BWW EXCLUSIVE: Stephanie J Block Was Lined Up For UK WICKED

Stephanie J Block has revealed exclusively to BWW:UK that the producers of Wicked asked her to prepare for a two-week run as Elphaba at the Apollo Victoria this month.

Current Elphaba Alexia Khadime, standby Ashleigh Gray and understudy Sabrina Carter have all suffered illnesses over recent weeks, and when the producers learnt that Block - who played Elphie in the show's original workshop, on tour, and on Broadway - would be in London to perform in Scott Alan: Just Me...And Them, they asked her if she would be willing to fill in.

"When I was packing, the guys from Wicked here rang and said, 'Would you be able to play Elphaba for a couple of weeks out here?'" she revealed. "I thought they were kidding. I was packing, I was supposed to be on a plane in a couple of hours! And my agent said no, they're serious. The girls are under the weather, and you'll be in London, and David Stone the producer is going to the West End to assess the situation. Pack for a couple of weeks!"

Block promptly prepared to stay over in the UK for longer than she had initially planned. "They've got it under control now, but on Friday and Saturday [October 9 and 10] I was all ready to go in on Monday. But now a standby from the first-year contract has been rehearsed, and she is scheduled to start on Monday."