London
Wicked, the long-running West End and Broadway musical sensation, is poised for a cast shake-up at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre on 12 March 2024.
The show, based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, offers a unique perspective on the characters from L Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It has been seen by nearly 12 million spectators in London alone, and on 22 September 2023, it surpassed the 6512-performance run of Stomp, making it the 11th longest-running production in West End history.
From next March, Michael Fenton Stevens will join as the Wizard, Graham Kent as Doctor Dillamond, and the return of Laura Harrison as the standby for Elphaba.
Departing the company are Mark Curry (the Wizard), Steven Pinder (Doctor Dillamond), and Amy Webb (standby for Elphaba), alongside Yuki Abe, Kofi Aidoo-Appiah, Fergus Dale, Nicola Espallardo, Danny Fogarty, Ross Harmon, Harry Mills, Daniel Parrott, Christine Tucker, and Jaydon Vijn.
The new ensemble will feature Alexia Khadime, who continues in her role as Elphaba, alongside Lucy St. Louis as Glinda, Ryan Reid as Fiyero, Sophie-Louise Dann as Madame Morrible, Caitlin Anderson as Nessarose, Joe Thompson-Oubari as Boq, and Lisa-Anne Wood as the standby for Glinda.
The ensemble will contain Conor Ashman, Jessica Aubrey, Jeremy Batt, Felipe Bejarano, Asmara Cammock, Joshua Clemetson, Effie Rae Dyson, Aimee Hodnett, Kate Leiper, Jemima Loddy, Joshua Lovell, Rory Maguire, Paddy Joe Martin, Darnell Mathew-James, Millie Mayhew, Ayden Morgan, Rishard-Kyro Nelson, Aston Neman Hannington, Aiesha Naomi Pease, Jeanie Ryan, Natalie Spriggs, Charlotte Anne Steen, James Titchener, Micaela Todd, Taela Yeomans-Brown, and Jacob Young.
The musical, which has received over 100 global awards, features music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, with the book by Winnie Holzman. Wayne Cilento handles musical staging, and Joe Mantello directs.
While the West End production continues, Wicked will embark on its third tour, visiting cities in England, Scotland, Wales, and the Republic of Ireland, starting at the Edinburgh Playhouse on December 7, 2023, and concluding at the Manchester Palace Theatre.
Wicked is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Stage Productions, The Araca Group, Jon B Platt, and David Stone, with Michael McCabe serving as the executive producer for the UK production. Scenic design is by Eugene Lee, costumes by Susan Hilferty, lighting by Kenneth Posner, sound by Tony Meola, projection designs by Elaine J McCarthy and hair and wig designs by Tom Watson. Music arrangements are by Alex Lacamoire and Stephen Oremus, with dance arrangements by James Lynn Abbott, orchestrations by William David Brohn, and musical supervision by Oremus.