THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA to Present Special Charity Performance Closing Week

A special Charity Performance will take place on Friday, April 14 of Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, the iconic and record-breaking Broadway production that will end its history-making run that week. Directed by the late theater legend Harold Prince and produced by Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Really Useful Group, the blockbuster phenomenon plays at The Majestic Theatre (245 West 44th Street), where earlier this year it welcomed its record-shattering 20 millionth audience member.

Produced as a Thank You to the Broadway Community for its 35-year embrace of the musical, the charity event will benefit four New York City Arts organizations that seek to build, support and foster future, diverse audiences and artists. All proceeds from the evening will go to the following:

• Broadway Bridges is an initiative of The Broadway League, regularly supported by The Shubert Organization, to help guarantee that future Broadway audiences, performers and behind-the-scenes personnel will reflect the diversity of New York City. The program gives public high school students the opportunity to attend Broadway shows, and since 2017, nearly 7,000 students across all five boroughs have attended PHANTOM.

• The American Theatre Wing's Andrew Lloyd Webber Initiative is an extension of the composer's considerable work in the UK to promote and fund Arts education for students and young people. With a commitment to diversity, the program provides classroom grants to create or enhance theatre programs in the nation's under-resourced schools, scholarships for afterschool and summer training programs and tuition support for students pursuing theater in higher education.

• The Prince Fellowship, in association with Columbia University School of the Arts, honors the legacy, career and memory of the Broadway producer, director and Fellowship founder, PHANTOM director Harold Prince (1928-2019). The goal is to support the development of gifted, emerging creative theatrical producers by exposing new talent to the producing process in a manner that supports creative involvement.

• The Stephen Sondheim Foundation was established by Broadway's late master composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim in his Will and is the largest single beneficiary of future royalties or other income derived from his musical and literary copyrights. The principal purpose is the support of playwrights, composers and lyricists for the theater in the early stages of their careers and to assist in the development and advancement of their careers.

Producer Cameron Mackintosh said, "PHANTOM's farewell to Broadway has proved more thrilling and celebratory than Andrew and I could ever have hoped for. As a thank you to New York and the Broadway community that has so embraced our success, we have chosen four wonderful organizations to benefit from a charity performance during our last week, on April 14, proceeds from which will be specifically aimed at the support and nurturing of new talent, both on and off the stage. With nearly all remaining tickets sold, this will be your last chance to get tickets to see this legendary production in its original splendour, and at the same time support youth and diverse talents in the theatre for future generations."

Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber said, "Through the work of my Foundation in the UK and U.S., I know that engagement in the arts changes lives. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA's time on Broadway certainly changed my life, and it has had a huge impact on the lives of the millions of people who have worked with us or come to see the show over the years. I am thrilled that we end THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA's record-breaking run on Broadway by giving something back to our beloved Broadway and to its young, talented people who, I know, will be future stars of this stage, of Broadway and of our whole industry. Thank you, Broadway and Thank you, New York."

Robert E. Wankel, Chairman and CEO of The Shubert Organization said, "THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has been the entry point to Broadway for countless young people over the years. In that spirit of welcoming, through this charitable event, we're delighted to support Broadway Bridges and its goal of having every New York City public school student attend a Broadway show at least once in their school years. We're proud to have been PHANTOM's home for over 35 years and couldn't ask for better partners than Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber."

Tickets for the Charity Performance will go on sale tomorrow, Friday, March 17 at 10AM online and in person at The Majestic Theatre box office. Tickets range from $175 to $1,500.

As much a part of the city landscape as the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has long been a New York City landmark. Widely considered one of the most beautiful and spectacular productions in history, the blockbuster phenomenon set the bar with its lavish sets and costumes, large cast and Broadway's largest orchestra - a perfect match for its sumptuous score and classic love story. Last Fall's closing announcement instantly resulted in sold out performances and lines around the block of The Majestic Theatre, in advance of the final performance, which is set for Sunday, April 16, 2023 at 5pm - its colossal 13,981st.

While Broadway prepares to bid farewell, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA continues to play around the world. The flagship London production, which celebrated its 36th anniversary on October 9, continues to play stronger than ever post-Covid, with no end in sight. PHANTOM is also currently playing in Japan, Greece and Sweden, and has productions opening this month in South Korea and Prague, as well as its highly anticipated premiere in Italy this July. Cameron Mackintosh's other reimagined production of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has broken box office records across the UK and the U.S., most recently at the Sydney Opera House in Australia, and will open in Vienna in 2024.

