It's 21 Years on Broadway for The Phantom

On January 26, 1988, Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera made its Broadway debut at the Majestic Theatre in New York City, New York. The debut followed its successful London, England launch at Her Majesty's Theatre a little over a year prior. The Majestic Theatre was built in 1927 and has been the site of countless productions, but few have left its mark quite like The Phantom of the Opera.

Last year on this date, the production celebrated its 20th anniversary at the theater, having clocked over 8,318 matinee and 8,319 evening performances (one of which I had the pleasure of attending back in 1998 - see photo above) at the Majestic alone. The milestone made it the first time a Broadway production had ever reached the 20-year mark, which makes this 21st anniversary yet another historical marker to beat. Between its performances in London and New York (and now Las Vegas with "additions and enhancements"), alongside its various road tours, The Phantom of the Opera has played to over 80 million theatergoers and grossed over $3.3 billion worldwide.

So here's a toast to the Angel of Music and its long-running success.

Celebrate the milestone with a visit to the Majestic Theatre.

-Casey H.

The Resurrected (and Haunted) Landers Theatre

The Landers Theatre today is a historic landmark in the city of Springfield, Missouri, but an incident in its early years almost sealed its fate. The theater was constructed in 1909 and hosted a variety of vaudeville acts. Then, on December 17, 1920, a major fire broke out that almost entirely destroyed the facility and closed it down. Rather than scrap the project, Ensley Barbour stepped forward and put up the money for the repairs and reconstruction. Two years later the Landers Theatre was once again opened and has hosted such personalities as Lon Chaney, Kathleen Turner, Lillian Russel, and Springfield-native Brad Pitt (some sources say he got his start at the Landers) in the years since.

If you believe the stories, some of the people who have passed through its doors have never left, even in death. The Landers Theatre is home to a variety of accounts of paranormal activity throughout its four stories. Ghosts are said to include a janitor that is believed to have perished in the tragic 1920 fire, a baby that was said to have fallen from the balcony and its grieving mother, former actors and actresses, and even a strange entity that stands in the middle of the auditorium that brings audience participation to a whole new level.

Read the ghostly tales of the Landers Theatre at Dark Destinations.

-Casey H.