John Cudia to Sub for Howard McGillin in The Phantom of the Opera

John Cudia, a nine-year veteran of various companies of The Phantom of the Opera, will become Broadway's new "man behind the mask" on May 22. Cudia will play the title role for 10 weeks, through July 26, while Howard McGillin—who has performed the role a record-breaking 2,000-plus times—pursues other projects. McGillin will depart the Majestic Theatre on May 17 and return on July 28. Understudies will cover the role May 19-21.

Cudia joined the national tour of Phantom in November 1999 as a swing and cover for Raoul. After eight months, he took over as Raoul, which he played from July 2000 through March 2002. That October, he joined the Broadway company and played Raoul for more than 750 performances, through May 2005, and also covered the title role. Cudia took over as the Phantom on the national tour in April 2006, playing it for nearly 700 performances, through November 2007.

In addition to his long history with Phantom, Cudia has played Jean Valjean in Les Misérables on Broadway the only actor to play both roles in New York and recently reprised his Les Miz role at the Marriott Theatre in Chicago. Other regional credits include Master Class, Jesus Christ Superstar, My Fair Lady, South Pacific and concert appearances in The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber

During his time away from the show, McGillin will shoot the feature film All Good Things, starring Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst.

Cudia becomes only the 12th actor to take over the role of the Phantom on Broadway during the production's record-breaking run of more than 20 years. He follows in order: Michael Crawford, Timothy Nolen, Cris Groenendaal, Steve Barton, Kevin Gray, Mark Jacoby, Marcus Lovett, Davis Gaines, Thomas James O'Leary, Hugh Panaro and Howard McGillin, as well as four additional temporary replacements: Jeff Keller, Ted Keegan, Brad Little and Gary Mauer.