She's coming home! After wowing Broadway audiences, Rachel Tucker returns to the UK to help celebrate the 10th anniversary of WICKED in the West End. She'll reprise her role as Elphaba alongside Australian import Suzie Mathers as Glinda from 5 September. Also joining the cast is Anita Dobson as Madame Morrible and some other familiar names return to mark the milestone...
WICKED, the West End musical phenomenon that tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz, is proud to announce that, from Monday 5 September 2016, the new cast that will lead the award-winning show through its 10th birthday celebrations at the Apollo Victoria Theatre will include: Rachel Tucker, who will return to the London production direct from a triumphant run on Broadway to play Elphaba; Suzie Mathers, who joins from the Australian production to star as Glinda; Oliver Savile, who continues as Fiyero; Anita Dobson, who joins to play Madame Morrible; Mark Curry, who continues as The Wizard; original cast member Martin Ball, who returns to play Doctor Dillamond; original cast member Katie Rowley Jones, who continues as Nessarose and Idriss Kargbo, who joins to play Boq. Alice Fearn will be Standby for Elphaba and Carina Gillespie continues as Standby for Glinda.
Executive Producer Michael McCabe said:
“We are delighted to announce the fantastic company that will lead us through the 10th birthday celebrations at the Apollo Victoria Theatre later this year. It is a great pleasure to welcome back from Broadway the incredible Rachel Tucker who will star alongside Suzie Mathers, who appeared in the Australian production, as ‘Elphaba’ and ‘Glinda’. Surrounding them will be many exciting new faces, including the incomparable Anita Dobson as Madame Morrible, and celebrated alumni, including the return of original cast member Martin Ball as Doctor Dillamond.”
The production, acclaimed as “pure magic” (Time Out London), is currently booking until Saturday 29 April 2017. Please note that Rachel Tucker, Anita Dobson and Katie Rowley Jones appear until Saturday 28 January 2017 only. Current London cast members Emma Hatton (Elphaba), Savannah Stevenson (Glinda), Liza Sadovy (Madame Morrible), Sean Kearns (Doctor Dillamond), Daniel Hope (Boq) and Natalie Andreou (Standby for Elphaba) will all play their final performances on Saturday 3 September 2016.
Suzie Mathers in the Australian production
On Tuesday 27 September 2016, WICKED will celebrate an extraordinary 10 years in London. Now the 8th longest-running show in the West End* and already the 19th longest-running show in West End theatre history*, the “hugely popular show” (The Times) has played over 4000 performances and been seen by over 7 million people in London alone. (*Information verified by The Society of London Theatre.)
From Monday 5 September 2016, WICKED will star Rachel Tucker (Elphaba), Suzie Mathers (Glinda), Oliver Savile (Fiyero), Anita Dobson (Madame Morrible), Mark Curry (The Wizard), Martin Ball (Doctor Dillamond), Katie Rowley Jones (Nessarose), Idriss Kargbo (Boq), Alice Fearn (Standby for Elphaba), Carina Gillespie (Standby for Glinda), James Darch, Kerry Enright, Freya Field, Joseph Fletcher, Fraser Fraser, David Gale, Sergio Giacomelli, Alexandra Grierson, Olivia Kate Holding, Aaron Jenkins, Claudia Kariuki, Will Lucas, Chanel Mian, Billy Mitchell, Scott Monello, Ella Nonini, Rosa O’Reilly, Julienne Schembri, Joe Sleight, Jessamy Stoddart, Paulo Teixeira, Joe Toland, Hannah Toy, Russell Walker, Sasha Wareham and Helen Woolf.
Based on the international best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire that ingeniously re-imagined the stories and characters created by L. Frank Baum in ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’, WICKED tells the incredible untold story of an unlikely but profound friendship between two sorcery students. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfil their destinies as Glinda The Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
WICKED has music and lyrics by multi Grammy and Academy Award-winner Stephen Schwartz (Godspell; Disney’s Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame) and is based on the novel ‘Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West’ by Gregory Maguire and adapted for the stage by Winnie Holzman. Musical staging is by Tony Award-winner Wayne Cilento and the production is directed by two-time Tony Award-winner Joe Mantello.
