Producing a musical on Broadway is a risky but potentially fruitful endeavor. A lot of productions don’t last longer than a single season, but every once in a while, a show strikes gold and serves as a money machine for several years. Tragically, every production has a closing date, even those that are “perfect.” That begs the question: why? Why do productions that people think will never end fall to their knees? Well, it depends on the show. The most recent shows to announce closing dates on Broadway are Phantom of the Opera, Beetlejuice, Into the Woods, The Music Man, and potentially The Book of Mormon.

First, Phantom of the Opera, the longest-running production in the history of Broadway, set its closing date for February 18, 2023, after a 35+ year run. This came as a great surprise to the Broadway community, as many of us have taken its existence for granted for so long. However, upon looking at numbers, timing, and practicality, it just makes sense. Phantom is a musical surrounded by spectacle. It involves multiple massive set pieces, including a grand staircase, a falling chandelier, and a seamlessly emerging lake. These choices resulted from the maximalism trend of early musical theatre. While contemporary musicals have embraced smaller cast sizes, less technical demands, and lower budgets, Phantom has always been lurking in the background as a testament to what a talented theatrical team can create with 20 million dollars (in today’s money). Unfortunately, like many other artistic establishments, Phantom was deeply affected by COVID. While other high-budget shows like The Lion King and Wicked were able to bounce back after the pandemic and reach their break-even in spite of lower attendance, Phantom wasn’t so lucky. Its monthly production costs are simply too high to maintain given its lower attendance due to a decrease in tourism as well as recent inflation. Who knows what will fill the shoes of the production that defined musical theatre to the general public for so long?

Next, in expected but unwelcomed news, Beetlejuice announced its closing… again! The show first closed during the pandemic Broadway shutdown on March 11th, 2020, and for some time, this spelled the death of the show. However, due to the show’s popularity on TikTok, it was able to transfer and reopen at the Marquis Theatre! It was fun while it lasted, but unfortunately, the show set its closing date as January 8, 2023. While the re-opening of the production was well worth the producers’ time, and there was substantial interest in the show as displayed by the amount of social media content around it, the target demographic simply wasn’t wide enough. Numbers have been slowly dwindling since the reopening, and the setting of its closing date was an unfortunately predictable inevitability. I don’t think anyone was unhappy that Beetlejuice got a second chance, but I think there is a common acknowledgment that this was a natural course for the show, even from the most diehard fans.

Additionally, both The Music Man and Into the Woods are set to close on January 1, 2023, and January 8, 2023, respectively. Neither of these closures came as a shock, even considering the extraordinarily high numbers both productions bring in weekly. The Music Man primarily relies on the lead actor, Hugh Jackman, to attract audiences, and with the size of his name, his contract was never a permanent one. This has always been planned, and while it’s sad, the producers know that the production probably wouldn’t last much longer without him. Similarly, Into the Woods was revived to honor the recently deceased Stephen Sondheim, and thus a short-term, star-studded cast was assembled for the limited engagement, off-Broadway run. Due to popular demand, the production was able to transfer to Broadway, and the demand was even high enough to extend the run several times. The run has only been able to support such an extravagant, expensive cast through high-ticket prices and the assurance that the show will be sold out every night, but the producers announcing the “final” extension’s end on January 8, 2023, seems like an indicator that they simply cannot keep charging the prices they are while filling as many seats as they have been.

Finally, in recent news, a Broadway insider who goes by the handle @sweatyoracle on TikTok rumored that The Book of Mormon may be closing in February 2023, even in spite of optimistic profits. This is only alleged, and if it’s true, then an announcement is very imminent. Although it doesn’t seem likely, many of us thought Phantom of the Opera was never going to close… until it did.

So what does all this mean? I think these show closures demonstrate the undeniable impact COVID has left on the entertainment industry for the foreseeable future, the power of new-age social media in the artistic world, and the hard-to-meet needs of any sustainable long-run production. Many see Phantom, Beetlejuice, The Music Man, and Into the Woods closing and feel sad, but the opening up of the theaters they inhabit makes way for more exciting productions! It may seem scary to see these productions closing because it makes you question what else could close in the future, but it’s really just a blessing in disguise.