Norm Lewis
Born	(1963-06-02) June 2, 1963 (age 60)[1] Tallahassee, Florida, U.S.
Occupations	Actor singer
Years active	1986–present[2]
Known for	The Phantom of the Opera Les Misérables The Little Mermaid
Website	normlewis.com

Norm Lewis (born June 2, 1963) is an American actor and baritone singer. He has appeared on Broadway, in the West End, film, television, recordings and regional theatre. He’s also noted for his wide vocal range.^[3] Lewis was the second African-American actor after Robert Guillaume to perform in the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera and the first one to do so in the Broadway production.^[4] In 2023, he reprised the role in the show's sequel, Love Never Dies, in London's West End.^[5]

He's also known for his many different performances as Inspector Javert in Les Misérables. First playing the role in the 2006 Broadway revival and later reprising the role in the West End, 25th Anniversary Concert, and at The Muny.^[6][7][8]

Other theatrical productions that he has been involved in include Miss Saigon, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, The Little Mermaid, Chicago, Once on This Island, Chess, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Music Man, A Soldier’s Play, and many others.^[4]

Early life

Lewis was born in Tallahassee, Florida and grew up in Eatonville, Florida. He graduated in 1981 from Edgewater High School, Orlando.^[9] He worked at the Orlando Sentinel prior to his acting career.^[10]

Career

Lewis credits the kickoff of his career to Ralph Petillo, who ran Theatre on Park in Winter Park, Florida.

Lewis was featured as Agwe in the Gateway Playhouse (Bellport, New York) production of Once on This Island in 1992.^[11]

Lewis made his Broadway debut in The Who's Tommy (1993).^[12] He was a replacement in Miss Saigon as John. In 1997 he played Jake in Side Show. He also appeared in Michael John LaChiusa's Broadway musical The Wild Party as Eddie. Lewis was in Michel Legrand's short-lived musical Amour in 2002, which also featured Melissa Errico, Malcolm Gets, and Lewis Cleale. He played the racketeer Eddie Satin in the New York City Center Encores! staged concert of Golden Boy in March 2002.^[13] He played Billy Flynn in the Broadway revival of Chicago in February 2004 and March 2004.^[14] He performed in several benefit concerts, including Dreamgirls (2001), Chess (2003), and Hair.^[14]

In 2005, Lewis starred in the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park revival of a musical version of Two Gentlemen of Verona.^[15] He played the role of Nathan in the Lincoln Center 2005 production of Dessa Rose.^[16]

Lewis has played Javert in the musical Les Misérables several times. He first starred in the role in the 2006 Broadway revival, making him the first African American actor to play the role in a professional English production. He later reprised it in the West End production. At London's O2 Arena, he sang the role in the 25th anniversary concert of the show. Lewis again reprised the role in The Muny, St. Louis production from July 15–21, 2013.^[6][17]

In 2007, he originated the role of King Triton in the Broadway production of The Little Mermaid.^[18] He went on to sing as King Triton on the original Broadway cast recording.

In regional theatre, he played the title role in Sweeney Todd, the musical by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler, at the Casa Mañana Theatre, Fort Worth, Texas, beginning November 10, 2009. He had previously played this role at the Signature Theatre in 1999.^[19]

Lewis was featured in the musical revue Sondheim on Sondheim, which premiered in the Roundabout Theatre's Studio 54 in 2010. The production, conceived and directed by James Lapine, also featured Barbara Cook and Vanessa L. Williams.^[20] His rendition of "Being Alive" was one of the evening's outstanding highlights.^[21][22]

Lewis appeared in a revised version of Porgy and Bess, as Porgy, first at the Loeb Drama Center (Cambridge, Massachusetts) in August through September 2011 and then on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre starting in previews on December 12, 2011. This American Repertory Theater production was "re-imagined by Suzan-Lori Parks and Diedre Murray as a musical for contemporary audiences."^[23] He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical^[24] and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical for his performance.^[25]

Lewis released his first solo album, This Is the Life! in 2008 under the Seahorse Productions label.^[26] His other notable recordings include the cast recordings of Side Show, The Who's Tommy, and the 1998 cast recording of A New Brain as Roger Delli-Bovi, for Scott Alan's Keys and for the 2001 New York cast recording of Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens in aid of the Momentum Aids Project.

In 2012, Lewis joined the cast of the ABC political thriller television series Scandal, in the role of Senator Edison Davis.^[27][28]

In 2013, Lewis starred as Prospero in the Public Theater's PublicWorks Shakespeare in the Park production of The Tempest at the Delacorte Theater. He was one of five professional actors heading a cast of 200 community participants.^[29][30]

He is an investor in the company Lolly Clothing, which was created by his good friend and fellow Broadway actor Chad Kimball.^[31][32]

He appeared in the Stephen Sondheim-Wynton Marsalis staged concert for Encores! titled A Bed and a Chair: A New York Love Affair, at New York City Center, from November 13 to November 17, 2013. The concert was directed by John Doyle and also featured Bernadette Peters, Jeremy Jordan, and Cyrille Aimée.^[33][34]

2014–present

On May 12, 2014, Lewis assumed the role of the titular Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. This made him the first black actor to play the role on Broadway and the third worldwide.^[35] He succeeded Hugh Panaro and joined fellow returning cast member Sierra Boggess, who returned as Christine on the same date. On February 7, 2015, Lewis ended his tenure as the Phantom with a performance at the Majestic Theatre. Coverage in Playbill credited him for his "impressive Broadway resumé". Being succeeded by actor James Barbour, Lewis remarked that he had been a fan of the musical for many years and felt that obtaining the part finally had been akin to winning the lottery.^[4]

Lewis is a recipient of the 2014 AUDELCO Special Achievement Award.^[36]

In 2016, Lewis reprised his role of King Triton for a live Hollywood Bowl concert production of The Little Mermaid. He also began playing Agwe in Once on this Island on January 8, 2018, at the Circle in the Square Theatre and played the role until March that same year.^[37]

Lewis reprised his role of Sweeney Todd in 2017 in the Off-Broadway production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street receiving an AUDELCO Award for his performance.^[38]

Lewis portrayed Caiaphas in the live televised concert production of Jesus Christ Superstar on April 1, 2018, Easter Sunday.

In February 2019, Lewis played Harold Hill in the Kennedy Center production of The Music Man. When asked about appearing in the show, Lewis said "It’s one of those fun shows that is an American musical theatre classic, and I just think it is a good fit for me."^[39]

Lewis was in the 2022 to 2023 North American tour of A Soldier’s Play as Captain Richard Davenport.

In 2023, he reprised the role of the Phantom in the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, Love Never Dies, in London's West End.^[5]

Theatre credits

Sources: Lortel.org;^[44] PlayBillVault^[8]

Discography

• Disney's The Little Mermaid: Original Broadway Cast Recording, 2008 (as King Triton)
• This Is the Life!, 2008
• Dracula, the Musical Concept Album, 2011 (as Abraham Van Helsing / John Seward)
• Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (Original Soundtrack of the NBC Television Event), 2018 (as Caiaphas)
• The Norm Lewis Christmas Album, 2018

Concerts

Lewis has performed at numerous venues, including Lincoln Center (where his concert was filmed for the TV special Norm Lewis: Who Am I?), Joe's Pub, Apollo Theater, and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

Film credits

Television credits

Awards and nominations