Julia Udine & Linda Balgord Join Phantom on Broadway

Broadway's The Phantom of the Opera will tonight welcome two new performers from the US tour as Julia Udine and Linda Balgord begin performances at the Majestic Theatre in roles of Christine Daae and Madame Giry respectively.

They will take over the roles from Mary Michael Patterson and Ellen Harvey who both played their final performances on Saturday 13 December 2014. They will join the current cast that includes Norm Lewis as The Phantom until 7 February 2015.

As well as starring in the US tour of 'Phantom', Julia Udine's stage credits include 'Jack's Back' and 'West Side Story'. On screen, she has appeared in 'Law and Order: SVU' and 'All My Children'.

Linda Balgord's numerous Broadway credits include 'Cats', 'The Pirate Queen', 'Gypsy', 'La Cage aux Folles' and 'Passion'. She previously starred as Norma Desmond in the first national tour of 'Sunset Boulevard' as well as the U.S. and Canadian tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Aspects of Love'.

The most successful stage musical of all time, the Cameron Mackintosh/Really Useful Group, Inc. production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, directed by Harold Prince, will celebrate its 27th anniversary on 26 January 2015.

The Phantom of the Opera opened at the Majestic on 26 January 1988, following previews from 9 January, and went on to sweep the 1988 Tony Awards, winning seven, including Best Musical.

Based on the classic novel 'Le Fantôme de L'Opéra' by Gaston Leroux, The Phantom of the Opera tells the story of a masked figure who lurks beneath the catacombs of the Paris Opera House, exercising a reign of terror over all who inhabit it. He falls madly in love with an innocent young soprano, Christine, and devotes himself to creating a new star by nurturing her extraordinary talents and by employing all of the devious methods at his command.

The Phantom of the Opera has music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and is directed by Harold Prince. Lyrics are by Charles Hart (with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe) and the book is by Richard Stilgoe and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

The musical has production design by the late Maria Björnson, lighting by Andrew Bridge and sound by Martin Levan. Musical staging and choreography is by Gillian Lynne. Orchestrations are by David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

- by Dom O'Hanlon