"The Phantom of the Opera" is now No. 2 _ Broadway's second-longest running show.
The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical passed "Les Miserables" at its Wednesday evening performance _ notching performance No. 6,681 at the Majestic Theatre. Only "Cats," another Lloyd Webber show, has run longer, lasting 18 years and 7,485 performances. "Les Miserables" closed on Broadway in May 2003 after 6,680 performances.
"Phantom," which now stars Hugh Panaro as the spectral figure who haunts the Paris Opera House, opened Jan. 26, 1988. The New York production, which has grossed more than $530 million, has been seen by 10 million people. It won seven 1988 Tony Awards, including the prize for best musical.
Worldwide, the show has grossed more than $3.2 billion, having played 110 cities in 20 countries. Besides New York, companies of "Phantom" are still running in London; Madrid; Budapest, Hungary; Stuttgart, Germany; Fukuoka, Japan; and an American company touring the United States.
The African continent production opens in April in Capetown, South Africa.
