If You Know Broadway's Longest-Serving Phantom, You Could Have Won Last Night's Jeopardy!

Once again, a category about Broadway proved to be the Achilles' heel for Jeopardy contestants.

For regular theater fans, last night's Final Jeopardy answer was pretty easy. The category was Broadway Roles. The clue:

"Of the more than 15 actors to play the lead in this musical, Howard McGillin holds the record with over 2,500 performances."

The returning champion, a librarian, was the only one who got it right, and she seemed very surprised that her guess of Phantom of the Opera was correct. The other two contestants guessed Oklahoma (minus the exclamation point) and The Music Man, both incorrectly.

McGillin joined the Broadway cast of Phantom of the Opera in 1999 and was a member of the cast during several milestone performances, including when it became the longest-running show on Broadway (January 9, 2006). He played his final performance in the role a decade later on July 25, 2009, concluding his run at 2,544 shows.

So, study up on Broadway, future Jeopardy! contestants. That's all we ask of you.