10 Things You Might Not Know About WICKED

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With everyone hyped for the premiere of the movie Wicked this month, I have been receiving a bunch of Wicked questions. I thought it might be fun to share a few fun facts about former stars of Wicked!

1. The 2001 workshop of Wicked starred the beloved late actor Gavin Creel as Boq.

Also in this workshop were Idina Menzel (Elphaba), Kristin Chenoweth (Glinda), Amy Spanger (Nessarose), Steven Skybell (Dr. Dillamond), Lenny Wolpe (The Wizard), and David Burnham (Fiyero).

2. Both Wicked’s original director and original choreographer also originated roles on stage on Broadway. 

Multiple Tony Award winner Joe Mantello is also an actor who originated the role of Louis in Angels in America in 1993. He also led The Normal Heart in its Broadway premiere in 2011.

Wicked choreographer Wayne Cilento originated the role of Mike in A Chorus Line in 1975. The character, who regales the audience with “I Can Do That” was partially based on Cilento himself. Cilento appeared on stage in several other Broadway shows including Seesaw, The Act, and Dancin’.

3. Stephanie J. Block played Elphaba first.

Block played Elphaba in Wicked’s first reading in 2000, and also understudied Elphaba, which was played by Idina Menzel, during the show’s pre-Broadway tryout. 

When Block was offered the role of Liza Minnelli in The Boy from Oz on Broadway the same season that Wicked premiered, she accepted that opportunity, so she was not part of Wicked’s original Broadway cast. She went on to originate the role of Elphaba on Wicked’s first national tour in 2005 as well as play the role on Broadway in 2007.

4. Taye Diggs briefly stepped in to play Fiyero during Wicked’s first year on Broadway.

When Norbert Leo Butz sustained a back injury, Diggs stepped in as an emergency replacement for Fiyero starting during Christmas week in 2003. He played opposite his then-wife Idina Menzel as Elphaba for the next month.

5. Diggs and Menzel aren’t the only former stars of Rent who have also spent time in Wicked. 

The two long-running hits with some similar vocal requirements for their actors share a number of other performers who have done both shows on Broadway. 

The list includes other fellow Rent original cast member Timothy Britten Parker (brother of Sarah Jessica) as well as Wicked original cast members Norbert Leo Butz and Eden Espinosa. Other performers with both shows under their belt on Broadway include Sebastian Arcelus, Richard H. Blake, and Robin De Jesús. Of course there are many others who have done both shows including tours and regional productions, including Caissie Levy and Telly Leung.

6. Several couples have performed Wicked together on Broadway. 

In addition to Menzel and Diggs, who were married at the time that they played Elphaba and Fiyero on Broadway, Stephanie J. Block also sang “As Long As You’re Mine” on Broadway with her real-life other half Sebastian Arcelus. The two first met on the Wicked tour.

Another couple that met thanks to Wicked is Norbert Leo Butz and Michelle Federer. The show’s original Fiyero and Nessarose fell in love at the Gershwin Theatre. 

And real-life couple Nick Adams and Kyle Brown met when Brown was Adams’ Fiyero understudy.

But Fiyeros don’t need to get all of the love. What about The Wizard? Real-life theatre couple John Dossett and Michele Pawk played The Wizard and Madame Morrible in the show together in 2023.

Several Broadway couples have both appeared in Wicked but at different times, including Kara Lindsay and Kevin Massey and Etai Benson and Alexandra Socha. 

7. Wicked is the first hit production to play Broadway’s Gershwin Theatre… although many stars, from Angela Lansbury to Raul Julia to Ella Fitzgerald, have appeared on its stage.

Prior to Wicked opening in 2003 at the Broadway house that initially opened as the Uris in 1972, many extraordinary shows had played the venue but none had ever made their money back. Wicked, with its glorious scenic concept by the great Eugene Lee, is credited with finally cracking the code on how to make the cavernous space fully come to life. Lee had previously designed the legendary original Sweeney Todd in the theater. Scenic designers can be stars too!

Stars that played the same stage Wicked currently performs on include Raul Julia, Alfred Drake, Sammy Davis Jr., Henry Mancini, Anthony Newley, Johnny Mathis, Rudolf Nureyev, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Paul Anka, Al Green, Ashford & Simpson, Bing Crosby, Barry Manilow, Yul Brynner, Angela Lansbury, Len Cariou, Victor Garber, Kevin Kline, Linda Ronstadt, Estelle Parsons, Rex Smith, Rex Harrison, June Havoc, Shirley MacLaine, Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, Smokey Robinson, Topol, Tommy Tune, Raffi, Yanni, Robert Goulet, Elaine Stritch, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Cathy Rigby, Linda Eder, and Patrick Wilson.

Many of these stars appeared in special limited edition concert runs in the 1970s and 1980s.

More than 40 years after originating the lead role in Seesaw, Michele Lee returned to the Gershwin stage to play Madame Morrible in Wicked in 2015. 

8. Several of Wicked’s actors started out on Broadway when they were only kids. 

Recent Glinda Allie Trimm originated the role of Patrice in 13 when she was 13 years old herself. Ariana Grande, the Wicked film’s Glinda, counts 13 as her sole Broadway performance credit to date. 13 actor Riley Costello was also a Boq replacement in 2019.

Richard H. Blake, who made his Broadway debut before even turning 13, played Fiyero in 2011.

Les Misérables’ original Young Cosette, Donna Vivino, was a long-running Elphaba on the national tour of Wicked, and also stood by for the role on Broadway.

Laura Bell Bundy was a child actor, originating the lead role of Tina Denmark in Ruthless! in 1991 when she was 9 years old; Britney Spears and Natalie Portman were her understudies! While this production was off-Broadway, it’s worth noting. Bundy stood by for Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda.

9. Several women of color have made history in Wicked.

Brittney Johnson was recently Wicked’s first Black actor to play Glinda full time. 

Alyssa Fox was recently Wicked’s first Asian actor to play Elphaba full time. 

Wicked’s original Elphaba standby, Tony nominee Eden Espinosa, is of Hispanic descent. Other women of color who have played Elphaba on Broadway either full time or as standbys or understudies include Lindsay Mendez, Mandy Gonzalez, Saycon Sengbloh, and Lilli Cooper. 

10. Fourteen actors who have appeared in Wicked on Broadway have won Tony Awards in acting categories.

From the original cast of Wicked, Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, Norbert Leo Butz, Joel Grey, and Carole Shelley are all Tony Award winners. Menzel won for originating the role of Elphaba, while the other four Wicked original cast members all won for other shows.

One Glinda replacement (Annaleigh Ashford), two Elphaba replacements (Stephanie J. Block and Lindsay Mendez), one Madame Morrible replacement (Jayne Houdyshell) and one Fiyero replacement (Aaron Tveit) won Tony Awards after starring in Wicked. 

Two Wizard replacements (Cleavant Derricks, Ben Vereen) and two Madame Morrible replacements (Judy Kaye, Donna McKechnie) won Tony Awards prior to starring in Wicked.