The first Mandarin language version of PHANTOM, presented by SMG Live, with Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Really Useful Group and Troika Entertainment and based on the original production, will open in China at the Shanghai Grand Theatre in May 2023, which will be followed by a large-scale tour of China. Andrew Lloyd Webber has also created a new joint venture with Antonio Banderas to create new, high quality Spanish language productions for Hispanic audiences, with a new production of The Phantom of the Opera set to open in Spain soon. In 2023, PHANTOM will be playing across a total of 15 countries, in 8 languages and 4 continents.

The New York production currently stars Ben Crawford as 'The Phantom,' Emilie Kouatchou as 'Christine,' Paul Adam Schaefer as 'Raoul' (John Riddle returns to the role on April 3), Nehal Joshi as 'Monsieur André,' Craig Bennett as 'Monsieur Firmin,' Raquel Suarez Groen as 'Carlotta Giudicelli,' Maree Johnson as 'Madame Giry,' Carlton Moe as 'Ubaldo Piangi' and Sara Esty as 'Meg Giry.' At certain performances, Julia Udine plays the role of 'Christine.'

The Ensemble features Giselle O. Alvarez, Polly Baird, Janinah Burnett, Xiaoxiao Cao, Kanisha Marie Feliciano, David Michael Garry, Chris Georgetti, Kelly Jeanne Grant, Satomi Hofmann, Ayaka Kamei, Ted Keegan, Kfir, Kelly Loughran, Scott Mikita, Greg Mills, Trista Moldovan, Justin Peck, Richard Poole, Lindsay Roberts, Janet Saia, Paul Adam Schaefer, Carly Blake Sebouhian, Jeremy Stolle, Carrington Vilmont, Jim Weitzer, Elizabeth Welch and Erica Wong.

The PHANTOM Orchestra - Broadway's largest, with 27 members - performs under the musical supervision of David Caddick.

PHANTOM currently plays Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings at 8pm and Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 7pm, with matinees Wednesday and Saturday at 2pm. Ticket prices range from $29-$169, with Premium tickets also available. To order tickets and for holiday schedules, visit www.Telecharge.com or call (212) 239-6200.

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATIONS

BROADWAY BRIDGES

Broadway Bridges® is an initiative of The Broadway League, mounted in partnership with the New York City Department of Education and the United Federation of Teachers. Broadway Bridges' goal is straightforward: Give every 10th grade student in a New York City public high school an opportunity to attend a Broadway show before graduation. Since its founding in 2017, Broadway Bridges has served more than 81,000 students and their chaperones from hundreds of schools representing all five NYC boroughs and all 51 city council districts. The program helps to guarantee that future Broadway audiences will reflect the diversity of our city by allowing its young people to take part in one of our greatest cultural resources and cultivating the talents of those who will someday work both on its stages and behind the scenes.

https://www.broadwaybridges.org/

THE AMERICAN THEATRE WING'S Andrew Lloyd Webber INITIATIVE

The Andrew Lloyd Webber Initiative provides students at all levels with enhanced theater education to initiate meaningful relationships with theater in childhood and open doors for pursuing theater as children become young adults. By fostering lifelong engagement with theater through educational avenues, they provide diverse young people across the nation newfound access to industry success. The initiative is how to rebuild the established path to working in the theater industry. It reaches students across the nation at an early age to make theater transcend background, creating access to industry opportunities for all who seek them.

The Initiative provides classroom grants to create or enhance theatre programs in the nation's under-resourced schools. Scholarships for afterschool and summer training programs, and tuition support for students pursuing theater in higher education, provide support on the individual level to students determined to make a career in theater.

The Initiative expands The American Theatre Wing's legacy commitment to education and diversity. They expose diverse people and places to theater, using performing arts education to give every student the opportunity to play a role in the American Theatre.

Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation funds the Initiative with an influential $1.3 million three-year grant. The project is an extension of the work Lloyd Webber, a multi-Tony Award winning composer-producer, is doing to promote and fund arts education through the foundation in the UK.

https://americantheatrewing.org/program/the-andrew-lloyd-webber-initiative/

THE Stephen Sondheim FOUNDATION

Established by Broadway's late master composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim in his Will, The Stephen Sondheim Foundation is the largest single beneficiary of future royalties or other income derived from his musical and literary copyrights.

