Timeline History of Phantom of the Opera in London

 A very preliminary preview of the first act was staged at Sydmonton Court, Lloyd Webber’s home. The workshop starred Colm Wilkinson as the Phantom (who later originated the role in Canada), and Lloyd Webber’s then-wife Sarah Brightman as Christine. It featured Stilgoe’s original lyrics, which were later extensively rewritten by Charles Hart, who was a young and relatively unknown librettist at the time.

After extensive rewrites, Phantom officially opened at Her Majesty’s Theatre (now named His Majesty’s Theatre) in London, beginning previews on 27 September 1986. The production starred Brightman, reprising her role from the workshop as Christine, opposite Michael Crawford as the Phantom. 

Phantom won an Olivier for Best New Musical at the annual awards, along with the Best Actor win for Michael Crawford. 

The Broadway production officially opened at the Majestic Theatre. Brightman and Crawford reprised their roles for the transfer. In London, Dave Willets stepped into the role of the Phantom, alongside Michael Ball as Raoul. 

The Broadway production won a Tony for Best Musical at the 42nd annual awards, along with wins for Design, another Best Actor win for Crawford and a win for Best Direction. 

The London production celebrated its 10th anniversary with a special post-show performance by Sarah Brightman, who sang two numbers from the musical with Phantoms and Raouls of the past and present, accompanied by Lloyd Webber on the piano. It was followed by a celebratory “Masquerade” Ball, held at the Park Lane Hotel.

The much-anticipated film adaptation opened in cinemas, starring Gerard Butler as The Phantom, and newcomer Emmy Rossum as Christine. The planned adaptation was announced as early as 1989, but didn’t begin production until 2002 for a variety of reasons. 

A sequel musical, Love Never Dies, loosely based on the 1999 novel The Phantom of Manhattan by Frederick Forsyth (itself an unofficial follow-up based on Leroux’s original), opened at London’s Adelphi Theatre. It starred former Phantom cast members Sierra Boggess as Christine and Ramin Karimloo as The Phantom. It was quite a departure from the original, with a Coney Island setting and a 10 year time-jump.

Love Never Dies was not as well-received as the original, and closed on 27 August 2011.

The West End production celebrated its 10,000th show with both Andrew Lloyd Webber and Michael Crawford in attendance.

Phantom celebrated its 25th year with three performances held at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Unlike other anniversary celebrations, such as the Les Miserables anniversary concert, this was a fully-staged production at the iconic venue. The sell-out performances were live-streamed in cinemas, and the film was later released on DVD.  

The New York production became the first Broadway musical to surpass 10,000 performances.

A UK and Ireland tour began at Theatre Royal, Plymouth, marking the production’s first time touring the country in almost 20 years. The tour visited ten venues, ending its run at the Southampton Mayflower Theatre on 16 Feb 2013. 

The West End production celebrated its 30th anniversary with a special gala performance. Members of the original cast, including Michael Crawford, and other notable cast members, including former Christine Sierra Boggess and former Raoul Michael Ball, joined the production for a very special finale.

The West End and Broadway productions suspended performances due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Broadway production reopened in October 2021, unchanged – but there was a little drama in store for the London show…

There were concerns that the London show wouldn’t return after sets, props and costumes were spotted being removed from the theatre. Cameron Mackintosh later announced that the production would be “permanently shut down”. This was debunked by Lloyd Webber and The Really Useful Group, who denied that the production was closing, claiming that the extended closure was being used to refurbish the theatre and the show would remain unchanged.

It was announced that the show would be changing, but not closing down. Cameron Mackintosh clarified his earlier statement, confirming that a new production based on the 2020 tour would be returning to Her Majesty’s Theatre.

A greatly reduced, redesigned version of the show reopened at Her Majesty’s Theatre. Some controversy was sparked when the orchestra was reduced from 27 to just 14 musicians. The cast from the cancelled 2020 UK tour finally got to perform, and replaced the pre-pandemic cast.

The Broadway production closed at the Majestic Theatre, after playing a truly majestic 13,981 performances over 35 years.

Ahead of the show’s upcoming 40th birthday in October, Phantom celebrated with a special performance at the 2026 Olivier Awards, alongside Wicked (celebrating its 20th anniversary). 

The London show celebrates a staggering four decades on stage with a special international Phantom of the Opera 40th anniversary cast. Former Christine Sierra Boggess plays the role of Carlotta alongside former Raoul Jordan Donnica as The Phantom and Beatrice Penny-Toure as Christine. Further celebrations are currently being kept as secret as the Phantom himself – but we’re sure that something spectacular is being planned!