Bean and Hilty are scheduled to head the cast of the Wicked tour when it plays Portland, OR; Seattle, WA; and Toronto, Canada. Bean, it should be noted, is a Portland-area native, and Hilty hails from Seattle.

Wicked will play Portland's Keller Auditorium Sept. 6-17, Seattle's Paramount Theatre Sept. 20-Oct. 1 and Toronto's Canon Theatre Oct. 6-Nov. 26. The latter is a return engagement for the Stephen Schwartz musical.

The two actresses join a company that also features Alma Cuervo (as Madame Morrible), P.J. Benjamin (as the Wizard), Sebastian Arcelus (as Fiyero), K. Todd Freeman (as Dr. Dillamond), Josh Lamon (as Boq) and Jennifer Waldman (as Nessarose).

Shoshana Bean, who recently starred as Elphaba in Broadway's Wicked, played Shelley in the original cast of the Tony-winning musical Hairspray. Originally from Portland, Oregon, Bean attended the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music before heading to NYC. She was first cast in the Off-Broadway production of Godspell and then in the national tour of Leader of the Pack. Bean was also seen in the all-star Hair benefit concert. The singer-actress is currently working on her debut solo album for Pure Records.

Megan Hilty made her Broadway debut as a standby for the role of Glinda, later taking over the Wicked role. She appeared in the musical Café Puttanesca at Pittsburgh's City Theatre and was also seen in Suds at the Oregon Cabaret Theatre. Hilty is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon's theatre program. Wicked, with a book by Winnie Holzman, began previews on Broadway Oct. 8, 2003, with an official opening Oct. 30, 2003. The Broadway company — directed by Joe Mantello, who repeated his duties for the tour — continues to play the Gershwin Theatre.

For more information about Wicked visit www.wickedthemusical.com.