Espinosa Bids Broadway's Wicked Farewell Oct. 8

By Andrew Gans
08 Oct 2006

Eden Espinosa as Elphaba
Eden Espinosa as Elphaba
Photo by Joan Marcus

Eden Espinosa plays her final performance as the not-so-Wicked witch Elphaba in the Broadway company of Wicked Oct. 8.

The former star of Brooklyn is the third actress to don green make-up for the New York cast, following the Elphabas of Idina Menzel, who created the role to Tony-winning effect, and Shoshana Bean. Ana Gasteyer, who opened the sit-down production of Wicked in Chicago, will succeed Espinosa. The "Saturday Night Live" alum begins her 13-week stint as the misunderstood Elphaba Oct. 10.

Wicked also currently stars Kate Reinders (Glinda), David Garrison (the Wizard), Carol Kane (Madame Morrible), Derrick Williams (Fiyero), Jenna Leigh Green (Nessarose), Logan Lipton (Boq) and Steven Skybell (Dr. Dillamond).

With a score by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman, Wicked began previews on Broadway Oct. 8, 2003, after a summer tryout at San Francisco's Curran Theatre.

Based on Gregory Maguire's novel, which turned every Oz myth inside out, Wicked explores the early life of the witches of Oz: Glinda and Elphaba. The two main characters meet at Shiz, a school where both hope to take up sorcery. Glinda is madly popular and Elphaba is, well, green. By a misunderstanding, they wind up roommates and, after an initial period of mutual loathing, begin to learn something about each other. Their life paths continue to intersect through a shared love, entry into the Emerald City and interaction with the Wizard himself. Eventually, their choices and convictions take them on widely different paths.

Eden Espinosa made her Broadway debut covering the roles of Elphaba and Nessarose in Stephen Schwartz's Wicked. She played the role of Brooklyn — a part she created at the Denver Civic Theatre — in the musical of the same name at the Schoenfeld Theatre, and she recently made her solo concert debut at New York's Town Hall. The actress began singing at the age of three, performing at the age of five and recording at the age of ten.

The Broadway company, directed by Joe Mantello, plays the Gershwin Theatre. Tickets are available by calling (212) 307-4100 or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com.