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SIMON: But BJ Leiderman still writes our theme music. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, 'THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA')ĬRAWFORD: (As the Phantom of the Opera, singing) The Phantom of the Opera is there inside your mind. As a masked man sings, the Phantom of the Opera is there inside your mind. A new production in Mandarin will soon make that 18, and the show still runs in London. SIMON: 'Phantom' may be leaving Broadway, but it leaves many memories among the 19.8 million people who've seen it in various stagings in 17 different languages. Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before. MICHAEL CRAWFORD: (As the Phantom of the Opera, singing) Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, 'THE MUSIC OF THE NIGHT') The show contains some of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's best-known songs, including the title number 'All I Ask Of You' and - I tear just think of it - 'The Music Of The Night.' 'Phantom' tells the story of an opera aficionado who haunts the Paris Opera House and wore a mask long before COVID made masks fashion statements, features a full orchestra and dazzling stagecraft, especially a chandelier that swoops on cue. This isn't a Beckett play, with two characters talking about the monotony of existence. The post-pandemic audience is down, and 'Phantom' production costs are high.

It is the longest-running show on Broadway - almost 35 years - and seems almost as much a part of the place as pizza by the slice and shops selling Statue of Liberty snow globes. 'The Phantom Of The Opera' will close in February.

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