Hugh Panaro

Hugh Panaro, born February 19, 1964, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is an American actor and singer whose career on Broadway spans from 1987 to the mid-2010s. He grew up in the East Oak Lane section of Philadelphia and attended St. Helena's parochial school in the neighboring Olney neighborhood. From the age of twelve he played organ for the parish church. He graduated from La Salle College High School in Springfield, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, in 1982. As a young student he studied voice with Robert Grooters at the Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University, having begun performing at age thirteen. His introduction to theater came through seeing a Broadway musical as an adolescent starring fellow Philadelphian Andrea McArdle, which redirected an earlier ambition to become a veterinarian. His first stage role was Friedrich in The Sound of Music in 1976, and he went on to appear in high school productions of Godspell and Pippin, as well as regional and dinner theater productions throughout his teen years.

Before reaching Broadway, Panaro performed pre-Broadway and regional roles including Mary Sunshine in Chicago and Jesus Christ in Jesus Christ Superstar. He made his Broadway debut as Marius in Les Misérables, a role he had first originated with the production's first U.S. national touring company. He also originated the role of Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, playing the part from 1990 to 1993. In 1993 he created the role of Julian in The Red Shoes, Jule Styne's final musical, on Broadway. That same year he also created the role of Buddy Foster in Side Show on Broadway. His West End debut came in the original London company of Harold Prince's Show Boat, in which he played Gaylord Ravenal, a role he also performed on Broadway and in Toronto.

Panaro is perhaps most closely identified with the title role in The Phantom of the Opera, making him one of a small number of performers to have played both Raoul and the Phantom in the Broadway production. He first assumed the Phantom role in 1999 at the Majestic Theatre, though he departed after a few months to play the title role in the American premiere of Sir Cameron Mackintosh's Martin Guerre. He returned to the Phantom role at the Majestic Theatre and continued in it until October 1, 2005. In late 2005 he created the title role in Lestat, the Elton John musical, on Broadway. Panaro came back to the Phantom once more beginning September 7, 2010, replacing John Cudia, marking his third time playing the role in the Broadway production. In January 2013 he performed the role during the production's 25th anniversary. His final performance as the Phantom was on May 3, after which Norm Lewis succeeded him in the role. In 2025, Panaro reprised the Phantom in the immersive Off-Broadway revival Masquerade.

Beyond Phantom, Panaro accumulated a wide range of stage credits in New York and regionally. At Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre he played Bobby in Company and Georges Seurat in Sunday in the Park with George, the latter a recreation of the Menier Chocolate Factory production directed by Sam Buntrock. For Reprise! in Los Angeles he played Franklin Shepard in Merrily We Roll Along and received an Ovation Award nomination for his performance as Kenneth in Call Me Madam. At the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia he starred as Jean Valjean in a non-replica production of Les Misérables, for which he received the 2008 Barrymore Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. In 2013 he reprised the role of Valjean at The Muny in St. Louis alongside Norm Lewis as Javert, earning a St. Louis Theater Circle Award for the performance. Also at the Walnut Street Theatre, he played Fagin in Oliver!, running from November 18, 2009, through January 10, 2010.

Panaro's concert work has included performances with symphony orchestras across the United States, Canada, and abroad. At Avery Fisher Hall he performed with the Radio City Rockettes in Jerry Herman's Mack and Mabel and appeared in The Stephen Sondheim Gala at the Kennedy Center, where he played Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd opposite Brian Stokes Mitchell as Todd. In the summer of 2007 he was among four Broadway performers who joined Barbra Streisand on her first European concert tour. He has also performed at venues including Birdland Jazz Club and City Center, and gave a solo concert at the University of Findlay in Ohio. Following a March 2007 concert, he invited fans to contribute suggestions for his first solo album.

In 2017 Panaro took on the title role of Sweeney Todd in the Off-Broadway production at the Barrow Street Theater, replacing Norm Lewis and playing the role from August 29, 2017, through February 25, 2018. His screen credits include a 1998 appearance as a hotel clerk in one episode of Law & Order and a role in the 1997 romantic comedy Broadway Damage. In 2011 he was announced to play Maxim de Winter in a Broadway production of Rebecca, a project that was subsequently cancelled.