Jordan Barrow to Become First Black Actor to Assume the Role of Boq in WICKED on Broadway

This evening, Wicked on Broadway, will welcome actor Jordan Barrow to its principal cast in the role of Boq.

The role marks Barrow's Broadway debut, as well as the first Black actor to play the role in North America.

This news comes on the heels of the announcement that the production has also cast longtime standby, Brittney Johnson, as its first full-time Glinda of color.

Jordan is a New York City based actor with a career spanning stage, television, film, and voice-over. Jordan played Themba Khenketha in the world premiere Toronto production of the Maltby and Shire musical Sousatzka, directed by Adrian Noble. Additionally, he performed at Barrington Stage in the 2019 Kilroys Award winning world premiere of America V 2.1: The Sad Demise and Eventual Extinction of the American Negro directed by Logan Vaughn and written by Stacey Rose. He was seen in the Ovation Award winning west coast premiere of Witness Uganda directed by Griffin Matthews. Additional credits include the world premiere musical Hoagy Carmichael's Stardust Road at the Temple Theatre, The Tempest at the New York Shakespeare festival at the Delacorte Theatre, and Peter Pan at the Paper Mill Playhouse.

On film, he guest starred on the first season of the critically acclaimed series POSE directed by Ryan Murphy. He is also featured on the Comedy Central series Broad City directed by Lucia Aniello. He can be seen in the feature-length film Amy and Peter are Getting Divorced which was released Summer 2021. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan's Musical Theatre program and holds a certificate from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts Shakespeare in Performance program.

Currently the 5th longest-running show in Broadway history, Wicked is the winner of over 100 international awards including the Grammy Award and three Tony Awards. Since opening in 2003, Wicked has been performed in over 100 cities in 16 countries around the world (U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan, Germany, Holland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, The Philippines, Mexico, Brazil, Switzerland and China) and has thus far been translated into six languages: Japanese, German, Dutch, Spanish, Korean and Portuguese. Wicked has been seen by over 60 million people worldwide and has amassed over $5 billion in global sales.

In addition to the Broadway production, Wicked in North America has enjoyed unprecedented record-breaking sit-down engagements in Chicago, where it ran for nearly four years; Los Angeles, where it ran for two years; and San Francisco, where it ran for nearly two years, as well as two North American Tours.

The Broadway sensation Wicked looks at what happened in the Land of Oz...but from a different angle. Long before Dorothy arrives, there is another young woman, born with emerald-green skin, who is smart, fiery, misunderstood, and possessing an extraordinary talent. When she meets a bubbly blonde who is exceptionally popular, their initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships...until the world decides to call one "good," and the other one "wicked."

With a thrilling score that includes the hits "Defying Gravity," "Popular" and "For Good," Wicked has been hailed by The New York Times as "the defining musical of the decade," and by Time Magazine as "a magical Broadway musical with brains, heart, and courage." NBC Nightly News calls the hit musical "the most successful Broadway show ever."

Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and a book by Winnie Holzman. The production is directed by Tony Award winner Joe Mantello with musical staging by Tony Award winner Wayne Cilento. Wicked is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Stage Productions, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone.

For more information about Wicked, please visit www.WickedTheMusical.com.