Phantom of the Opera's Demise Slightly Exaggerated

The longest-running show in Broadway history is set to run a little longer. Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera was due to close in February after 35 years, but the September announcement of its impending doom sent ticket sales sky-high, with pretty much every ticket on sale snatched up, reports the New York Times. In fact, last week was the play's highest-grossing week ever, with $2.2 million in sales. As such, the run will be extended eight weeks to April 16. Playbill reports that as of that date, it will have staged 13,981 performances, grossing well over $1 billion and entertaining some 19.5 million theatergoers.

Why not keep it going forever? The Times asked show producer Cameron Mackintosh that very thing. He explained that prior to announcing the show was to close, ticket sales were sluggish, to the point that they weren't keeping up with the cost of putting on the show. "For most of last year, we were losing every week," Mackintosh explained. "There comes a point when you become theatrical wallpaper. People took it for granted that it’s going to run forever." Tickets for the added dates go on sale Wednesday. (More Phantom Of The Opera stories.)