“The Phantom of the Opera,” the longest-running Broadway musical, gives its final performance this Sunday,
And its creator is asking fans to think fondly of the show with the release of a new song.
Andrew Lloyd Webber, 75, penned a new arrangement of “Think of Me” as a trio between the musical’s main characters, Christine (Emilie Kouatchou), Raoul (John Riddle) and the Phantom (Ben Crawford), and the song was released Friday as a single.
The original version of the ballad takes place within the musical’s first act as a duet between Christine and Raoul. In the musical, Christine has just earned a leading role in a fictional musical. As she performs the song on stage, Raoul, who is in the audience, recognizes her as a childhood friend and begins to swoon over her, joining in the song.
Webber wrote the song with updated lyrics to include the Phantom. And even though the cast members are out of costume in the video of the recording session, the new lyrics seemingly fit within the show’s love triangle narrative, offering viewers a completely original moment within “The Phantom” universe.
“Though it was always clear / that this was never meant to be, / if you happen to remember / stop and think of me,” sings Crawford alone as the Phantom, who at the end of the play disappears after his romantic love for Christine goes unfulfilled.
Later, Kouatchou and Riddle join in with Crawford as the trio sings in harmony, “There will never be a day when I won’t think of you.”
Kouatchou , who grew up in Chicago, is the first Black actor to play the role of Christine. In October 2021, she first performed the role as an understudy, but by the start of 2022, she became the primary lead.
“I put so much pressure on myself up until then that that day I was like, ‘You know what? I’m just going to forget about it and live my best life up there,’” Kouatchou told the Associated Press in 2021, referring to her debut performance. “That night was like the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”
“The Phantom” started its historic run of nearly 14,000 performances on Jan. 26, 1988. Its final performance will take place April 16 at the Majestic Theater in New York City.
Last September, “The Phantom” announced it would give its final performance in February, after the musical, like many theater shows, struggled to regain its audiences following the pandemic closures. However, as ticket sales rebounded in the lead-up to the February finale, the show announced it would extend its final run at the Majestic Theater for another eight weeks. In a single week in November, the show raked in $2.2 million in sales.
Times staff writer Jessica Gelt and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
