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‘The Voice’ alumni Josh Kaufman and Chris Mann head to musical stages

Josh Kaufman holds the trophy he won after placing first on the singing competition series "The Voice" on NBC.
(Trae Patton / Associated Press)
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Two prominent alumni of “The Voice” -- NBC’s reality-competition show and ratings magnet -- are headed to high-profile musical productions in the near future.

Josh Kaufman, who was crowned the winner of the sixth season of “The Voice” this year, will step into the current Broadway revival of “Pippin” starting Oct. 31. Kaufman will take over the title role being played by Kyle Dean Massey at the Music Box Theatre in New York.

Kaufman had been scheduled to start his run with “Pippin” on Nov. 4 but his engagement was moved up. The singer-actor, who worked as an SAT prep tutor before hitting it big on TV, will stay with the production through Jan. 4.

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Another “Voice” alumnus is headed to the new U.S. touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera.” Chris Mann, who was the third runner-up in the second season of “The Voice,” will play the title role of the popular musical, joining the traveling production on Nov. 25 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

The role of the Phantom in director Laurence Connor’s touring version was originally played by Mark Campbell, who had to leave the production for personal reasons.

“Phantom” is scheduled to play in Los Angeles from June 10 to July 26 at the Pantages Theatre and in Costa Mesa from Aug. 5 to 16 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

Broadway has seen several reality-show contestants cash-in on their newfound fame in recent years. They include “American Idol” contestants Constantine Maroulis, Fantasia Barrino, Frenchie Davis and Syesha Mercado.

Twitter: @DavidNgLAT

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