THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Has Not Closed Permanently, Really Useful Group Clarifies

Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group has clarified an earlier statement that The Phantom of the Opera has permanently closed in the West End.

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, Cameron Mackintosh recently said in an interview that the London and UK touring productions of The Phantom of the Opera will close permanently, with hopes to bring the show back to London in the future.

RUG president Jessica Koravos told The Stage that this is untrue, and the show is only being closed for work to be done on the show's set and the theatre. She says that the musical is expected to return unchanged.

"What Cameron was meaning to say is, we have closed down the production entity that has been that [production of] The Phantom of the Opera for 34 years, and closed down the physical production," she said. "Even before the pandemic hit, we were already in a process of going carefully through the physical production, some parts of it already having been decommissioned. There are systems in that set you could not get the replacement parts for me any more - they just aren't made after 34 years."

The original version of the production will return to Her Majesty's Theatre, according to Koravos.

"We are in the process of designing and costing it now, but all the modern technology that exists now and didn't 35 years ago will be incorporated. It will be Maria Björnson's design, it will the original version. It is not a new version of the show - it will be the original Phantom," she said.

This coincides with our previous report that the theatre and set would undergo renovations.

At that time, Really Useful Group released a statement, saying "Cameron Mackintosh and the Really Useful Group have over the last few months of the London run and since the enforced closure of The Phantom of the Opera due to Covid-19 undertaken a number of specialist inspections to see how much repair and maintenance work is needed to be done to the physical production and the Theatre. The conclusion is that unfortunately the work is so considerable, a period of extended closure is urgently needed."

Mackintosh had said, "It is heart-breaking for me as I am sure it is for all my employees to have all of my productions close down in London and the regions. I am determined that my shows, including The Phantom Of The Opera, will come back in 2021 when it is practical, safe and sensible to do so."

There is no date set for the show's return, but Koravos confirmed that the theatre will remain dark until then.

Read more on The Stage.