John Rubinstein and Carol Kane Set for L.A. Wicked

By Andrew Gans
04 Jan 2007

John Rubinstein
John Rubinstein

Principal casting is now complete for the Los Angeles production of Wicked, which co-stars the previously announced Eden Espinosa as the green-faced Elphaba and Megan Hilty as the curly-locked Glinda.

Performances for the open-ended engagement will begin Feb. 10 at the Pantages Theatre.

Joining Espinosa and Hilty onstage will be Tony Awad winner John Rubinstein as The Wizard, Carol Kane as Madame Morrible, Kristoffer Cusick as Fiyero, Jenna Leigh Green as Nessarose, Adam Wylie as Boq and Timothy Britten Parker as Doctor Dillamond.

John Rubinstein made his Broadway debut in Pippin and received a Tony Award for his work in Children of a Lesser God. His other Main Stem credits include Fools, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, Hurlyburly, M. Butterfly, Love Letters, Getting Away with Murder and Ragtime.

Carol Kane's many stage credits include Sly Fox, Control Freak, Signature, The Lucky Spot, Family Week, The Tempest, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, A Woman of Mystery, Frankie and Johnny and He Hunts. Kane received an Academy Award nomination for her work in "Hester Street," and her numerous screen credits also include "Carnal Knowledge," "The Last Detail," "Annie Hall," "Dog Day Afternoon," "The World's Greatest Lover," "When a Stranger Calls," "The Princess Bride," "Scrooged," "The Lemon Sisters," "The Pallbearer," "Office Killer," "Trees Lounge," "Addams Family Values," "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" and "The Pacifier and Cosmopolitan." Kane previously played Morrible on tour and on Broadway.

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.

Tickets for the L.A. Wicked are available by calling (213) 365-3500, by visiting the Pantages Theatre box office (6233 Hollywood Boulevard) or by logging on to www.ticketmaster.com.