Phantom celebrates it's 7000 Performance!

[ChristineDaae]

Posted: 8/11/03 at 3:52pm

Phantom of the Opera is celebrating it's 7000 performance at her Majesty's Theatre in London on August 12th!

Does anyone know how many performances Phantom has on Broadway?

[DofB5]

Posted: 8/11/03 at 5:57pm

Bravo! I wonder how many chandeliers they’ve had to replace over the years?

D

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 8/11/03 at 6:00pm

6470 according to Playbill.com

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/11/03 at 8:23pm

I would say about 6300 too many.

[Phantess]

Posted: 8/11/03 at 9:05pm

As of 8/11/2003 the broadway cast of The Phantom of the Opera has played 6479 performances.

So what? I've been counting...

AND...

Days until Phantom passes CATS - 2 Years, 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 5 Days left.

* If there are no natural or unatural desasters which close bway.

If you want to see the number of performances, I update it everyday (when I'm home) on my AIM profile.

[GottaGimmick]

Posted: 8/11/03 at 9:06pm

I hope that doesn't happen.... I know soooooo many of you don't like CATS but I'm definitely a fan! Maybe it's cause it was my first "real" show I ever saw.... PHANTOM is great too though! :)

[NativeNewYorker]

Posted: 8/11/03 at 9:59pm

That show has a place in my heart that no other show will ever take...I grew up with that album constantly playing in my home...just, absolutely beautiful and there will never be another show like it.

I'm so glad it's lasted so long and hope it has many years left...I never was that into Les Miz, so I wasn't really impacted when it closed, but when The Fantasticks closed, I was upset, and I know I'll feel just as upset when Phantom closes...some shows just really become sentimental favorites.
Updated On: 8/11/03 at 09:59 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/11/03 at 10:21pm

From your lips to god's ears.

[ChristineDaae]

Posted: 8/11/03 at 11:10pm

I agree NativeNewYorker!!!


I hope Phantom does pass Cats record!! =-P

[alterego]

Posted: 8/12/03 at 3:10am

I'm amazed it's lasted this long. I'm sure Cameron Mac Intosh is pouring thousands of dollars into it each week to keep it running much like he did with Cats. It was a good show when it opened in the eighties, last time I saw it it was limping along. I think its about time it closed and made available a good musical theatre for a new more worthy show. Updated On: 8/12/03 at 03:10 AM

[jo]

Posted: 8/12/03 at 7:54am

Phantom was one of the most theatrical shows I have ever seen - and wished it would run for a long, long time.

However, when I saw the fairly recent concert at Shubert Alley featuring songs from most musicals playing on Broadway currently and Hugh Panaro sang a very good rendition of Music of the Night -- it saddened me to realize that the song seemed so dated among all others sung that day.

jo

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/12/03 at 8:42am

I'm not even sure what "one of the most theatrical shows I have ever seen," even means. Could you elaborate?

[Dollypop]

Posted: 8/12/03 at 11:39am

I saw the Broadway POTO the week after it opened and didn't think it would run more than 6 months. I guess Broadway audiences have very purile tastes.

[JohnPopa]

Posted: 8/12/03 at 11:43am

How could you have possibly thought it wouldn't run? It's not like it was an unknown quantity at that point and its advance was as much its hype as the chandelier.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 8/12/03 at 3:47pm

How could I think it wouldn't run?

First, I figured that the Puccini Estate would take legal action regarding the music--which is a total rip-off from the Italian Maestro.

Second, the script never tells the audience how the Phantom got to be so scarred and deformed. (Luckily I'd read the original novel in my French classes!)

Third, the staging is ludicrous. Where does the Phantom's bedroom begin and the underground lake leave off? Perhaps his bed merely floats in at high tide!

Fourth. Does the Phantom light all those floating candles every night, or does he just do that on special occasions?

Fifth. When was the last time you saw any object--let alone a chandelier--fall at a 90 degree angle?

Sixth. I saw Sarah Brighman as Christine. She looked like a raccoon and sang through her sinuses. Now two men were willing to kill for her? Give me a break!