The principal purpose of the not-for-profit charitable foundation is the "support of playwrights, composers and lyricists for the theater, who the Directors determine to be in the early stages of their careers, ... to assist in the development and advancement of their careers."

The intended goal is to sow seeds for the regeneration of the theatre for many generations to come.

THE PRINCE FELLOWSHIP

The Prince Fellowship, in association with Columbia University School of the Arts, honors the legacy, career and memory of the Broadway producer, director and Fellowship founder Harold Prince (1928-2019). The goal of the Fellowship is to support the development of gifted emerging creative theatrical producers. The Prince Fellowship is committed to sustaining the finest traditions of producing by exposing new talent to the producing process in a manner that supports creative involvement. Although the environment in which theatre is produced continues to change, many of the underlying challenges and principles remain and must be understood and adapted if the art form is to thrive. The philosophy is that which is good for the art form is good for business. The Fellowship emphasizes that the creative producer's role is to be the instigator, the collaborator, and the leader who gets art on the stage and to the public. The program neither wishes to turn back the clock to 1950 nor settle for the status quo. The Prince Fellowship is looking to empower new producers to reinvent the wheel themselves, on their own terms.

https://arts.columbia.edu/news/prince-fellowship-partners-theatre-leadership-project-create-new-producing-fellowship

ABOUT THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

Broadway's blockbuster phenomenon, Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, directed by the late Harold Prince, is one of the world's all-time most successful entertainment properties. Produced by Cameron Mackintosh and The Really Useful Group, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has been the longest-running show in Broadway history for well over a decade, and its astounding longevity in New York and around the world is unprecedented.

Since opening on January 26, 1988, the New York production has played an unheard of nearly 14,000 performances to over 20 million people at The Majestic Theatre (245 West 44th Street). Following the industry-wide shut down due to the Covid pandemic, the Broadway production reopened on October 22, 2021 with an outdoor block party that made headlines around the world.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's romantic, haunting and soaring score includes "The Music of the Night," "All I Ask of You," "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again," "Masquerade" and the iconic title song. It tells the tale of a disfigured musical genius known only as 'The Phantom' who haunts the depths of The Paris Opera House. Mesmerized by the talents and beauty of the young soprano Christine, The Phantom lures her as his protégé and falls fiercely in love with her. Unaware of Christine's love for Raoul, The Phantom's obsession sets the scene for a dramatic turn of events where jealousy, madness and passions collide.

Based on the classic novel Le Fantôme de L'Opéra by Gaston Leroux, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, has music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe and book by Richard Stilgoe and Andrew Lloyd Webber. It is directed by the late Harold Prince. Musical staging and choreography is by the late Gillian Lynne. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has production design by the late Maria Björnson®, lighting by Andrew Bridge and sound by Mick Potter with original sound by Martin Levan. Musical supervision and direction is by David Caddick and orchestrations are by David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

During its New York run, PHANTOM shattered every possible record for advance sales, capitalization, total gross, total attendance and longevity. It became the longest-running show in Broadway history on January 9, 2006 - when it surpassed the nearly 18-year run of Cats - another Andrew Llyod Webber musical, also produced by Cameron Mackintosh -and has since almost doubled that figure. The production has grossed a staggering $1.3 billion. Indeed, PHANTOM has been the largest single generator of income and jobs in Broadway and U.S. theatrical history. In the New York production alone, an estimated 6,500 people (including 450 actors) have been employed during its more than three decades run.

The musical also changed the landscape for touring across the country - inspiring the renovation of theaters and opera houses across the country to house it and revitalizing the economies of countless U.S. cities. The three original U.S. national tours combined grossed over $1.5 billion, playing 216 engagements in 77 cities for an unprecedented total of 36.5 years and over 14,500 performances to 31 million people - making it the most successful and continuously-touring show in U.S. history.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has played to over 145 million people in 41 countries and 183 cities in 17 languages. The musical has celebrated over 30 years on both sides of the Atlantic, and has received over 70 major theater awards, including seven Tony Awards and four Olivier Awards.