It's taken almost as many Phantoms as years for Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera to turn 12. The 11th Phantom, Howard McGillin will lead the cast in the romantic thriller's anniversary Jan. 26.
McGillin was Tony and Drama Desk-nominated for The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Anything Goes. Other Broadway credits include The Secret Garden, Sunday in the Park With George, She Loves Me and Kiss of the Spider Woman. McGillin also originated the role of Si Morley in San Diego's Old Globe production of Time and Again. McGillin's voice is featured on the recordings of Anything Goes, As Thousands Cheer, "The Swan Princess" and "South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut."
The current cast of Phantom also features Sarah Pfisterer as Christine, Gary Mauer as Raoul, Liz McCartney as Carlotta, Leila Martin as Madame Giry, Jeff Keller as Monsieur Andre and George Lee Andrews as Monsieur Firmin.
Previous Broadway Phantoms have included Michael Crawford, the originator of the role, Kevin Gray, Mark Jacoby, Davis Gaines and Hugh Panaro.
The Phantom of the Opera celebrated its tenth anniversary on Broadway Jan. 26, 1998 and made 5,000 performances Dec. 26. It is the fifth-longest running Broadway musical of all time, after Cats, A Chorus Line, Oh! Calcutta and Les Miz. For tickets call (212) 239-6200.