Phantom of the Opera: Longest Running Show

Phantom of the Opera is currently the longest running show on Broadway. The show is based on the book Le Fantome de L’Opera, by Gaston Leroux, which was published in 1911. Gaston Leroux was a fascinating man in his own right, who went from disinterested lawyer, to millionaire, to broke, to famous investigative reporter in a period covering little more than a year.

His story did not do very well innitially, but eventually found its way into the hands of a researcher for Universal Pictures and was made into a silent film in 1925. Though he did not live to see his story reach its full success, dying in 1927 at the age of 59, Gaston did see the story play on the screen in Paris.

The story of The Phantom of the Opera, went on to gain incredible fame. The musical, based on the book, was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The musical opened in 1986 at Her Majesty’s Theater on October 9. It had its opening on Broadway in 1988, and went on to win seven 1988 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It is Webber’s master work, and holds the place of the longest running musical on Broadway. It has, as of October 5, celebrated 8611 performances and is still going strong.

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