Cast: Freeman, Plowright & Lupton join Wicked, Rowley Jones returns

West End long-runner Wicked has announced new principal cast members, who will take over from 29 October 2012.

The new cast comprises: Ben Freeman (Fiyero – taking over from Matt Willis), Louise Plowright (Madame Morrible), Sam Lupton (Boq), Hayley Gallivan (Standby Elphaba) and Lucy van Gasse (Standby Glinda).

Katie Rowley Jones will also return to star as Nessarose, the role she originated in 2006.

They will join the previously announced Louise Dearman, who will rejoin the cast to star as Elphaba having previously played Glinda, as well as Gina Beck, Keith Bartlett and Christopher Howell, who will continue in their current starring roles as Glinda, The Wizard and Doctor Dillamond respectively.

The new cast also features: Florence Andrews, Gemma Atkins, William Bozier, Oliver Brenin, Lauren Brooke, Philip Catchpole, Aisling Duffy, Chlöe Hart, Jacqueline Hughes, Robert Jones, Sophie Linder Lee, Tania Mathurin, Marc McBride, Stacey McGuire, Tom Muggeridge, Sean Parkins, Michelle Pentecost, Stuart Ramsay, Lindsay Taylor, Paulo Teixeira, Justin Thomas, Hannah Toy, Matt Turner, Oliver Watton and Jason Winter.

First opened on Broadway in October 2003, Wicked received its West End premiere in 2006 at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, where it has been seen by over 4.5 million people to date. Its many awards include eight Whatsonstage.com Awards, including Best New Musical in its opening year, and Best West End Show, our award for longer-runners, twice.

Wicked tells the “untold story” of the Witches of Oz – popular blonde Glinda, aka the Good Witch of the North, and her spin-victim friend Elphaba – who were both immortalised in the 1939 film classic The Wizard of Oz. The musical has a book by Winnie Holtzman, based on Gregory Maguire’s novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. It’s directed by Joe Mantello.