The final encore for ‘Phantom’: What the show means to one New Yorker who saw it dozens of times

Back in September, it was announced that Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway hit, “The Phantom of the Opera,” would be singing its last tune. The longest running show on Broadway, which has been playing for the past 35 years, has its final performance, show number 13,981, on Sunday.

For this born and raised New Yorker, this news left me in complete shock.

After premiering in London, the show opened in New York in January 1988, before I was born, and but for an 18-month pause during COVID, it has played ever since at the Majestic Theatre on W. 44th St. Until today, the final final curtain.

I was first introduced to “The Phantom of the Opera” in February of 2000, as an 11-year-old girl, when my parents took my brother and I to see the show as a part of the long running tradition, “Kids Night on Broadway.”

The show had an immediate effect on me. Yes, I know I’m not the only person out there who claims that theatre changed their life, but that is truly the magic and power of theatre.

I soon became a regular guest at the Majestic Theatre on W. 44th St., usually sitting in the front orchestra side seats (these were my preferred choice since they were discounted and offered an obstructed view.) I would take the QM4 bus or the F train from where I lived in Forest Hills, Queens, and head to the theatre to catch a matinee with my mom. I often even used my baby-sitting savings to buy the tickets myself.

The show left me in a trance. The music was spectacular, with beautiful, sweet high notes met with perfect pitch. The Phantom’s famous “Music of the Night” often left me in tears. And at the end of the first act, the crashing chandelier sent chills down my spine. The show was also beautiful to look at, with stunning costumes and spectacular sets.

I became borderline obsessed with the show based on Gaston Leroux’s book of the same name that follows a young opera singer being trained by the mysterious ghost of the opera house. I guess for me oddly enough, I saw myself in both main characters. I too, was a young aspiring singer and much like the phantom himself, I always felt like a bit of an outcast.

Over the years, I saw “The Phantom of the Opera” around 60 times. The staff at the box office knew me. The head usher knew me by name. And I even became friendly with many of the cast members, often even recognizing me on the street and saying “hi.” I had the pleasure of meeting the show’s longest running Phantom, Howard McGillin and even had the pleasure of singing in a benefit concert with one of the shows longest running Christine’s, Lisa Vroman. I had the honor of auditioning for the show twice, as well.

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“The Phantom of the Opera” is essentially responsible for who I am in life today and where I am now.

It was after my first viewing of the hit Broadway show that I began studying music seriously. I began vocal lessons and started attending a performing arts high school in Times Square. I wanted so badly to one day see myself on the stage as aspiring opera singer, Christine Daaé.

As with life, plans change, because people change along the way. But I am of the belief that everything happens for a reason. My years of studying music and theatre taught me about hard work, discipline, and teamwork. It was my studies as an aspiring opera singer that brought me to Italy for the first time, where I currently live. I am now happily married with a daughter.

I had been studying classical music for more than 10 years, all because of this show. It was all part of my plan. My destiny. While my destiny as a singer changed, I believe it is thanks to this show that I am where I am now.

While I am sad that I will not have the opportunity to see the show one last time that had such a great impact on my life, I am truly grateful for the change it had in me and the change it had on the millions of audience members over the years. Times change and the closing of “The Phantom of the Opera” is truly the end of an era.

The final line sung by the Phantom is the perfect way to say goodbye to the show, “It’s over now, the music of the night.”

Chirichella is a freelance writer originally from New York City currently living in Italy.