There are new stars in Oz, and Playbill has a first look at the latest residents of Broadway's Wicked.
Triple-threat Donna McKechnie, who won her Tony for creating the role of Cassie in the Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning A Chorus Line, returns to the Main Stem March 5 in the international hit musical at the Gershwin Theatre.
McKechnie, also part of the original Broadway companies of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Company, and Promises, Promises, steps into the role of Madame Morrible. Mary Kate Morrissey, who has played Elphaba on tour and was recently the Broadway standby, assumes the role of the green-faced Elphaba, and Alexandra Socha, most recently seen on Broadway in Head Over Heels, steps into the role of the curly-locked Glinda.
READ: All the Women Who Have Played Glinda and Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway
Newcomer Natalie Ortega also takes over the role of Nessarose, and two-time Tony nominee Brad Oscar (Something Rotten!, The Producers) becomes The Emerald City’s newest Wizard.
These artists join a cast that includes Jordan Litz as Fiyero, Jake Pedersen as Boq, and William Youmans
as Doctor Dillamond.
Get a first look at the new company members of the long-running musical in the photos below:
Brad Oscar in Wicked
Natalie Ortega in Wicked
Mary Kate Morrissey in Wicked
Alexandra Socha in Wicked
Donna McKechnie in Wicked
Wicked began previews on Broadway October 8, 2003, with an
official opening October 30. The original cast included Tony winners
Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth as, respectively, Elphaba and Glinda.
Currently the fourth longest-running show in Broadway history, the
production celebrated its 20th anniversary in October 2023.
READ: 11 Elphabas Reflect on Playing Broadway's Not-So-Wicked Witch
Wicked, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman, is based on the novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire.
The Joe Mantello-helmed production features musical staging by Wayne Cilento, 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. Casting is by the Telsey Office.
Photos: Broadway's Wicked Celebrates 20th Anniversary at the Plaza
Wicked won 2004 Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical (Menzel), Best Costume Design (Hilferty), and Best Scenic Design (Lee).
The musical, which reopened on Broadway September 14, 2021, following the pandemic shutdown, is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Stage Productions, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt, and David Stone.
