James Barbour's welcoming at Phantom closing is painful reminder of Broadway's legacy with sexual assault issues

by Chris Peterson, OnStage Blog Founder

TW: This article contains details of sexual abuse

Last Sunday, The Phantom of the Opera performed for the last time in New York City. The event was a celebration of the shows historic run and its impact over the last three decades. Many attending were previous cast members such as the original Christine, Sarah Brightman.

However what should have been a wonderful occasion was marred by the presence and embracement of one of the show’s previous stars, James Barbour. Barbour was convicted of charges related to sexual abuse of a teenage girl in 2008, then took over as the Phantom less than a decade later.

His casting was a stain on the show’s legacy and his open-armed welcome this past weekend was a painful reminder of how the Broadway industry feels about perpetrators of abuse and their victims.

James Barbour admitted to sexually abusing a teenage girl in 2001 on multiple occasions in multiple locations - including in his dressing room at the Brooks Atkinson Theater, a restaurant while he was dining with her family, and his own apartment. He knew she was a teenager, he knew the power dynamic he had over her, and he knew how to use that dynamic to abuse her.

Barbour was convicted of these crimes in Jan 2008 (after being arrested in 2006). By Aug 2008, he was on stage in the lead role in the Broadway musical, “A Tale of Two Cities”. Less than a decade later he was cast as the Phantom and played the role for almost two years.

While no official reason was given for his departure from Phantom, it happened during the height of the #metoo era and months after this article went viral.

And that was the last time we saw Barbour at a Broadway event for some time. Until this weekend. Until his presence showed the Broadway community and its fans that the powers-that-be will never truly exile those who perpetrate terrible crimes and will do anything they can to resurrect their careers.

To this day, Barbour’s treatment after his arrest and conviction remains as one of the industry’s worst systemic failures are at handling sexual abuse and its perpetrators.

Some will say that Barbour paid for his crimes and that we should all move on. It’s a shame those people don’t care about sexual abuse or have empathy for its victims. They want to move on and forget this ever happened.

But let’s not forget the despicable things that occurred during the trial. Knowing that he was guilty, Barbour still had his attorney ask the judge for permission to publish the victim's name in the newspapers in order to set up a hotline to see if she had falsely accused anyone else of sexual misconduct. 

"I want to put up a hotline with her name on it (and place it) in the newspapers," Fischetti told the judge. "I want to have people call me on the basis of other claims that she had made. We believe that this alleged victim has made these false allegations before."

Thankfully, that request was denied and a gag order was put in place. 

Barbour also tried to paint the victim as someone who was just seeking financial gain from the allegations and that her emotions during the trial were simply because she was an actress.

Let’s not forget that additional accusations from a separate victim, were brought forward in 2006. This time, they came from a woman who claimed Barbour abused her when she was 13-years-old. The only reason why those allegations were not followed up on by law enforcement, was due to the statute of limitations in the state of CA.

Let’s not forget the preposterous statement Phantom producers put out defending Barbour’s casting which read,

"PHANTOM has the best fans in the world and we are deeply appreciative for all of you and listen to all comments posted here. We are of course aware of the reaction to the announcement of our newest Phantom for Broadway and want to respond to you. James gave a tremendous audition and we are confident he will be a thrilling Phantom.

James fully accepted responsibility for what happened 14 years ago. Following his sentence in 2008, James resumed his career, starring in A TALE OF TWO CITIES on Broadway. In the seven years since then, he has appeared in countless productions in New York and around the country, receiving great acclaim, and maintaining a spotless reputation. Additionally, he has been an active member of the Broadway community, giving his time to numerous charitable causes. While we know some will disagree, we believe James has completely honored the second chance he was given beginning 7 years ago and we are happy to have him join the production next month."

If there was ever proof of how far Broadway powers will go to defend/protect abusers, statements that minimize the abuse, praise the perpetrators, and gaslight anyone who thinks differently, this is it.

James Barbour, his allies, and Phantom producers want us all to forget this. So much so that they gave him the red carpet treatment this past weekend, with Cameron Mackintosh going as far as to embrace him. They welcomed him on stage at the curtain call where they made sure the audience cheered his name.

They want us to forget and this way, James Barbour can make his return to the Broadway community.

We cannot forget.

In the years since the incidents involving Barbour, one must wonder if the industry has changed. Have they gotten better about reporting sexual abuse and dealing with its perpetrators? I wish I could say yes. But more and more, we see that nothing’s changed.

Ben Vereen admitted to sexual misconduct, nothing happened, he was back being welcomed on red carpets just under a year later. William Ivey Long was accused by multiple people, nothing happened, Susan Stroman continued to give him work. Barbour’s red carpet appearance and cheers on stage were just another example.

Beyond the outrage will all of this, I shudder to think what this says to victims of sexual abuse. I shudder to think of what type of crime it must take for Broadway powers to actually exile perpetrators from their circles. I shudder to imagine the abuse that occurring right now because these monsters know they can get away with it and that their careers will remain in tact.

It’s a shame that we even have to talk about this. It’s a shame that Barbour’s presence on Sunday distracted from an otherwise celebratory event. But producers, his friends, his protectors, brought this on themselves.