Seventh. I saw Michael Crawford play the Phantom. He had all the grace of a wounded hippo and was phoning in his performance.

Eighth. Why doesn't the script explain why people have to cover their eyes when they are walking down to the Phantom's lair?

Ninth. Those lyrics were typical of the rhymes I get from my ninth grade students.

Tenth. It was over amplified, but Broadway audiences seem to like having their hearing impaired.

[JohnPopa]

Posted: 8/12/03 at 3:50pm

Yeah but none of that mattered compared to the hype the show had.

I don't think its exactly a definitive piece of theater either but I wasn't surprised when it took off, simply because of the way it was anticipated, hyped and pre-sold.

The actual content was the least relevant part of all that.

(Actually, my favorite inconsistency is the end when all the townsfolk climb down that fence to the secret lair. Hello? Why didn't the Phantom do that in the first place, rather than waste all that time on the boat?)

[ChristineDaae]

Posted: 8/12/03 at 6:14pm

Dollypop-

Phantom of the Opera is a great show! I'm not saying this cause I am a fan but why do you think it lasted all these years? No Broadway show is perfect, do you honestly think that they would make a chandelier fall directly on the audince? Of course it's going to fall at a 90 degree angle! Michael Crawford & Sarah Brightman were excellent actors! I would LOVE to see them perform the title roles.. I never did.
What's your favorite Broadway show? Do you think it's going to last 16 years?

[Old Bat]

Posted: 8/12/03 at 7:19pm

I've just returned from Her Majesty's Theatre and the 7000th performance of Phantom. It's still a magical show and I think the humour has been upped since I last saw it (years ago). I'm not too keen on the current Phantom. He lacks any sublety or gentleness and his voice is a little strident (one note in Music of the Might actually hurt!). He didn't come near to making me cry either! Mind you I seemed to be in the minority as he got a standing ovation! And the show is definately still worth seeing (in London at any rate).

[TEACHEROFTHEATER]

Posted: 8/12/03 at 7:27pm

Phantom Of the Opera is certainly one of the most thrilling and entertaining musicals ever presented. It is a masterpiece and I love it.

[jo]

Posted: 8/12/03 at 7:42pm

Theatrical - " marked by extravagant display or flair" ( in music, sets, production, acting, etc)... but I loved such display!

Not that it means it's my favourite show - I liked Les Miserables and a few others better. But I think Phantom is a unique ( meaning rare )experience for many theatregoers.


jo

[Phantess]

Posted: 8/12/03 at 8:59pm

Music of the Night....really needs to go away though. I can't STAND that song. I always just look away when I see this part. It's so repetitive and overdone.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/12/03 at 9:02pm

Does looking away help?

[Dollypop]

Posted: 8/12/03 at 9:18pm

Christine,

Check my screen name and you'll discover my favorite show--which may not have run on Broadway 16 years, but that was before merchandising became the rule. There weren't any tour-group tie-ins in 1964 and no one had a HELLO, DOLLY tee-shirt until it's second revival. In 1964 a long-run was considered to be three or four years. Now it's three or four decades.

HELLO, DOLLY has had a wonderful after-life in touring productions, dinner theater, community theater and high schools. Do you think the same can be said for POTO? I shudder at the thought of plastic chandeliers falling and costumes created on a budget of $12.00.

Come to think of it, do you think POTO will ever be revived once it's Broadway engagement ends?

One last question, dear Christine: you say POTO is a "great" show. On what do you base the use of the word "great"? How many Broadway productions have you seen? At last count, I'd seen over 3,000 Broadway plays and musicals. I think I've seen enough to know what its "great" and what just panders to popular taste.

[Phantess]

Posted: 8/12/03 at 10:12pm

Yea I guess it does. Looking in the pit is so much more interesting.

I even go to far as to read the playbill during that song. It's better than them seeing me roll my eyes. And I really can't understand why people applaud it the loudest in the end.

[alterego]

Posted: 8/13/03 at 10:24am

Dollypop I couldn't agree more!

Phantom of the Opera? Great set and costume design over content.