Photos

1st Night Photos: Mead’s Wicked Musical Return

Editorial Staff
London's West End

Lee Mead returned to the musical stage last night (18 May 2010, previews from 10 May) when he took over as Fiyero in Wicked at the Apollo Victoria. It’s his first major musical since Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, for which he won the title role – and was catapulted to fame – via the BBC reality TV contest Any Dream Will Do. Amongst the many celebrities on hand last night to cheer Mead on were other would-be Josephs, Any Dream Will Do host Graham Norton and judge Denise Van Outen, who subsequently became Mead’s wife and mother to his baby daughter.

Other new principals who’ve recently joined the Wicked cast include Rachel Tucker (who competed in the post-Any Dream BBC competition, I’d Do Anything) and Louise Dearman as witches Elphaba and Glinda, Julie Legrand and Clive Carter.

Wicked tells the “untold story” of the Witches of Oz – popular blonde Glinda, aka the Good Witch of the North, and her spin-victim, green-skinned friend Elphaba – who were both immortalised in the 1939 film classic The Wizard of Oz. Amongst its many accolades to date, the West End production this year won the Whatsonstage.com Award for Best West End Show and the Laurence Olivier Award for Most Popular Show.

TO SCROLL THROUGH LEE MEAD’s WICKED 1st NIGHT PHOTOS,
JUST CLICK ON THE “NEXT >” LINKS BELOW THE FOLLOWING FRAME.
PHOTOS BY DAN WOOLLER FOR WHATSONSTAGE.COM.