The black-tie and glamorous-garb crowd included producer Cameron Mackintosh, director Harold Prince, original star Sarah Brightman, then-stars Hugh Panaro (The Phantom), Sierra Boggess (Christine), Kyle Barisich (Raoul) and Phantom cast alumni from 25 years on Broadway.
Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, who wrote the international smash with Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe, drawing on the popular 1911 novel by Gaston Leroux, was not able to attend due to a medical issue.
Prince told Playbill.com on Jan. 24, "Did I ever dream [a 25-year run] would happen? No, of course not. I knew [from staging the London production] we had a hit, but, in the theatre that I was raised in, a long run was 1,000 performances. That was a big, big hit. Then, My Fair Lady ran five years. But [a 25th anniversary] is another world, and I'm happy to have been part of it."
The Mayor of New York's Office of Media and Entertainment has named Jan. 26 "The Phantom of the Opera Day." An official proclamation was delivered in the hour leading up to the 6:30 PM performance. The Broadway company of the London hit opened Jan. 26, 1988, following previews.
For more information visit phantombroadway.com.
