Panaro was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and resided in the East Oak Lane section of the city with his family. As a schoolchild, he attended St. Helena’s parochial school in the adjoining Philadelphia neighborhood of Olney. He played organ for the parish church from age twelve. Panaro graduated from La Salle College High School, in Springfield (Montgomery County, Pennsylvania) in 1982.

Beginning August 29, he assumed the lead from Norm Lewis in the Off-Broadway production of Sweeney Todd at the Barrow Street Theater. He played the role through February 25, 2018. In 2011 he was the announced ‘Maxim de Winter’ in a later to be cancelled Broadway version of Rebecca.

Panaro returned to the title role in the Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera on September 7, 2010. He replaced John Cudia in the role. This was Panaro’s third time playing The Phantom in this production. In January 2013, he performed the role in the Broadway production’s 25th anniversary. He took a break from Phantom from April until the end of August 2013. During this time, he reprised the role of Jean Valjean at The Muny in the St. Louis in their production of Les Misérables, alongside Norm Lewis as Javert. Panaro won a St. Louis Theater Circle Award for his portrayal of Valjean. Afterwards, he returned to the Majestic stage on August 26, starring opposite Mary Michael Patterson as Christine Daae. Panaro’s final performance as the Phantom was May 3. His former co-star in Les Miserables, Norm Lewis, succeeded him in the role.

In 2009, he starred in Sunday in the Park with George at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle and appeared as ‘Fagin’ in Oliver! to rave reviews before hometown audiences at the Walnut Street Theatre, opening November 18, 2009, through January 10, 2010. He was later active as a concert artist appearing with symphonies throughout the United States and Canada.

He has performed in a number of concerts and benefits, including ‘An Evening With Hugh Panaro’ at the University of Findlay in Ohio, The Leading Men II at the venerable Birdland Jazz Club, and Broadway For Medicine at City Center. Following his performance in the March 26, 2007, Broadway Musicals of 1938 concert, Hugh invited fans to suggest songs for his first solo album. In the summer of 2007, Hugh was one of four Broadway performers joining Barbra Streisand on her first European concert tour. He starred as Jean Valjean in a new, non-replica production of Les Misérables at Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Theatre for which he received the 2008 Barrymore Award for Outstanding Actor In A Musical.

At Avery Fisher Hall, he performed with the Radio City Rockettes in Jerry Herman’s Mack and Mabel and also in The Stephen Sondheim Gala, the culmination of the Kennedy Center’s “Summer of Sondheim,” where Hugh played Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd. In Los Angeles, Hugh played Franklin Shepard in Merrily We Roll Along and received an Ovation Award nomination for his performance as Kenneth in Call Me Madam, both for Reprise!. As a concert artist, Hugh has performed with symphony orchestras across the U.S. and abroad and can be heard on numerous recordings. He is one of the few actors to play both the roles of Raoul (1991) and the Phantom (1999) in the Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera, but after wearing the mask for only a few months, he left to play the title role in the American premiere of Sir Cameron Mackintosh’s Martin Guerre. Panaro returned to play the title role at the Majestic Theatre’s production of Phantom until October 1, 2005. In late 2005 he created the title role in the Elton John musical, Lestat. At Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre, he performed leading roles in two Stephen Sondheim musicals: Bobby in Company, and George in Sunday In The Park With George (the latter a recreation of the Menier Chocolate Factory production, directed by Sam Buntrock). In 1998, he appeared as a Hotel Clerk in one episode of Law & Order. He appeared in the 1997 romantic comedy, Broadway Damage.

Hugh Panaro (born February 19, 1964) is an American actor known for his work on Broadway.