WICKED Tour to Welcome Two New Stars This Week

The Wicked tour will welcome Jon Robert Hall as Fiyero and welcome back Catherine Charlebois as Nessarose, beginning Tuesday, August 22nd at Philadelphia's Academy of Music.

Jon Robert Hall (Fiyero) is new to the Wicked family. He recently played Tom Chisum in the Emmy Award-winning "Grease: Live!" on Fox, as well as recurring on "Glee." Jon also played Stacee Jaxx in the Vegas production of Rock of Ages at the Venetian.

Catherine Charlebois takes over as Nessarose after having played the role both on Broadway and on tour. Regionally, she has starred in Beauty and the Beast at Ogunquit Playhouse, Music Theatre Wichita and North Caroline Theatre; Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at Music Theatre Wichita; and Steel Magnolias at Triad Stage.

The current touring company also features Jessica Vosk (Elphaba), Ginna Claire Mason (Glinda), Isabel Keating (Madame Morrible), Tom McGowan (The Wizard), Harry Bouvy (Doctor Dillamond), Sam Seferian (Boq) and Chelsea Emma Franko (Standby for Elphaba), with Allison Bailey, Kerry Blanchard, Beka Burnham, Lauren Cannon, Michael Di Liberto, Michael Drolet, Ryan Patrick Farrell, Lisa Finegold, Napoleon W. Gladney, Sara Gonzales, Lauren Haughton, Chris Jarosz, John Krause, Kelly Lafarga, Melissa Legaspi, Chase Madigan, Tiffany Rae Mallari, Matt Meigs, Olivia Polci, Anthony Sagaria, Wayne Schroder, Tregoney Shepherd, Ben Susak and Justin Wirick.

Jon Robert Hall and Catherine Charlebois will join the Wicked Tour in conjunction with the final week of performances in Philadelphia. The engagement runs through Sunday, August 27. Tickets are available at kimmelcenter.org.

Since opening in 2003, Wicked has been performed in over 100 cities in 15 countries around the world (U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan, Germany, Holland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, The Philippines, China, Mexico, and Brazil) and has thus far been translated into six languages: Japanese, German, Dutch, Spanish, Korean, and Portuguese. The musical has amassed nearly $4.5 billion in global sales and has been seen by over 53 million people worldwide.

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."

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."

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 Joe Mantello with musical staging by Wayne Cilento. Wicked is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone.