Theater News

Norm Lewis Will Be Broadway's First-Ever African-American Phantom of the Opera

Lewis will reunite with his ”Little Mermaid” costar Sierra Boggess in the long-running Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.

Norm Lewis will become the first African-American actor to play the Phantom on Broadway in The Phantom of the Opera.
Norm Lewis will become the first African-American actor to play the Phantom on Broadway in The Phantom of the Opera.
(© David Gordon)

Norm Lewis, a Tony nominee for his performance in The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, will join The Phantom of the Opera beginning May 12, making history as the first African-American actor to play the role in the show's 26-year history on Broadway. Lewis will enter the production with Sierra Boggess, who returns to the role of Christine on the same day.

The pair reunites on stage for the first time since playing King Triton and Ariel in the 2008 Broadway production of The Little Mermaid. Boggess has played Christine both on Broadway and London, and originated the role of Christine in Love Never Dies, Andrew Lloyd Webber's sequel to his musical.

While Lewis is the first African-American actor to appear as the Phantom on Broadway, he's not the first to play the part. Robert Guillaume took over the character from original star Michael Crawford in the Los Angeles production in 1990.

Lewis and Boggess succeed Hugh Panaro and Mary Michael Patterson, who currently star in the production at the Majestic Theatre.

Click here for tickets to The Phantom of the Opera.

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