Suzie Mathers, a member of the original Australian cast of the global musical phenomenon, Wicked – the untold story of the Witches of Oz, is to star as Glinda alongside celebrated West End and Broadway star, Rachel Tucker as Elphaba in the London production from September 2016.
Suzie Mathers and Rachel Tucker will lead the award-winning show through its 1oth birthday celebrations at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre. They will be joined by Oliver Savile, who continues as Fiyero; Anita Dobson, who joins to play Madame Morrible; Mark Curry, who continues as The Wizard; original cast member Martin Ball, who returns to play Doctor Dillamond; original cast member Katie Rowley Jones, who continues as Nessarose and Idriss Kargbo, who joins to play Boq. Alice Fearn will be Standby for Elphaba and Carina Gillespie continues as Standby for Glinda.
“We very much look forward to welcoming Suzie Mathers to the London company of Wicked in September alongside the incredible Rachel Tucker, who returns to the West End production following her triumphant engagement as Elphaba on Broadway,” said Executive Producer (UK) Michael McCabe.
“Suzie was a member of the original Australian cast of Wicked and went on to play Glinda to great acclaim in Singapore, South Korea, New Zealand, the Philippines and on the most recent Australian tour. We are all delighted that these two superbly talented actors will join us in London to lead an amazing new cast through the 10th birthday celebrations at the Apollo Victoria Theatre later this year.”
On Tuesday 27 September 2016, Wicked will celebrate an incredible ten continuous years in London. Now the 8th longest-running show in the West End* and already the 19th longest-running show in West End theatre history* – has played over 4000 performances, and been seen by over 7 million people in London alone.
Based on the international best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire that ingeniously re-imagined the stories and characters created by L. Frank Baum in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – Wicked tells the incredible untold story of an unlikely but profound friendship between two sorcery students. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfil their destinies as Glinda The Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
With music and lyrics by multi Grammy and Academy Award-winner Stephen Schwartz (Godspell; Disney’s Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame), Wicked is based on the novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire and adapted for the stage by Winnie Holzman. Musical staging is by Tony Award-winner Wayne Cilento and the production is directed by two-time Tony Award-winner Joe Mantello.
Wicked is playing at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, London. For more information, visit www.wickedthemusical.co.uk for details.
Image: Suzie Mathers as Glinda – photo by Maye Wong
Note: *Information verified by The Society of London Theatre.