Despite attempts to keep the production afloat during live theater's dark times, The Phantom of the Opera has officially ended its run at the Her Majesty Theater in London's West End theater district. This news comes as a surprise to many due to its extensive history of performances in the West End and Broadway. The announcement came from producer Cameron Mackintosh in a column in the U.K.'s Evening Standard newspaper:

"Andrew and I have had to sadly permanently shut down our London and U.K. touring productions of The Phantom of the Opera, but are determined to bring it back to London in the future."

The U.K. government disbursed $1.9 billion to the arts supporting theaters, music and comedy venues, and museums. The Arts Council England had predicted that due to this generous portion of money going to the arts, that applicants of this relief fund will be able to fully or partially reopen by March 31, 2021.

This unfortunately wasn't the case for the beloved 'Phantom'. However, even with the official announcements from Mackintosh, creator of the musical Andrew Lloyd Webber, has a more optimistic view on the matter. Webber tweeted out "'As far as I'm concerned Phantom will reopen as soon as is possible' - ALW".

Webber's glimpse of hope is just what we need during these times!