Members of the audience wear phantom masks prior to the start of the fourth anniversary performance of “Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular” at The Venetian hotel-casino on Thursday, June 24, 2010, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The audience was invited to become ‘Angels of Music’ by donning the masks for what has been characterized as the largest gathering of Phantoms ever. (DUANE PROKOP/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL)
A costumed ticket holder attends "The Phantom of the Opera," final Broadway performance at the Majestic Theatre on Sunday, April 16, 2023, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Theatergoers attend "The Phantom of the Opera," final Broadway performance at the Majestic Theatre on Sunday, April 16, 2023, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Theatergoers attend "The Phantom of the Opera," final Broadway performance at the Majestic Theatre on Sunday, April 16, 2023, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
“Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular” at The Venetian hotel-casino makes history for its fourth anniversary as audience members become ‘Angels of Music’ to make the largest gathering of ‘Phantoms’ ever in one place, June 24, 2010, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Duane Prokop/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
The Chandelier in the Phantom Theater at The Venetian hotel-casino is shown on Dec. 29, 2010, in Las Vegas. (JASON BEAN/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL)
JASON BEAN/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
The chandelier in the Phantom Theater at the Venetian in Las Vegas on Dec. 29, 2010.
The Chandelier in the Phantom Theater at The Venetian hotel-casino is shown on Dec. 29, 2010, in Las Vegas. (JASON BEAN/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL)
JASON BEAN/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
The chandelier in the Phantom Theater at the Venetian in Las Vegas on Dec. 29, 2010.
Head of automation William Stephenson controls the chandelier in the Phantom Theater at the Venetian in Las Vegas on Dec. 29, 2010. (JASON BEAN/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL)
JASON BEAN/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Head of automation William Stephenson controls the chandelier in the Phantom Theater at the Venetian in Las Vegas on Dec. 29, 2010.
“Phantom of the Opera” played its final show Sunday on Broadway, a run of 35 years and nearly 14,000 performances.
As reported by Playbill, at the invite-only performance, it was a who’s who of current and former stars of the show. Sarah Brightman, Sierra Boggess, Meghan Picerno and current leads Laird Mackintosh, Emilie Kouatchou, John Riddle—they all walked the pre-show red carpet.
But there was one opera ghost who was missing. The show’s original Phantom, Michael Crawford, was notably absent. It wasn’t because he was trying to pull a disappearing act. He did, in fact, leave a note. In a Facebook post, Crawford wrote that his absence was due to some “ill-timed emergency dental surgery.”
The New York City closing comes more than 10 years after the popular “Phantom — The Las Vegas Spectacular” closed its six-year, 2,691-performance run at The Venetian on Sept. 2, 2012.
“Millions” have attended the desert staging, according to producers as reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The run began June 12, 2006, when it played 10 performances a week.
Prince, the 21-time Tony Award winner, helped revise his London and Broadway staging to the specifications of a new $40 million theatre — and to the taste of Las Vegas tourist audiences, who tend to like their shows flashy and under two hours (so they can do more gambling, shopping or dining).
Prince did not personally accept his Special 2006 Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in New York City that year — he was in the middle of rehearsals for this unique Phantom.
