Starting March 29, they are replaced by Rachel Tucker and Louise Dearman as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively, amongst a new company that also now includes Lewis Bradley as Fiyero (before Lee Mead joins the company May 10), Julie Legrand as Madame Morrible, Clive Carter as The Wizard, Cassandra Compton as Nessarose, Julian Forsyth as Doctor Dillamond, George Ure as Boq, Nikki Davis-Jones as the Elphaba Standby and Sarah Earnshaw as the Glinda Standby.
Tucker has previously played Meat in We Will Rock You at the West End's Dominion Theatre, in which she also understudied the role of Scaramouche, which she played on many occasions. She was also a finalist in the BBC reality TV program "I'd Do Anything" in which the public selected a winner to play Nancy in the current production of Oliver! She reached the semi-finals, and was eliminated in the ninth week of the series. Prior to "I'd Do Anything," she had toured the U.K in Tommy and appeared as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz at Belfast's Lyric Theatre. Most recently, she has co-presented "The Friday Show" with Eamonn Holmes for BBC Northern Ireland.
Dearman recently played the title role in Cinderella opposite Mickey Rooney at Milton Keynes Theatre. She has played Eva Peron in the recent U.K national tour of Evita. In the West End, she has appeared in Guys and Dolls at the Piccadilly Theare and starred as Sarah Brown in the U.K National tour.
Mead, who is currently touring the U.K in Oscar Wilde's Lord Arthur Savile's Crime through April 24, was last seen in the West End when he played the title role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Adelphi Theatre, after winning the part by public vote on the reality TV casting program "Any Dream Will Do." Other West End appearances include stints in The Phantom of the Opera and Bill Kenwright's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, on tour and in the West End. He has also toured in The Who's Tommy and Miss Sagion.
Mead joins the company May 10. From March 29-May 8, the role of Fiyero will be taken by Mead's fellow "Any Dream Will Do" finalist Lewis Bradley, who also went on to the play the title role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in the West End for five weeks in 2008. Legrand was last seen in the West End in Fiddler on the Roof at the Savoy Theatre, playing Yente and Gradma Zeitel. Carter was last seen in the West End starring as Bob in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert at the Palace Theatre. He was an original cast member of Les Miserables, and Olivier-nominated for the original London production of Into the Woods at the Phoenix Theatre. Compton's West End credits include The Secret Garden, Whistle Down the Wind and Les Miserables; she was also an X-Factor finalist in 2004. Forsyth recently completed a run in The Woman in Black in the West End. Ure was previously in the ensemble of Wicked, in which he made his West End debut. Davis-Jones has been seen in the West End in Blood Brothers and on tour in Fame, Never Forget and Mamma Mia! Earnshaw, who was an original ensemble cast member in Wicked when it first opened, has been standby for Glinda since 2007 and has played the role on numerous occasions.
To book tickets, contact the box office at 0844 826 8000, or visit www.WickedtheMusical.co.uk.
