Dunedin audiences have taken Musical Theatre Dunedin's production of Phantom of the Opera to their hearts and the show will also make a profit, marketing team member Lynda Wright-Sear says.
''It's gone exceptionally well,'' Mrs Wright-Sear said.
The public had come along and strongly supported it.
An extra show was added to the originally planned seven because of public demand.
A total of about 9500 people had attended, and the final show at the Regent Theatre, in Dunedin, on Saturday was a near sellout, with only about 30 seats unsold of about 1400 available.
Every show in the season, starting on September 17, had also resulted in a standing ovation and the atmosphere in the theatre was ''quite magical''.
The performances were successful ''both financially and artistically''.
It had been one of Musical Theatre Dunedin's ''most successful shows''.
''It's been incredibly popular. We've had people coming back a second time.
''It's been a great satisfaction for us - we're thrilled.''
The full costs had yet to be determined.
Some costs had risen, including for the show's oddly rising and falling chandelier.
But the show would make a profit, although exactly how large was yet to be determined.
''The numbers are looking quite good,'' she said.
She believed the $520,000 show (excluding GST) was the biggest budget local music theatre production to be staged in Dunedin.
That was a ''huge amount'' for an amateur theatrical body to deal with, she said.
The budget for Cats in 2008 was apparently about $400,000.
In running a big-budget show such as Phantom, non-profit organisations such as the Musical Theatre Dunedin had to be ''pretty certain that we'll make a profit'', and that costs would be fully covered.
There had been some anxious moments and a few sleepless nights during the planning of the show, but a sound business case had been prepared and organisers were ''quietly confident'' the musical production would at least break even, given the long-standing public demand for the show to be staged in Dunedin.
She felt ''relief'' and ''delight'' when the strong public support became apparent, from opening night.
The production had also been successful because of the high-quality of the performances.
The outcome was a result of a ''superb'' team effort from all involved: cast, crew, creative team, and musicians.
The cast and crew were unpaid volunteers, and a few others involved with the production were paid, partly as compensation for time taken off work.
After about 80 years as Dunedin Operatic, the name Musical Theatre Dunedin was adopted in 2010.
