Broadway veteran Nancy Hess will join the Broadway cast of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s The Phantom of the Opera, the longest-running show in Broadway history. Hess will step into the role of mysterious ballet mistress Madame Giry, a role she performed in Phantom’s national tour from February through November 2008. Her first performance at the Majestic Theatre is February 9, when current cast member Rebecca Judd begins a leave of absence. Judd is scheduled to return to the show on March 2, while Hess rejoins the national tour April 14.
Hess previously performed as Madame Giry with Phantom’s National Tour from February to November 2008. Debuting on Broadway in the 1981 revival of Can-Can, she’s since appeared in Chicago revival, Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, Company 1995 revival, Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Goodbye Girl, Me and My Girl, Singin’ in the Rain and On Your Toes revival. Her national tour credits include My Fair Lady, Cats, Dancin’ and The Boy Friend directed by Julie Andrews. Regionally she’s performed in in Anything Goes, Baby, A Chorus Line and Sunday in the Park with George.Produced by Cameron Mackintosh/Really Useful Group, Inc. and directed by Harold Prince, Phantom of the Opera premiered on Broadway on January 26, 1988 and won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. In 2006, it surpassed Cats as the longest-running show on Broadway, with grosses now exceeding $715 million at the Majestic and an estimated $5 billion worldwide.