WICKED Welcomes New Citizens Of Oz This Summer

WICKED WELCOMES NEW CITIZENS OF OZ THIS SUMMER

JACKIE BURNS, AMANDA JANE COOPER,

RONDI REED, ASHLEY PARKER ANGEL,

JYE FRASCA and KRISTEN MARTIN

JOIN THE BROADWAY BLOCKBUSTER

Beginning Performances Monday, July 31

July 12, 2017, New York, NY – The Broadway blockbuster WICKED will welcome new cast members to the Gershwin Theatre beginning Monday, July 31.

JACKIE BURNS will return to the Gershwin Theatre and the role of Elphaba for the first time since 2013, having recently concluded her starring run in the national tour of If/Then, of which she was also an original Broadway company member. She also played the role of Elphaba on the national tour of WICKED, where her performance received an Irene Award nomination.

AMANDA JANE COOPER will make her Broadway debut in the role of Glinda, directly from playing the role on national tour. She has previously appeared in New York in Letter from Algeria and Bunked! A New Musical.

Burns and Cooper will be joined by Tony Award winner RONDI REED, who will return to the Broadway company as Madame Morrible, a role she also played in the Chicago company. Reed won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play in 2008 for her portrayal of Mattie Fae Aiken in August: Osage County.

ASHLEY PARKER ANGEL will assume the role of Fiyero after playing the role on national tour. He was a member of the multi-platinum recording group O-Town and starred in MTV’s “There and Back Again,” which followed the release of his solo album, Soundtrack to Your Life. Parker previously appeared on Broadway as Link Larkin in Hairspray.

JYE FRASCA will make his Broadway debut in the role of Boq. A member of WICKED’s original London company, his West End credits also include Jersey Boys, West Side Story, Cats and Mamma Mia, among others.

KRISTEN MARTIN is new to the Broadway company of WICKED, but has played the role of Nessarose on national tour and internationally. Other Broadway credits include the original cast of Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark (u/s Mary Jane).

They join a cast which currently includes PJ Benjamin as The Wizard and Chad Jennings as Doctor Dillamond. Current cast members Jennifer DiNoia (Elphaba), Kara Lindsay (Glinda), Sheryl Lee Ralph (Madame Morrible), Michael Campayno (Fiyero), and Zachary Noah Piser (Boq) will give their final performance Saturday, July 29.

ABOUT THE CAST

JACKIE BURNS (Elphaba) returns to Oz after traveling the country as "Elizabeth" in the national tour of If/Then. She also played it on the national tour where her performance was nominated for an Irene Award. Other Broadway credits include the Tony-winning revival of Hair (original company), If/Then (original company). Off-Broadway: Rock of Ages (original company), Unlock'd. Select regional: Papermill, PCLO, Casa, CRT. Film: Set It Up. @jackieburnsnyc

AMANDA JANE COOPER (Glinda) is thrilled and grateful to make her Broadway debut. She has previously appeared in both national tours of Wicked (Glinda). NYC: Letter from Algeria, BUNKED! A New Musical. Regional: Bye Bye Birdie at Sacramento Music Circus (Kim MacAfee), What the Butler Saw at PICT (Geraldine Barclay). Select TV/Film: “Glee,” Disney’s “Jessie,” “CSI,” “Bones,” ABC’s “Selfie,” HBO’s “Hello Ladies,” “Smart People.” BFA, Carnegie Mellon University.

RONDI REED (Madame Morrible) is a Tony Award-winning actress (August: Osage County) and member of the acclaimed Steppenwolf Theatre Company of Chicago. Ms. Reed also appeared as Madame Morrible in prior productions of Wicked (Chicago/Broadway). Recent television credits: “Mike & Molly,” “Masters of Sex,” “Disjointed,” and “Scandal.”

ASHLEY PARKER ANGEL (Fiyero) previously appeared on Broadway as Link Larkin in Hairspray. National Tour: Fiyero, Wicked. Television: ABC’s “Making The Band,” which chronicled the formation of his multi-platinum recording group O-Town, most widely recognized for the smash #1 hit “All or Nothing;” MTV’s “There and Back,” which documented the release of Ashley’s Universal Records debut solo album Soundtrack to Your Life, featuring his hit single “Let U Go.” Instagram: @ashley_parker_angel | Facebook.com/AshleyParkerAngel

JYE FRASCA (Boq) is thrilled to be making his Broadway debut in Wicked, having been part of the original London company. London’s West End: Jersey Boys, Fiesta: Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, Thrill Me, Wicked, Mary Poppins, We Will Rock You, Anything Goes, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Cats, Mamma Mia, West Side Story. USA: Jersey Boys (Las Vegas). Television: “Galavant” (ABC), “Schizo Samurai Shitzu” (BBC), “Murder Under The Microscope” (ABC Australia). Film: Kaufman’s Game, Reality Mine, Tulips: The White King.

KRISTEN MARTIN’s (Nessarose) Broadway credits include the original cast of Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark (u/s Mary Jane). Off-Broadway: The City Club (Crystal LaBelle). Nat'l/Int'l Tours: Wicked (Nessarose), A Chorus Line (Val), 42nd Street (Peggy Sawyer), Cats (Demeter). Cleveland Playhouse/McCarter: A Comedy of Tenors (Mimi). Goodspeed: 42nd Street (Peggy Sawyer), La Cage (Anne). PCLO & Maine State: Footloose (Ariel). Baystreet: Dames at Sea (Ruby). TV/Film: “Deception,” Psychotic (Roxy).

ABOUT WICKED

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.”

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.”

Winner of over 100 international awards including the Grammy Award and three Tony Awards, WICKED has been performed in over 100 cities in 14 countries around the world (U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan, Germany, Holland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, The Philippines, Mexico, and Brazil) and has thus far been translated into six languages: Japanese, German, Dutch, Spanish, Korean, and Portuguese.

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 Stage Productions, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone.

For more information about WICKED, please visit www.WickedTheMusical.com.

Follow WICKED on Twitter: @WICKED_Musical, Facebook and on Instagram @wicked_musical.

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