Two-Time Tony Nominee to Join WICKED on Broadway as 'Madame Morrible'

Beginning performances Sunday, July 5th, Wicked will welcome two-time Tony and Emmy Award nominee MICHELE LEE in the role of Madame Morrible. A veteran of the stage and screen, she is perhaps best known for her fourteen seasons as Karen Mackenzie on the landmark CBS television drama, "Knots Landing."

Michele starred on Broadway in several shows, including the hit Cy Coleman/Dorothy Fields musical Seesaw, for which she received a Tony nomination and Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for Best Actress. Ms. Lee's most recent New York appearance was her limited engagement of "Nobody Does it Like Me: The Music of Cy Coleman" this month at 54 Below.

Michele will be joined by FRED APPLEGATE, who most recently appeared on Broadway in The Last Ship. His many Broadway credits include Sister Act, Young Frankenstein, and The Producers. Mr. Applegate will begin performances on Monday, June 29.

They join a cast which currently includes Caroline Bowman as Elphaba, Kara Lindsay as Glinda, Matt Shingledecker as Fiyero, Robin De Jesús as Boq, Arielle Jacobs as Nessarose, and Timothy Britten Parker as Dr. Dillamond. The roles of Madame Morrible and The Wizard are currently being played by Kathy Fitzgerald and PJ Benjamin.

MICHELE LEE, an acclaimed all-around entertainer, is known worldwide for her Emmy-nominated role starring as Karen McKenzie for all 14 seasons and 344 episodes of CBS'S "Knots Landing." She also produced and starred in movies including the Emmy-nominated "Big Dreams & Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story," and is the first woman to produce, direct, write and star in an original movie for television, the award-winning (Christopher Award and Gracie Allen Award) Lifetime Event Presentation, "Color Me Perfect."

On Broadway, she played Rosemary Pilkington in the classic original production of the Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying and went on to win NATO star of the year award for the movie version. She created the lead role of Gittle Mosca in the musical Seesaw, for which she earned her first Tony nomination. Other Broadway roles include Vintage 60, Bravo Giovanni and The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, for which she received her second Tony nomination. Her films include How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, the Disney classic The Love Bug, Carl Reiner's The Comic with Dick Van Dyke, and Along Came Polly opposite Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston. She is a member of the Artists Committee for the Kennedy Center Honors and is on the Board of Actor's Equity. Ms. Lee also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

FRED APPLEGATE recently starred in the world premiere of The 2nd Mrs. Wilson at the Long Wharf Theatre and Tuck, Everlasting at the Alliance Theatre. His many Broadway credits include The Last Ship, Sister Act, La Cage..., Young Frankenstein, The Producers (NY and London), Sound of Music, Fanny (Encores!), Happiness (Lincoln Center). Tours include Anything Goes, Producers, Beauty and the Beast. Regional credits include roles at the Mark Taper Forum (four productions), Geffen, Old Globe, St. Louis Rep, The MUNY, Guthrie Theater (13 productions). He has appeared on television in "Newhart," "FM," "Life... and Stuff," "Woops!," "9 to 5;" "Cosby," "Night Court," "Growing Pains," and many more.

WICKED has been declared "A Cultural Phenomenon" by Variety and "The Best Musical of the Decade" by Entertainment Weekly. Wicked currently has five productions around the world, in New York, London, Australasian Tour, a U.K. Tour, and a North American National Tour.

Since its New York premiere over a decade ago, Wicked has grossed over $3.8 billion worldwide and has been seen by nearly 48 million people across the globe. Wicked has been performed in over 100 cities in 13 countries around the world (U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan, Germany, Holland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, The Philippines, and Mexico) and has thus far been translated into five languages: Japanese, German, Dutch, Spanish, and Korean.

Winner of over 100 international awards including the Grammy Award and three Tony Awards, Wicked is the untold story of the witches of Oz. 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.

Tickets are available through Ticketmaster www.ticketmaster.com/wicked. For more information, visit www.wickedthemusical.com. Wicked is performed at the Gershwin Theatre, 222 West 51st Street, between Broadway and 8th Avenue on the following schedule (June 29 - August 23): Monday and Tuesday at 7pm, Wednesday at 2pm and 7pm, Thursday and Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm and 8pm.

Photo by Walter McBride