Miriam Margolyes, UK Morrible, Joins Bway 'Wicked' Jan.22

Well known to film audiences for roles as varied as Professor Sprout from the Harry Potter films and her BAFTA Award-winning performance in Martin Scorsese's The Age of Innocence, acclaimed stage and screen actress Miriam Margolyes will make her Broadway debut as Madame Morrible in the musical Wicked, beginning performances January 22. 

Margolyes originated the role of Madame Morrible in the London production of the musical, for which she received the Theatergoers' Choice Award.  She joins a cast which includes Stephanie J. Block as Elphaba, Annaleigh Ashford as Glinda, David Burnham as Fiyero, Lenny Wolpe as The Wizard, Cristy Candler as Nessarose, Logan Lipton as Boq, and Steven Skybell as Dr. Dillamond.   The original Madame Morrible, Carole Shelley, is playing the role through Sunday, January 20.

Miriam Margolyes has made over 40 major film appearances including: Professor Sprout in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets; Nurse in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet; Mrs Mingott in Martin Scorsese's The Age of Innocence, for which she won the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress; Peg Sellers in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers with Geoffrey Rush; Dolly de Vries in Being Julia with Annette Benning; Dorcas (the housekeeper) in Ladies in Lavender with Judi Dench and Maggie Smith; and Flora Finching in Little Dorrit, for which she won the LA Critics' Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress.   Her multiple television appearances include "Blackadder I, II and III" with Rowan Atkinson; Miss Crawley in the BBC adaptation of "Vanity Fair;" Mrs. Price-Ridley in Agatha Christie's "Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage" with Geraldine McEwan; and as the presenter of the 10-part BBC documentary series "Dickens In America."  In London's West End, she played George in The Killing of Sister George and Mrs. Hardcastle in She Stoops to Conquer and she has just performed her one-woman show, Dickens' Women, throughout Australia and New Zealand to critical acclaim. She recently starred as Miss Prism in Sir Peter Hall's production of The Importance of Being Earnest with Lynn Redgrave at BAM.  Miriam's extensive voice-over work has included Fly (the female sheepdog) in Babe, The Matchmaker in Mulan and Tamara in Happy Feet. She has won many awards for her audio books and her recording of Sue Townsend's The Queen & I is one of the biggest selling audio books of all time.  In 2002, Miriam was awarded an OBE by Her Majesty The Queen for her services to drama.

"Long before Dorothy drops in, two other girls meet in the land of Oz.  One, born with emerald-green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood.  The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular.  Wicked tells the story of their remarkable odyssey, how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch," explain press notes.

Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, book by Winnie Holzman, and musical staging by Wayne Cilento.  The production is directed by Joe Mantello.

Tickets are available through Ticketmaster www.ticketmaster.com.  For more information, visit www.wickedthemusical.com.  Wicked is performed at the Gershwin Theatre, 222 West 51st Street, between Broadway and 8th Avenue.

Miriam Margolyes