Peter Joback to Don the Mask for PHANTOM OF THE OPERA's 30th Anniversary on Broadway
Producers Cameron Mackintosh and The Really Useful Group announced today final principal casting for the 30th Anniversary of the longest-running show in Broadway history, Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, directed by Harold Prince. One of the most successful stage productions of all-time, the musical will welcome back international stage star and Platinum-selling Swedish recording artist Peter Jöback to lead the 30th Anniversary.
This January, the New York production will celebrate 30 Years - an unprecedented feat achieved by no other Broadway show. While January 26, 2018 is the anniversary date for The Phantom of the Opera, the 30th Anniversary will be celebrated two days earlier on Wednesday, January 24. Plans for the evening will be announced in the coming weeks.
The musical will enter its fourth decade having played 12,500 performances to 18 million people at The Majestic Theatre (247 West 44th Street), and having grossed a staggering more than $1.1 billion. PHANTOM has been Broadway's longest-running show for more than a decade and its astounding longevity in New York and around the world is unprecedented.
Mr. Jöback's strictly limited return, from Monday, January 15 through Saturday, March 31, follows his most recent and astonishing performance in the sold out Stockholm production. One of Sweden's most prolific and respected artists, Mr. Jöback has earned rave reviews and ignited the box office for his performance as 'The Phantom' in London (2012), New York (2013, becoming the first European to play the role on Broadway since the original cast) and two sold out engagements in his native Stockholm (2016).
Mr. Jöback has also appeared in the West End for producer Cameron Mackintosh, playing 'Chris' in the original production of Miss Saigon, and creating the role of 'Michael' in The Witches of Eastwick. Peter has been awarded two Swedish Tony Awards, for creating the role of 'Robert' in Bjorn Ulvaeus' and Benny Andersson's original musical Kristina and for playing the 'Emcee' in Cabaret. He also starred in a sold out Stockholm production of Sweeny Todd in 2013. His albums have sold over 1 million copies, including the best-selling Swedish albums of 2006 and 2008 and Sweden's best-selling Christmas album of all time, and have been nominated for three Swedish Grammy Awards. Among his countless tours and concert appearances, his record-breaking concert series I Love Musicals (featuring music from his album of the same name) has sold out arena tours in Scandinavia, Finland and Japan. Two of Peter's TV specials have been nominated for the Silver Rose at the Rose d'Or Global Entertainment Television Festival in Montreux, including the mini-series "With the heart at stake." Visit www.peterjoback.com for more information.
Jöback succeeds acclaimed 'Phantom' James Barbour, who has played the role since February 2015. As previously announced, his final performance in the title role will be Saturday, December 23. During the three weeks between Mr. Barbour and Mr. Jöback (December 25 - January 13), the role of 'The Phantom' will be played by principal cast member Laird Mackintosh, who plays the role of 'Monsieur André.' A successor to Mr. Jöback will be announced in the coming weeks.
Mr. Jöback will join previously-announced 30th Anniversary principal cast members Ali Ewoldt as 'Christine,' Rodney Ingram as 'Raoul,' Laird Mackintosh as 'Monsieur André,' Craig Bennett as 'Monsieur Firmin,' Raquel Suarez Groen as 'Carlotta,' Carlton Moe as 'Piangi,' Maree Johnson as 'Madame Giry' and Kara Klein as 'Meg Giry.' At certain performances, Kayley Ann Voorhees plays the role of 'Christine.'
Based on the classic novel Le Fantôme de L'Opéra by Gaston Leroux, The Phantom of the Opera tells the story of a masked figure who lurks beneath the catacombs of the Paris Opera House, exercising a reign of terror over all who inhabit it. He falls madly in love with an innocent young soprano, Christine, and devotes himself to creating a new star by nurturing her extraordinary talents and by employing all of the devious methods at his command.
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is produced by Cameron Mackintosh and The Really Useful Group, has music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and is directed by Harold Prince. Lyrics are by Charles Hart (with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe) and the book is by Richard Stilgoe and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The Phantom of the Opera has production design by the late Maria Björnson, lighting by Andrew Bridge and sound design by Mick Potter with original sound by Martin Levan. Musical staging and choreography is by Gillian Lynne. Orchestrations are by David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Since its debut on January 26, 1988, the Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera has played an unprecedented 30 Years and grossed over $1.1 billion with total attendance of 18 million. Entering its fourth decade, it remains a box office champ and continues to play with no end in sight.
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA became the longest-running show in Broadway history on January 9, 2006 with its 7,486th performance, surpassing the previous record-holder Cats, also by Andrew Lloyd Webber and also produced by Cameron Mackintosh. Incredibly, since breaking that record, PHANTOM has played both an additional 12 years and nearly 5,000 performances - which by itself would be a smash hit run for a Broadway musical.
On January 26, 2013 the Broadway production celebrated a milestone 25 Years. On November 28, 2016, it celebrated another historic achievement: becoming the first and only Broadway show to reach 12,000 performances. (By way of comparison, PHANTOM is ahead of Broadway's second longest-running show, Chicago, by over 9 years and almost 4,000 performances.)
15 men have officially taken over the title role in the Broadway production. They are (in order): original star Michael Crawford, Timothy Nolen, Cris Groenendaal, Steve Barton, Kevin Gray, Mark Jacoby, Marcus Lovett, Davis Gaines, Thomas James O'Leary, Hugh Panaro, Howard McGillin, John Cudia, Peter Jöback, Norm Lewis and James Barbour. In addition, there have been five limited engagement replacements: Jeff Keller, Ted Keegan, Brad Little, Gary Mauer and Laird Mackintosh.
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA became the first stage production in history to reach worldwide grosses of $6 billion, which it did in 2014. Revenues far surpass the world's highest-grossing film Avatar(at $2.8 billion), as well as such other blockbusters as Titanic, The Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park and Star Wars.
Worldwide, a staggering 140 million people have seen The Phantom of the Opera in 35 countries and 160 cities in 15 languages.
The flagship London production of The Phantom of the Opera opened October 9, 1986 at Her Majesty's Theatre. In October 2016, it celebrated its 30th Anniversary and surpassed 12,500 performances. Its milestone 25th Anniversary in October 2011 was celebrated with a special production at London's Royal Albert Hall. A live recording was released on CD by Decca and a DVD of the event was released by Universal Home Entertainment.
There are currently six productions of The Phantom of the Opera around the world: London, New York, Sapporo (Japan, in repertory), Budapest (Hungary, in repertory), Gothenburg (Sweden, non-replica) and Cameron Mackintosh's spectacular new production, now in its fifth year on North American Tour.
The musical has won more than 70 major theater awards, including seven 1988 Tony Awards (including Best Musical) and three Olivier Awards plus the 2016 Olivier Audience Award in the West End. The original cast recording, with over 40 million copies sold worldwide, is the best-selling cast recording of all time. Since September 2010, thousands of high school and college student productions of PHANTOM have been licensed through R&H Theatricals.
