WICKED Welcomes New Witches Caroline Bowman, Kara Lindsay and More Tonight

WICKED welcomes new cast members to the Gershwin Theatre beginning tonight, December 16. CAROLINE BOWMAN (Kinky Boots, Eva in the Broadway revival tour of Evita) will step into the role of Elphaba, and KARA LINDSAY (original cast of Broadway's Newsies) will assume the role of Glinda, directly from playing the role on national tour.

KATHY FITZGERALD will return to the Broadway company as Madame Morrible, a role she has played on Broadway and on national tour, and MATT SHINGLEDECKER (West Side Story) will assume the role of Fiyero. Two-time Tony Award Nominee ROBIN DEJESUS (In the Heights, La Cage Aux Folles) will step into the role of Boq.

They join a cast which also includes Tom McGowan as The Wizard, Kelli Barrett as Nessarose, and Timothy Britten Parker as Dr. Dillamond. The roles of Elphaba, Glinda, Fiyero, Madame Morrible, and Boq are currently being played by Christine Dwyer, Jenni Barber, Justin Guarini, Mary Testa and Michael Wartella, respectively.

CAROLINE BOWMAN (Elphaba) has spent the last year starring as Eva Peron in the Broadway revival national tour of Evita. She has been seen on Broadway in the original cast of Kinky Boots as well as the national tours of Spamalot (Lady of The Lake), Fame: The Musical (Carmen), and Grease (Rizzo).

KARA LINDSAY (Glinda) comes to the Gershwin Theatre directly from the national tour of Wicked. She appeared in the original Broadway cast of Newsies as Katherine and in the national tour and Guthrie Theatre productions of Little House on the Prairie as Laura. Regional credits include Paper Mill Playhouse (Newsies, Little House...Prairie); Kansas City Starlight (title role in Cinderella); Kansas City Rep (Sally Bowles in Cabaret); 5th Avenue Theatre (Lone Star Love); and Geva Theater (A Christmas Carol), among others.

KATHY FITZGERALD (Madame Morrible) returns to Wicked after being on Broadway as Madame Morrible for a year and a half. Other Broadway credits include Roz in 9 to 5 (Outer Critics nomination), Swingin' on a Star (Drama Desk nomination), and The Producers (as Shirley Markowitz). Off Broadway credits include Doris in Damn Yankees (Encores!), Disaster! (Triad), Donnybrook (Irish Rep). Regional: Ruth in Pirates! (MUNY), Ma in Emmet Otter (Goodspeed), The Tempest, Twelfth Night, School for Wives, Search for Signs... TV/Film: "Smash," "Mercy," "One Life to Live," The Producers, Our Idiot Brother, Next Three Days, "The Gregory Brothers."

MATT SHINGLEDECKER (Fiyero) has appeared on Broadway as Tony in West Side Story (featured in Arthur Laurent's memoir, The Rest of the Story) and in Spring Awakening. Off-Broadway credits include Rent (Roger - original revival cast) and national tour credits include Spring Awakening. He has appeared on television on "Blue Bloods" and "The Regis Farewell Celebration." Other New York credits include Dani Girland Standby (NYMF) as well as numerous developmental readings, workshops, and concerts. Film: Grind and A Pebble of Love. London: Homemade Fusion. Los Angeles: La Ronde.

ROBIN DEJESUS (Boq) has appeared on Broadway in the musicals In the Heights (Tony nomination, Drama Desk Award), La Cage aux Folles (Tony, Drama Desk nominations), and Rent. His many Off-Broadway and regional credits include Domesticated (Lincoln Center), In the Heights, Patti Issues, Mother Jones, Aladdin, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Grease and Godspell. Film credits include Camp, Hairbrained, Gun Hill Road, Elliot Loves, 11:55 Holyoke, Fat Girls and TV work includes "Law & Order: SVU," "How to Make It in America."

Currently the 11th longest-running musical in Broadway history, the international blockbuster Wicked celebrated its 11th Anniversary on Thursday, October 30th. Wicked currently has eight productions around the world, in New York, London, Japan (Tokyo), Australia (Sydney), Latin America (Mexico City), a U.K. Tour (Edinburgh), and two concurrent North American National Tours.

The musical is currently represented in North America with two concurrent national tours as well as the open-ended Broadway production. In its 11-year history, the musical has also enjoyed extended, record-breaking sit-down engagements in Chicago, where it ran for 3 ½ years and Los Angeles/San Francisco, where it ran for 3 ½ years.

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.

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.

Wicked is performed at the Gershwin Theatre, 222 West 51st Street, between Broadway and 8th Avenue.