Les Miserables closed last night on Broadway after an amazing 6,680 performances. That number is even more impressive when you consider how few shows get over the 4,000 mark — let alone all the way to six thousand and change. Les Miz lasted more than twice as long as the original Fiddler on the Roof, which at one time held the record. Here's how the top ten currently breaks down in terms of number of performances…
- Cats (7485)
- Les Miserables (6680)
- The Phantom of the Opera (6382 and still running)
- A Chorus Line (6137)
- Oh! Calcutta! – Revival (5959)
- Miss Saigon (4097)
- Beauty and the Beast (3704 and still running)
- 42nd Street – Original Production (3486)
- Grease – Original production (3388)
- Fiddler on the Roof (3242)
Some might argue that some of those shows lasted as long as they did because of clever promotional deals — and perhaps they did, but that's part of how the game is played. The revival of Oh! Calcutta! was around for 13 years, at least in part, because they staged it in a small theater, got the running costs down to where they could make a profit when half-full, and offered packages to tour groups that wanted to see something naughty without braving New York's famed porn palaces. (I once heard a lady who was in the show say that it probably also set some sort of record for walk-outs, as well as for playing to charter busloads of Japanese tourists.) In any case, there are theater buffs who argue that it shouldn't be eligible for lists like this.
If it isn't, the next in line would be a non-musical — Life With Father — that hung in there for 3224 outings. Filling out the Top 20 would be Tobacco Road, Rent, Hello, Dolly, My Fair Lady, the current revival of Chicago, Annie, the original Man of La Mancha, Abie's Irish Rose, and The Lion King. Three of those are still running but I don't think anyone thinks that any of the above shows but Phantom has a chance of beating out Cats for the top slot. The Lion King, for instance, would have to run another twelve years and three months to achieve that.
One other thing I noticed as I just looked at a whole list of Broadway shows and how long they ran: I think the funniest musical ever done was A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and I think the funniest non-musical was The Odd Couple. And I just noticed that the original productions of these two shows each ran exactly the same number of performances: 964. I'm sure that doesn't prove anything but isn't it kinda interesting? No? Okay, I'm going to bed. Good night.