Burnham succeeds Sebastian Arcelus in the role created on Broadway by Norbert Leo Butz. Arcelus will play his final performance at the Gershwin Dec. 16. Until Burnham arrives in January, the role of Fiyero will be played by Derrick Williams. Arcelus is departing the cast to join the New York company of Jersey Boys.
Wicked, which features a score by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman, currently features Stephanie J. Block as Elphaba, Annaleigh Ashford as Glinda, Carole Shelley as Madame Morrible, Lenny Wolpe as The Wizard, Cristy Candler as Nessarose, Logan Lipton as Boq and Steven Skybell as Dr. Dillamond.
For his performance in the national tour of The Light in the Piazza, David Burnham received the 2007 Helen Hayes Award for Best Actor and the 2007 Garland Award; he also appeared in the Broadway staging of that Adam Guettel musical. Burnham starred in the title role of the national tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and in the national tour of Jesus Christ Superstar. He created the role of Fiyero in the pre-Broadway workshops of Wicked; his other theatrical credits include productions of Tom Jones, Letters from 'Nam, Peggy Sue Got Married, Godspell, Children of Eden, Woman in Black, Assassins and Pirates of Penzance. Burnham also appeared in the Actors Fund benefit concert of On the 20th Century.
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. 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.
