Final curtain call for Broadway's Phantom of the Opera

After 35 years, 13,981 shows and seven Tony awards, Broadway's longest running musical - The Phantom of the Opera - closed on Sunday night.

Though the show endured recessions, terrorism and cultural shifts - it could not survive the Covid-19 pandemic and its effects.

The musical debuted on 26 January 1988 at New York's Majestic Theatre - which is where it had stayed ever since.

It grossed over $1.3bn (£1bn) during its decades-long Broadway run.

Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber appeared on stage to dedicate the final performance to his son, Nick, 43, who died in March after a battle with gastric cancer and pneumonia.

On Saturday, Lord Lloyd-Webber said the show had "probably" cost over nearly $1m (£806,000) to run a week.

The pandemic forced Broadway to close for 18 months, and after theatres re-opened costs increased by 15% due to the imposition of Covid-19 protocols and additional security, according to the show's general manager.

Meanwhile, overall tourist levels, which aid ticket sales, have not returned to pre-pandemic levels in New York.

The last show was originally scheduled for February, but the show saw a last minute surge in demand, which saw ticket sales bring in over $3m (£2.4m) each week.

Current and former actors to perform in the musical attended - including Sarah Brightman, who was the first person to play lead character Christine, and Emilie Kouatchou, who became the first black actress to play the role in New York.

Showing their support, celebrities like Lin-Manuel Miranda and Glenn Close were in attendance.

There had been 16 actors to perform as the Phantom since 1988, with Howard McGillin - who played the role for over seven years and in over 2,500 performances - holding the record for the longest stint.

"I started sobbing the minute I came in," McGillin said at the last show. "We're all part of this family and we will always be. It's a wonderful thing."

To celebrate, silver and gold confetti rained down on the crowd and free champagne was handed out during intermission.

"I've never seen any other marquees at the Majestic Theatre. To not see that mask there is going to be devastating," theatre student Andrew Defrin told CNN.

The theatre will undergo renovations that had been pushed off after the nonstop performances over the last three decades.

Since the closing of Phantom, Lord Lloyd-Webber has one remaining show on Broadway - Bad Cinderella.

Chicago, which opened in 1996, takes the title of the longest running Broadway musical.

The flagship production of Phantom is still on in London and will be celebrating its 36th anniversary in October.

But the show's West End procurer Cameron Mackintosh mused that the musical might have a second life as "all the great musicals return" so "it's only a matter of time".