Is James Barbour really that good in PHANTOM?

Hmmm?

his real life backstory adds to the creepiness factor I'd imagine

I saw him live and his voice was mindblowing

He's the original Mr Cellophane. I saw him in something and had not memory of his performance even before curtain calls.

He sings the role beautifully, but his performance is so-so.

Howard McGillin is my favorite phantom so far.

Holy mother of god. YOU are not the ONE person who can talk at all about forgiveness of a child molester or rapist. You need to stop any behavior like this in your life.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. Seeing him next week.

I was not aware of his past issues. But for OP question, yes he is. Of all the Phantom's I've seen, I rank him a close third behind Michael Crawford and Davis Gaines. You'll enjoy the show very much. Plus the original show is still amazing, compared with the "New Phantom" tour

goldenboy said: "

James Barbour is the best Phantom I've ever seen. I've seen 4. He is that wonderful.

"The molestation of an underage girl is not something that it is ever time to forgive."

As for the alleged seventeen year old girl in question, good word has it this Lolita threw herself at him in order to procure an agent and further her career by visiting his dressing room and house repeatedly more than 5 times. And she suceeded! And even after getting the agent and a career, she nearly destroyed Mr. Barbour's career. Then 5 years later after being spurned, she decided to get revenge. There are two sides to every story. So get over it. Knowing her part in the story... she is the one who should be ashamed and not working. I cringe every time I see this woman perform.

I don't know where to begin to correct you first. First off, she was fifteen not seventeen. Those two years made all the difference in the world. Remember, age of sexual consent in the state of New York is seventeen. So, if she was seventeen then this would never have been a legal matter. Furthermore, regardless of what you feel she should be or shouldn't be doing regarding her acting work, it's not something that matters. Barbour should have known better seeing as he was a good deal older than her. Now, my take on the Barbour situation is this. He took a plea deal that was offered, that was to spend sixty days in Rikers. I honestly feel that it was so long ago that, when people bring up this situation, I just roll my eyes. Not at all condoning what he did. Not by a long shot. However, I do feel that people can change. And, since he openly stated what happened in court and did his time, I feel that there is no need to always drag him through coals.

"

Firstly, I'm going to ignore the person that called an underage girl a 'Lolita' and basically implied that she brought it on herself. She was a child in the eyes of the law and in the eyes of most people she was not old enough to be dealing with a sexual relationship with someone far older than her. I don't care if she threw herself at him or not, any sane man would walk away from someone underage rather than take advantage of the situation.

AHLiebross said: "aaaaaa15 writes: I assume I'm the one you're talking to. I did NOT say to forgive James Barbour because he's a great performer. I said it's time to forgive him because he has atoned, as evidenced (in part) by his charity work.

I certainly don't want to replay the revolting comments that appeared on the board when his name was first announced. I also do not want to condone the behavior of which he admitted he was guilty. However, I know that situational offenders are neither automatically pedophiles nor recidivists. Without going into detail, I am close to someone who admitted a long-ago offense, and I saw first-hand the things this person did to turn himself or herself around."

I don't care why you're forgiving him and I don't care that you are forgiving him. I DO care that you're saying that everyone else should be. It was not a small mistake, it was a huge decision that he made repeatedly. People who have done what this man has done have led to ruining numerous lives. People kill themselves due to being the victim of this stuff. Others end up with mental illness or addiction issues. Just because his victim has seemingly managed to get on with her life doesn't mean we should all just say oh that's fine then. Charity work means nothing I'm afraid. Plenty of terrible people do charity work. People have every right to forgive him and likewise, people have every right to shun him forever.

I do agree that this has nothing to do with the question that OP asked but I wasn't the one who brought up his past. I just couldn't not respond to someone insisting that a child molester be forgiven by the entire public, some of whom will be victims of his very crime.

I live in a country where the legal age is lower than 17 and I do agree that a 15-year-old having sex is not the worst thing in the world. But this wasn't two 15-year-olds. This was a 15-year-old and someone 20 years older than her, old enough to be her dad where she was at an age where she still needs parental guidance. That is disgusting. And he IS a rapist in the eyes of the law.

Also as much as people claim to know all the details about this case, you don't. Bare in mind he was also accused of sexually assaulting a different girl - a 13 year old - but couldn't be charged because the statue of limitations had run out. I highly doubt it's a coincidence that these two young girls decided to go after the same man. It seems more likely to me that he was a predator and 'mistake' and 'idiot' doesn't cover his crimes.

"Last I checked I was part of the public, and I sure as hell have not."

What a load off for James! I guess he can continue enjoying standing ovations he rightfully deserves for his amazing professional work. Get your FACTS straight before posting about something that happened so many years ago regarding someone you know nothing about.

He is an amazing Phantom guys, go see him!

Updated On: 1/2/16 at 05:13 PM

I do believe people should be able to move on from their crimes when they've served their time. I do know that right or wrong, past crimes tend to follow people, sex crimes most of all. Barbour had to have realized this when he chose to continue his career in show business after serving his time, so it's hard to feel too sorry for him, unless he truly believed she was of legal age when they had non-penetrative sexual relations.

I wish I could say I can't believe it, but it's too easy to believe that whenever this comes up, there's inevitably someone who will always lay the blame on the teenager, whether because of her Machiavellian grandmother, or because she didn't report it for several years or because she threw herself at him or whatever. Even if all of those things are true, he still stuck it somewhere in someone he was legally prohibited from sticking it in. Even if she was straight out of Nabokov,as goldenboy would like us to believe, that still didn't leave Barbour powerless to her advances. Consent laws may arbitrary and in some cases unfair, but he was what, 35 at the time? He should have known better. If he had, he wouldn't have been exhibit A for why consent laws are needed.

Updated On: 1/2/16 at 05:17 PM