History has been made in New York City's legendary theater district, with The Phantom of the Opera becoming the longest-running show on Broadway Monday night.
The musical has run for 7,486 consecutive performances since 1988, surpassing the mark set by the musical Cats, which ran from 1982 to 2000.
British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, who created both Phantom and Cats, made a special appearance at Monday's performance along with his longtime producer, Cameron Mackintosh.
Phantom has attracted nearly 11 million theatergoers and earned nearly $600 million during its Broadway run. The musical has earned more than $3 billion worldwide.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.