Jackie Burn's Replacement?

[dyland]

She departs Wicked on January 27 Does anyone know who's replacing her?

[steven22]

My guess is Mamie Parris...I also heard a few months ago...Lindsay Mendez...one could only hope...ideally...I would love for Caissie to come back..that won't happen though

[dyland]

Cassie won't come back..like ever..lol

[Wynbish]

Hilarious

[Younger Brother]

Why do people think Caissie wont return? She spoke about being offered to return to the role twice in her Show People interview and that she'd love to do it again.

[dyland]

didn't she suffer vocal damage from it during Los Angeles? Or was that Teal Wicks?

[TheGingerBreadMan]

dyland, I doubt it was Teal Wicks because I saw her in Jekyll and Hyde and she was great.

[wicked4l]

a friend spoke to Lindsey Mendez after a recent concert and she said that she is joining the cast after Jackie as Elphaba. She knew she was going in but didn't know when.

[FindMe12]

Caissie did suffer vocal damage during her LA run in Wicked thus having to be replaced by Teal. However Teal suffered vocal damage when she played the role in San Fransisco and had to be temporarily replaced by Vicki Noon. But she is example that someone can come back to the role after vocal damage if they handle the role more carefully since Teal later reprised the role on Broadway. Whatever was wrong must be okay now considering Caissie was offered the role on Broadway twice.

[JRybka1611]

I heard from a friend of friend who knew a friend ...

[TheatreKid3]

Willamijn Verkaik has also been rumored to be coming over to the States after the Holland production closes in early January. I don't know if she would come this soon, depending on equity approval, but we might see her over here eventually.

[dyland]

But she's german. does she know english..? Something like that

[TheGingerBreadMan]

^^
Yes, I believe she speaks fluent English.

[ElphabaGoodman]

Willemijn Verkaik is actually Dutch, not German. She did play Elphaba in Germany for over 3 years, though. She does speak fluent English and would have no problem doing the role in English.

Equity exchanges with the Dutch are difficult, but possible. It's much easier with British and Australian performers.

I've also heard that Lindsay Mendez as Elphaba is "in-the-works", but that she's not coming until the spring because she has a bunch of concert appearances early next year.

[dyland]

@ ElphabaGoodman how is it hard for the Dutch? and not the British or Australian? for Equity exchange?

[ElphabaGoodman]

I've heard it's just a lot more negotiations with AEA and the Dutch actors union. I think it might have to do with the language barrier. Broadway productions can send American performers to London and Australia, but it's more difficult to find an American to send to The Netherlands. For example, Mary Poppins recently sent one of the US tour Marys (Rachel Wallace) to the Australian production, currently playing in New Zealand, and brought a former Australian Mary understudy to the Broadway production.

[Wynbish]

A Dutch-inspired quiche. Delish.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

I love Jackie Burn!

[SondheimFan5]

[JBC2]

Jackie isn't leaving Wicked in January. She'll be Broadway's Elphaba for a few weeks into February. I don't know how that affects those names suggested as possible replacements.

[TheatreKid3]

^ That actually makes Willemijn Verkaik a much likelier possibility.

[bdn223]

Lindsay may also be holding out for a Dogfight transfer. One of my theater professors is good friends with Pasek and Paul, and he accidently said in class that with the "sucess" of A Christmas Story added to them being the new composers on SMASH, talk of a transfer has started up again. He said that a Christmas Story producers were likley going to be their new "angels" for Dogfight.

[FindMe12]

I would love for it to be Willemijn Verkaik but I feel that she would need to take a longer break after playing the role, and even though she is fluent in english she still has to learn the show in english and work out the dialect. I have a feeling it will be Mamie Parris, Caissie Levy, Lindsay Mendez or Donna Vivino.

[somethingwicked]

I don't know how true that is, bdn, considering there was already a commercial producer silently attached to DOGFIGHT when it was at Second Stage. The only way new producers could get involved would be if that initial producer relinquished his option on the show, but even so, I don't really see the incentive. The show wasn't well recieved, and even though Pasek and Paul are now experiencing success afterward, it's not as if they'll sell tickets on their own.

The best bet DOGFIGHT would have at a successful future is if the producers took a similar route to that of NEXT TO NORMAL and took it out of town, continued to work on it with further revisions, and then brought it back to New York if those changes improved the quality of the piece.

[bdn223]

Correction I meant investors not producers.

[Wishing Only Wounds]

The Willemijn Verkaik rumors have been going on for years; they've never once been validated. She was "rumored" to come to Broadway after Germany as well. As much as I would love for Willemijn to come over, she has repeatedly spoken about how she loves doing the show in Holland, because that is where her family is based. She's married with children.