Lloyd Webber celebrates Phantom run

The 57-year-old said he was finding the “overwhelming” fact hard to take in.

Phantom, which had its world premiere at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London in 1986, is the most successful entertainment venture of all time, with worldwide box office takings of more than $3.2bn (€2.6bn).

Titanic, the world’s highest-grossing film, only took $1.2bn (€993m)

The show has been seen by more than 80 million people around the world at over 65,000 performances in 119 cities in 24 countries.

Accolades include every major British theatre award and seven Tonys, including best musical.

The Broadway production has grossed nearly $600m (€496m) and been seen by 11 million people.

Tonight will see a gala performance followed by a glitzy masked ball at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel attended by key figures including Michael Crawford, the original Phantom, and producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh.

But the first Christine, Lord Lloyd-Webber’s ex-wife and good friend Sarah Brightman, will not be there because of recording commitments.

“When I wrote Cats I never ever thought I would do anything that would top it and then, of course, Phantom came along,” Lord Lloyd-Webber said.

“The extraordinary thing which is a bit overwhelming is that it’s my own show that I’m taking the record off, which I never thought would happen to me in my career at all.

“It hasn’t really quite hit. The only thing that has hit me is it’s an achievement I’ll never be able to top.”

He said he had known Phantom would be a hit in the States – it opened in January 1988 with a then-record advance of $18m (€15m) – but could not have guessed just how much the Americans would love it.

“One could sense it from the moment it got in front of an audience in any form that there was something about it that was a bit special,” he said.

But he was still nervous on the night about what kind of reception Brightman - with whom he split in 1990 but still rates as the best ever Christine – would get in her controversial Broadway debut, which American Equity had tried to block.

“It wasn’t the same as any of the other shows I’ve been involved with because I’ve never had another show where I’ve had my wife in it,” he laughed.

“It made it an odd night for me. I’m sad she can’t be here tonight.”

Speaking about his concerns for the future of British theatre, Lord Lloyd-Webber said he thought smash comedy Little Britain could have the makings of a musical, and even suggested he would consider teaming up with stars David Walliams and Matt Lucas if they were interested.

“They have done an amazing job with the theatre tour,” he said.

“The writers could have the rhythm for a musical. If they were interested in talking about a musical and would they want a producer, I’d certainly be interested in talking to them, but not necessarily to write with them.”

He also revealed how he had decided to pull out of negotiations to get Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson to play Maria in his production of The Sound of Music, because although she had been keen, her “people” were against the plan.

“I’m very sorry it didn’t work out,” he said. “You could tell she wanted to do it.”

And he spoke of his desire to launch his old friend Cilla Black in New York, at famed cabaret venue Café Carlyle.

“I’m just trying to get her to say yes,” he said.

“I think everybody would absolutely fall in love with her and she’d be the toast of New York instantly.”

Lloyd-Webber said he was unperturbed by The Stage magazine’s recent decision that he was no longer the most powerful person in British theatre, demoting him to number three after five years at the top.

His third wife Madeleine Gurdon and their three children will also be at the performance tonight.