For a little over thirty-five years now, Phantom of the Opera has won over people’s hearts. It was a show that people believed would never go off of Broadway. However, in September it was announced that the show would be permanently ending in February. Let me tell you why this is so monumental not only in the theater world but others as well.

Phantom has been around for thirty-five years making it the longest-running show in Broadway history. It grossed roughly $1.3 billion and sold around 19.8 million tickets before the termination of the show was announced. Phantom is a huge production in which around 120 people are involved. That includes cast, tech, makeup, stage crew, and many more. Phantom also features amazing and elaborate technical effects which sadly turned out to be the downfall of this show. 

Due to inflation, the costs of this elaborate show have become outrageous. The most iconic scene for many during Phantom is the chandelier drop. The chandelier weighs about 1,500 pounds and is made up of 6,000 crystals and about 50 pyro elements. You can only imagine the repairs to make to this after the show is done and the cost of it. However, the price may no longer be an issue for the production team.

The good news is that due to the high demand for new shows, Phantom keeps extending their end date to comply with their fans, and it’s earning them a lot of money. When they first announced the end of Phantom, they sold around 2.0 million dollars in ticket sales. If people keep buying these tickets and, you know if inflation goes down, it could be possible to keep the Phantom on stage.