Friday 2 August 2013 Press Release WICKED ANNOUNCES FULL CAST FOR FORTHCOMING UK & IRELAND TOUR REHEARSALS BEGIN ON MONDAY (5 AUGUST 2013) WICKED, the global musical phenomenon that tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz is pleased to announce the full cast for its forthcoming UK & Ireland Tour. Rehearsals begin in London on Monday (5 August 2013) and the full cast is confirmed as follows: Nikki Davis-Jones (Elphaba), Emily Tierney (Glinda), Liam Doyle (Fiyero), Marilyn Cutts (Madame Morrible), Dale Rapley (The Wizard and Doctor Dillamond), Carina Gillespie (Nessarose), George Ure (Boq), Jemma Alexander (Standby Elphaba), Lee Bridgman, Chrissy Brooke, Richard Carson, Harrison Clark, Jeanine Dinger, Tim Edwards, Howard Ellis, Natasha Ferguson, Zoe George, Lia Given, Natalie Green, Charlie Harding, Katie Kerr, Robert Kershaw, Will Knights, Sophie Leigh-Griffin, Candy Marriott, Oliver Metzler, Wendy-Lee Purdy, Julienne Schembri, Grant Thresh, Ed White and Helen Woolf. The UK & Ireland Tour will visit: Manchester Palace Theatre (12 September to 16 November 2013), Dublin Bord Gáis Energy Theatre (27 November 2013 to 18 January 2014); Milton Keynes Theatre (4 February to 8 March 2014); Wales Millennium Centre (12 March to 26 April 2014); Glasgow King’s Theatre (6 May to 31 May 2014); Leeds Grand Theatre (10 June to 5 July 2014) and Birmingham Hippodrome (9 July to 6 September 2014). Tickets are now on sale at all venues. Further cities and dates into 2015 to be announced. Recently acclaimed as “one of the most popular West End musicals ever" (London Evening Standard), the record-breaking London production continues its open-ended run at the Apollo Victoria Theatre where it is already the 16th longest-running musical in West End theatre history. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire that ingeniously and wittily re-imagines 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. Wicked has music and lyrics by multi GRAMMY® and Academy Award® winner Stephen Schwartz, a book by Winnie Holzman, musical staging by Wayne Cilento and is directed by two-time Tony Award® winner and Olivier Award nominee Joe Mantello. Wicked is based on the acclaimed novel, ‘Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West’, by Gregory Maguire. Wicked is produced by: Marc Platt, Universal Pictures Stage Productions, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone. Executive Producer (UK & Ireland): Michael McCabe. Official UK & Ireland Tour website: www.WickedTheMusical.co.uk National Press Contacts: Jo Allan and Anna Dawson for Jo Allan PR TEL: +44 (0)20 7520 9396 EMAIL: [email protected], [email protected] 1 Notes for editors / PRINCIPAL CAST BIOGRAPHIES Nikki Davis-Jones (Elphaba) previously played ‘Elphaba’ in Wicked at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre where as ‘Standby’ she performed the role on hundreds of occasions to huge acclaim. Her many other theatre credits include: ‘Maureen’ in the 20th Anniversary concert tour of Rent with Kerry Ellis; the new musical LIFT (Soho Theatre); ‘Wendy’ in Peter Pan (Liverpool Empire); ‘Serena’ in Fame The Musical (UK Tour); the Take That musical Never Forget (West End); ‘Anna’ in ASAP (Liverpool Unity Theatre); ‘Lisa’ in Mamma Mia! (West End) and ‘Linda’ in Blood Brothers (West End). Film: Mamma Mia! (Universal). Emily Tierney (Glinda) appeared in the London production of Wicked and subsequently starred as ‘Glinda’ in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s production of The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium alongside ‘Over The Rainbow’ winner Danielle Hope. Emily’s other theatre credits include: ‘Sally’ in All the Fun of the Fair (Garrick Theatre); ‘Maria’ in West Side Story (Barbican) and Titanic - The Musical (Shaw Theatre). Film includes: ‘Ellie’ in John Carter of Mars and ‘Alice’ in Kate Modern. Television includes: ‘Lydia Harrison’ in Push and Do It in Style and Eva Roderick in New Tricks. Emily trained at Mountview. Liam Doyle (Fiyero) first came to prominence when he entered and won the nationwide talent search hosted by GMTV to find an actor to play ‘Troy Bolton’ in the stage version of High School Musical 2. He performed the role all over the country for the next 12 months. He has subsequently gone on to star as ‘Link Larkin’ in Hairspray (UK Tour) opposite Michael Ball; ‘Shane Gray’ in Disney’s Camp Rock (Dubai) and ‘Ricky Nelson’ in Rock & Roll Heaven (UK Tour). Liam recently made his West End debut playing ‘Eddie’ in Mamma Mia! at the Novello Theatre and was most recently seen in Carnival of Animals at Riverside Studios. Marilyn Cutts (Madame Morrible) recently starred as ‘Mother Lord’ in the UK tour of High Society. A founding member of Fascinating Aida, Marilyn’s many theatre roles include: ‘Mrs Potts’ in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (UK Tour); ‘Mrs Sowerberry’ in