I was particularly impressed by the lavish and colorful sets and costumes, and by the three leads (pictured above) – Isaiah Bailey as The Phantom, Jordan Lee Gilbert as Christine Daaé, and Daniel Lopez as Viscount Raoul de Chagny.
Notes the touring company’s booklet for the show:
The Phantom is back to thrill audiences once again! Producer Cameron Mackintosh presents a revitalized new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s legendary musical, The Phantom of the Opera, which was raptuously received by London critics when it reopened in 2021.
Writing in Minnesota Monthly, Jerrod Sumner notes that “In the title role, Bailey exhibits remarkable control, effortlessly transforming from fragile genius to formidable villain in a single song. His Phantom is complex, exhibiting a depth that makes him a Phantom we pity, root for, and ultimately despise.”
Continues Sumner: “Critically, this Phantom’s obsessive control is not romanticized; it is presented as a tragic, destructive force. Bailey is the Phantom of a new generation, leaving others as distant memories.”
That last part of Sumner’s review got me thinking: Have there been other Black actors who hav played The Phantom? Or is Isaiah Bailey the first?
And then, courtesy of GayBuzzer, I came across the following inspiring story of Guillaume.
November 30 would have been Robert Guillaume’s 98th birthday. You know him as Benson, the sharp-tongued butler who became TV royalty, but his most profound legacy came from a father’s grief and the courage to speak his truth.
In 1990, at the peak of his career – playing the Phantom of the Opera as the first Black actor in the role – Guillaume lost his 33-year-old son Jacques [left] to AIDS.
In a raw Parade interview, he spoke about accepting his son’s homosexuality while wrestling with guilt as an absent father. "I loved him without qualification and accepted his homosexuality," he said. "I still hoped he’d find direction for his life."
Guillaume became one of the first major celebrities to publicly appear at AIDS fundraisers during the height of the crisis, when most of Hollywood stayed silent.
He showed up when it mattered most – not just as a two-time Emmy winner, but as a grieving father determined to honor his son’s memory by fighting the stigma.
Rest in power, Robert. You broke barriers on screen and showed up for our community when we needed allies most.
Yes! Isaiah Bailey and Robert Guillaume – two Black actors who have played The Phantoms who are worth celebrating.
Related Off-site Links:
Meet the Leads of The Phantom of the Opera National Tour – Darryn King (The Broadway Show, August 6, 2025).
The Legacy of Robert Guillaume, One of Hollywood’s Most Underrated Black Men – Mark Anthony Neal (Level, January 12, 2025).
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