation between income and expenses and when the latter is greater than the former, something's gotta give. This will be discovered when credit card statements come in with the cost of the overpriced tickets and the attendant interest fees when paychecks that don't quite cover the bill. Of course, Cammack is likely happy because he's made up some of the losses created during 9 months in 2022. When a business is losing money, you cut back otherwise you are out of business.

The creatives are dead, however, as noted above their families are still benefitting and since they didn't earn the money in the first place, they are still ahead of the game.

You could probably have bought a ticket to Italy to see Ramin in Phantom in Trieste for the price of a couple of tickets for these last performances.



"

Let's get real guys.

Nobody with any connection to this show, besides Cam, is saying it was losing so much money it had to close. As stated, the tourism industry in New York is in recovery and Phantom was increasingly special because of the type of show it was. And it was still being discovered by new audiences impressed with its design and direction. There is nothing like it. Wicked is Wicked. Lion King is Lion King. Phantom is Phantom.

Was. Gotta get used to that now.

With it being different from the London version, it still had legs. The current cast was good. And it was riding high on an anniversary...

...but was it well marketed? And were they giving incentives for people to come back? Or just being lazy...?

Look at how they treated its closing performances. No special guests. No fan 'thank you' moments. It could have been a month-long celebration.

Instead, only the charity show and finale gala got any bells and whistles, because that gets press and is obligatory, I guess.

There were so many missed opportunities here. And no, I don't think the show would have wasted away due to low ticket sales. It really was ageless as a piece of live entertainment and never lost appeal. How many real sets are there on Broadway anymore?

So, no, let's not squabble about how Phantom nearly went broke...because it didn't.

We know what this is about. And when the new version ends up being substantially cheaper in all respects, there will be no argument anymore.

I really think if it was budget issues, people would be backing up Cam. They are not. Not even Andrew.

Anyway, the finale looks....fine. Obligatory. Nothing special. When Phantom became the longest-running show, beating Cats, they did something special. This finale was....what you'd expect. Nothing more. Some speeches. A group sing. *shrug*

...imagine how glorious it could have been...

Is it just me or could those closing night souvenir programs been sold to everyone the last two weeks? That would have been something, at least.

Updated On: 4/17/23 at 02:17 AM