National Tour of Wicked Welcomes a New Glinda April 19

By Andrew Gans
19 Apr 2011

Amanda Jane Cooper
Amanda Jane Cooper

The company of the first North American tour of the hit Stephen Schwartz-Winnie Holzman musical Wicked welcomes Amanda Jane Cooper to the role of Glinda beginning April 19 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, at the Broward Center.

Cooper joins a cast that includes Jackie Burns as Elphaba, Randy Danson as Madame Morrible and Mark Jacoby as the Wizard.

The company also features Justin Brill (Boq), Stefanie Brown (Nessarose), Colin Hanlon (Fiyero), Paul Slade Smith (Dr. Dillamond) and Mariand Torres (Standby for Elphaba) with Lauren Boyd, Rick Desloge, Emily Ferranti, Melanie Field, Luis Augusto Figueroa, Dominic Giudici, Napoleon W. Gladney, Brenda Hamilton, Spencer Jones, Renee Lawless-Orsini, Allison Leo, Philip Dean Lightstone, Marissa Lupp, Corey Mach, Yanira Marin, Sterling Masters, Kevin McMahon, Christopher Russo, Adam Sanford, Adea Michelle Sessoms, Carla Stickler, Brandon Tyler, Jessica Walker, Bud Weber and Lauren Ashley Zakrin.

Cooper's NY credits include Letter From Algeria (Abingdon Theatre), BUNKED! A New Musical (Lucille Lortel Theatre/Fringe Encore Series). Other roles include Geraldine Barclay in What the Butler Saw (Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre) and Little Red Ridinghood in Into the Woods (CMU). Film credits include "Smart People" and "Homecoming."

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 journeys.

Wicked features a score by Schwartz, a book by Holzman, direction by Joe Mantello and musical staging by Wayne Cilento. The creative team also includes scenic design by Eugene Lee, costume design by Susan Hilferty, lighting design by Kenneth Posner, sound design by Tony Meola, projections by Elaine J. McCarthy, wig and hair design by Tom Watson, music supervision and arrangements by Stephen Oremus, orchestrations by William David Brohn and dance arrangements by James Lynn Abbott.

The Ft. Lauderdale engagement of Wicked is currently running through April 24 at the Broward Center. Tickets can be purchased by calling (954) 462-0222. Tickets can also be purchased in person at the Broward Center’s ticket office or online at www.browardcenter.org.