Related To Story  |
'Phantom' Becomes Longest Running Broadway Play
POSTED: 10:35 am CST January 10, 2006
UPDATED: 1:40 pm CST January 10, 2006
NEW YORK -- "The Phantom of the Opera" is now Broadway's longest running play.Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical about a disfigured composer longing for a singer in the Paris Opera House, has passed "Cats.""Phantom" has lasted nearly 18 years at the Majestic Theater and has racked up 7,486 shows.Originally starring Michael Crawford as the Phantom and Sarah Brightman as the opera ingenue, Christine, the musical has spawned several classic songs, including "Music of the Night," "Think of Me" and "All I Ask of You."Crawford took the stage for an emotional appearance after Monday's night's show. The musical currently stars Howard McGillin as the Phantom and Sandra Joseph as Christine.Worldwidev "Phantom" has a box-office gross of more than $3 billion.More than 80 million people around the world have seen the musical.Webber and writer-director Joel Schumacher adapted the play into a movie musical in 2004, starring Gerard Butler as the Phantom and Emmy Rossum as Christine.
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
