Thirty-five years ago on January 26, The Phantom of the Opera began haunting Broadway’s Majestic Theatre. The Andrew Lloyd Webber mega-musical has shattered box office records since its debut in the late 1980s and has been the longest-running show in Broadway history since 2006. On this Thursday evening, the current company will celebrate the show’s milestone anniversary — months before the musical plays its final performance on April 16. NY1 entertainment journalist Frank DiLella recently caught up with the musical’s Phantom and Christine, Ben Crawford and Emilie Kouatchou, to chat about their show’s final chapter.
How have the last few months been since the big closing announcement?
BEN CRAWFORD: The last few months have been interesting just because it’s such an iconic show and Phantom is New York, Broadway, pop culture. I think everyone is dealing with the closing in their own way — and we’re all now accepting it’s closing. And one thing that’s helped with that is the audience: The audiences have been fantastic.
It’s like 1988 all over again — Phantom is one of the toughest tickets to get in town.
BC: It does feel like that. I have a lot of people asking me for tickets, and I’m like, “I can’t really help you.” [Laughs.]
Why do you think this show has lasted so long?
EMILIE KOUATCHOU: It’s a magical show. I think it was ahead of its time in terms of tech. So when audiences first saw it, it was a spectacle, with the chandelier and the costumes and the set and all of the little magic tricks that are in the show. I think audiences fell in love with the story and the characters. Also, Phantom has been really good about developing a really strong fan base of loyal audience members.
Ben, the last time we spoke, you were about to reopen the show on Broadway and you were feeling all the emotions and all the feels.
BC: Reopening Phantom after the pandemic was an amazing moment to be a part of. We had the realization the show had not been in a rehearsal hall for about 35 years or so because it had been running for so long on Broadway. And the company never had the opportunity to rebuild the foundation of the show in that way. So that was a cool thing to be a part of — to go into the rehearsal hall every day and try to reinvent some things in some kind of way.
And your reopening night was epic.…
BC: We all went out after the show and were masked and were able to interact with people who had come to see the show. Just to hear their thanks and see all the “Phans” dressed up — and of course to see Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber DJing outside the theatre — it was such a cool once-in-a-lifetime moment.
Emilie, you made history with this show: You’re the first Black Christine in Phantom on Broadway!
EK: I’m so excited that I am able to close this show playing Christine because I think that sends a clear message. We started out with this show casting predominately white actors, and we’re ending with a Black Christine, a South Asian Andre, and another Black Christine understudy. There’s more diversity in the cast than we’ve ever had before. I think it’s so beautiful that we can end in this way and in this light.
How does it feel to be a part of Broadway history?
EK: An honor. Someone the other day mentioned that back at the University of Michigan [where Emilie went to school], we have a class where we dive into musical theater history. And a friend of mine said, “You’re probably going to be taught in the class at some point.” And I was like “What?” That’s crazy to me. It’s an overwhelming thought.
What can you tell me about the evening of the 35th anniversary and the final performance?
BC: I don’t know a lot, to be honest. I do know there will be some events on certain evenings for the final weekend that we will announce around the 35th anniversary, certain performances that they’ve decided to make a little special.
What will you be thinking about when the final curtain comes down on Phantom on April 16?
EK: I’m just going to be so thankful and overwhelmed with emotion. It’s just going to be an insane night. Every time I think of it, I can’t grasp the magnitude how I’ll be feeling, how everyone else in the building will be feeling.
BC: I’ll just be trying not to cry. Trying to get everything right. Trying to leave that mark on the show, as we’re all collectively trying to do. It’ll be a night of all of us coming together as an ensemble and letting the show go out with a bang!
