Tony Award nominee Norm Lewis will join Broadway’s “Phantom of the Opera” as the show’s first Black lead after 26 years.
On Thursday, producers of the long-running show announced that the stage vet and “Scandal” actor would make his debut alongside Sierra Boggess on May 12. They noted that he will be the first African-American to play the role.
“I love the show but also to have hopefully set a precedent to see more diversity in casting,” Lewis told The Associated Press.
The thespian’s Broadway credits include “Miss Saigon,” “Les Miserables,” “Chicago,” “Side Show,” “Sondheim on Sondheim,” and “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess” (in which he received a Tony nomination), among others.
To date, “Phantom ” has played to more than 130 million people in 27 countries and grossed more than $5.6 billion worldwide.