Hugh Panaro

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Hugh Panaro, born February 19, 1964 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is one of Broadway's leading tenors. He began performing at the age of 13. His pre-Broadway and regional roles include Mary Sunshine in Chicago and the lead in Jesus Christ Superstar. He made his Broadway debut as Marius in Les Misérables, a role he originated in the first U.S. national touring company. Hugh created the roles of Buddy in Side Show and Julian in Jule Styne's last musical, The Red Shoes. He made his West End debut in the original London company of Harold Prince's Show Boat as Ravenal, the role he played on Broadway and in Toronto.

At Avery Fisher Hall, he performed with the Radio City Rockettes in Jerry Herman's Mack and Mabel and also in The Stephen Sondheim Gala, the culmination of the Kennedy Center's "Summer of Sondheim," where Hugh played Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd. In Los Angeles, Hugh played Franklin Shepard in Merrily We Roll Along and received an Ovation Award nomination for his performance as Kenneth in Call Me Madam, both for Reprise! As a concert artist, Hugh has performed with symphony orchestras across the U.S. and abroad and can be heard on numerous recordings. He is one of the few actors to play both the roles of Raoul (1991) and the Phantom (1999) in the Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera, but after wearing the mask for only a few months, he left to play the title role in the American premiere of Sir Cameron Mackintosh's Martin Guerre. Panaro returned to play the title role at the Majestic Theatre in The Phantom of the Opera until October 1, 2005. He recently created the title role in the Elton John musical, Lestat and played the coveted role of Bobby in Stephen Sondheim's Company at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre. Hugh's only film appearance was in the 1997 romantic comedy, "Broadway Damage". Most recently, he performed in a number of concertd and benefits, including Bucks County Cabaret, BroadwayWorld.com's holiday show at Joe's Pub, An Evening With Hugh Panaro at the University of Findlay in Ohio, The Leading Men II at the venerable Birdland Jazz Club, and Broadway For Medicine at City Center. His debut CD with Sony BMG will be released in 2007. Following his performance in the March 26, 2007 Broadway Musicals of 1938 concert, Hugh invited fans to suggest songs for this first solo album.