Photo Flash: First Look at James Barbour in Broadway's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

The Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, directed by Harold Prince, recently welcomed a new leading man. The longest-running show in Broadway history, and one of the most successful stage productions of all-time, PHANTOM ushered in Broadway star James Barbour in the title role on February 9, 2015.

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Having last year surpassed 11,000 performances -- an unprecedented feat achieved by no other Broadway show -- the New York production of PHANTOM celebrated this milestone on January 26 at The Majestic Theatre (247 West 44th Street), the musical's home for all 27 record-breaking years.

Barbour has starred on Broadway in Carousel, Beauty & the Beast, Jane Eyre (Drama League nomination), Urinetown, Assassins and A Tale of Two Cities, for which he received Drama Desk, Drama League and Outer Critics Award nominations for Best Actor in a Musical. He made his Broadway debut in 1993 in Cyrano - The Musical and also appeared in the national tour of The Secret Garden, as well as opposite Jeremy Irons in Camelot. Most recently, Mr.Barbour received the LA Ovation Best Actor Award for playing Jean Valjean in LES MISERABLES. In addition to numerous film and television credits, his many recordings include his solo albums The Gift of Christmas and his most recent release, the acclaimed Bring Me Giants, as well as the cast recordings of the shows in which he has appeared.

The actor is married to PHANTOM alumna Dana Stackpole, who has appeared as a member of the Ballet Chorus in both the Broadway and national touring companies.

Barbour joins Julia Udine as Christine and Jeremy Hays as Raoul. The musical co-stars Laird Mackintosh(Monsieur André), Tim Jerome (Monsieur Firmin), Michele McConnell (Carlotta), Linda Balgord (Madame Giry), Christian Šebek (Piangi) and Kara Klein (Meg Giry). At certain performances, Kaley Ann Voorhees plays Christine.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is produced by Cameron Mackintosh and The Really Useful Group, has music byAndrew 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 byMartin Levan. Musical staging and choreography is by Gillian Lynne. Orchestrations are by David Cullen andAndrew Lloyd Webber.

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.

Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy