Our Last Summer: Mamma Mia's 14-year run on Broadway ends

by Joanna S. Kao, @joannaskao | Sept. 12, 2015

Broadway's Mamma Mia closes on September 12, 2015 after 14 years and 5,773 performances. The Abba musical is the eighth-longest-running musical in Broadway history. Over the years, it has grossed over $600 million with 7.5 million visits.

The show, which opened shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, began strongly, often taking in $1 million a week and running at over 100 percent capacity for the first few years. But beginning in 2010, the number of people seeing the show began to decrease — more than other long-running shows like Phantom of the Opera or The Lion King. Percent capacity increased only marginally even when it moved from the Winter Garden Theatre to the smaller Broadhurst Theatre in November 2013. The downwards trend is perhaps what led producer Judy Craymer to tell the New York Times that the production is leaving because “It comes down to economics.”

But when all is said and done, Mamma Mia has had a global reach. It was adapted into a movie in 2008 that made over $600 million and has grossed over $2 billion from 49 productions around the world. It's been a super trouper.