Oliver! (Toronto); ‘Armina’ in Oklahoma! (National Theatre), directed by Trevor Nunn; the ‘Doormouse’ and the ‘White Queen’ in Alice In Wonderland (RSC); ‘Mme de Rosemonde’ in Adam Cooper’s production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses and ‘Helena Landless’ in the original London production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Marilyn recently appeared in Tom Hooper’s film of Les Misérables (Working Title/Cameron Mackintosh). Dale Rapley (The Wizard and Doctor Dillamond) recently starred as ‘Horace Vandergelder’ opposite Janie Dee in Hello Dolly! and ‘Louis Leplee’ in Piaf with Frances Ruffelle, both at the Leicester Curve. He has played both ‘Bill Austin’ and ‘Harry Bright’ in Mamma Mia! (West End and International Tour) and starred in productions at Shakespeare’s Globe; the Open Air Theatre Regent’s Park; the Young Vic; West Yorkshire Playhouse; the RSC and, most recently, in Ostrovsky’s Larisa and the Merchants at the Arcola. His many television credits include: Doctors; Poirot; Spooks; Silent Witness; Aquila and Eastenders. Carina Gillespie (Nessarose) starred as ‘Sandy’ in the most recent national tour of Grease, opposite Danny Bayne. Carina also played the role in the West End (Piccadilly Theatre) and on a previous national tour. Her other appearances include: ‘Linda’ in Bloodbath The Musical (Edinburgh Festival), with Siobhan McCarthy and Anthony Costa, and ‘Maria Elena’ in Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story on tour in the UK and Scandinavia. George Ure (Boq) trained at Mountview and upon graduating he made his West End debut in Wicked at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre. He subsequently took over the role of ‘Boq’ and enjoyed a 3-year stay with the hit musical. He then went on to tour Europe in the Arena production of Hair. His TV and film appearances include: Britannia High (ITV); Don’t Stop Me Now (Sky One); and Guns on the Table (Out and Out Films). He recently appeared as a vocalist in Rod Stewarts’s Christmas (ITV). Jemma Alexander (Standby Elphaba) recently played ‘Joanne’ in the 20th Anniversary concert tour of Rent and made her West End debut in Lend Me A Tenor The Musical at the Gielgud Theatre, directed by Ian Talbot. Jemma’s other theatre credits include: A Tale of Two Cities (Charing Cross Theatre); Tommy (English Theatre, Frankfurt) and The Full Monty (New Players Theatre). 2 WICKED Wicked has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, a book by Winnie Holzman, scenic design by Eugene Lee, costumes by Susan Hilferty, lighting by Kenneth Posner, sound by Tony Meola, projection designs by Elaine J McCarthy, Hair and Wig designs by Tom Watson, music arrangements by Alex Lacamoire and Stephen Oremus, dance arrangements by James Lynn Abbott, orchestrations by William David Brohn, musical supervision by Stephen Oremus, musical staging by Wayne Cilento and is directed by Joe Mantello. WICKED LONDON The London production premiered on 27 September 2006 (with previews from 7 September) and has now been seen by over 5 million people. Wicked has been hailed as “the biggest thing in musicals since The Phantom of the Opera opened” (The Times), “one of the biggest hits of our age” (The Observer) and “one of the most popular West End musicals ever" (London Evening Standard). Wicked continues to be the top choice of West End theatregoers having been voted Best Night Out (Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2011), Most Popular Show (Olivier Awards 2010), Best West End Show (Whatsonstage.com Awards in both 2011 and 2010), Best New Musical (Whatsonstage.com Awards 2007) and Best Family Fun (Visit London Awards 2009). WICKED WORLDWIDE There are at present 6 productions of “the international blockbuster” (The New York Times) playing concurrently around the world: at the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway (where it is now in its 10th Anniversary year), on two North American tours, in Japan, on tour in Australasia and at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre. Wicked has already been seen by 36 million people worldwide and grossed $2.9 billion at the Box Office. It has been recognised as “the best musical of the decade” (Entertainment Weekly), “the defining musical of the decade” (The New York Times) and “a cultural phenomenon” (Variety) and has already won over 90 major international awards. WICKED – THE STORY If you think you know the Wicked Witch of the West, think again… When Dorothy famously triumphed over the Wicked Witch, we only ever heard one side of the story. Gregory Maguire’s “outstanding novel” (The Independent), Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, ingeniously and wittily re-imagined the Land of Oz, creating a parallel universe to the familiar story written by L. Frank Baum and first published as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900.