Panaro is a Philly native, a Broadway veteran (Lestat, Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera) and a local Barrymore Award-winning actor (for playing Valjean in the Walnut's Les Miz in 2008). One of the tenor's first professional jobs was in The Walnut Street Theatre's 1986 production A Little Night Music. The Walnut's all-new production of Oliver!, a musical version of Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist," will start Nov. 10, open Nov. 18, and run through Jan. 10, 2010, on the Walnut Street Theatre mainstage.

Panaro served as a church organist at Saint Helena's Roman Catholic Church during high school and studied music at Temple University (BA in voice, class of '85).

Mark Clements, who helmed WST's re-imagining of Les Misérables and 2007's Of Mice and Men (Barrymore Award – Best Direction of a Play), will stage Oliver! The creative team will also include musical director Douglass G. Lutz, scenic designer Todd Edward Ivins, lighting designer Jeff Nellis and costume designer Colleen Grady, plus choreographer Mary Jane Houdina (WST's 42nd Street and Hairspray).

Tickets are available now by subscription. Call (215) 574-3550, ext. 6 or visit walnutstreettheatre.org.