Los Angeles marks the fifth production of the hit musical, which plays to sell-out crowds on Broadway (at the Gershwin Theatre), in Chicago (at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts' Oriental Theatre), in the West End (at London's Apollo Victoria Theatre) and on tour. Opening night is Feb. 21.
The cast also features 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.
The company also includes Matthew Stocke as the Witch's Father, Gina Starbuck as the Witch's Mother, Linda Kerns as the Midwife and Peter John Chursin as the Chistery. The ensemble will also feature Angela Ara Brown, Dioni Michelle Collins, Courtney Corey, Michael Drolet, Melissa Fahn, Amanda Flynn, D.J. Gregory, Zach Hensler, Lindsay Janisse, Adam Lambert, Alexander Selma, Terrance Spencer, Eric Stretch and Brooke Wendle.
Julie Reiber is the standby for Elphaba; Emily Rozek is the Glinda standby.
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 eventually assumed the role of Elphaba on Broadway. Espinosa also 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.
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.
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.
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.
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Wicked continues to play Broadway's Gershwin Theatre. For more information visit www.wickedthemusical.com.
