The national tour of the international hit musical Wicked will welcome three new leads beginning September 24 at The Smith Center in Las Vegas.
Talia Suskauer, Allison Bailey, and Tony winner Cleavant Derricks will step into the roles of, respectively, Elphaba, Glinda, and The Wizard.
Suskauer was seen in the original Broadway and Off-Broadway companies of Be More Chill; regionally she has appeared in Shrek as Fiona and Little Women as Jo. Bailey, who previously understudied the role of Glinda in the national tour, has been seen in regional productions of Les Misérables, The Music Man, Singin’ in the Rain, and A Proper Place.
Derricks garnered Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for originating the role of James Thunder Early in Dreamgirls. His other credits include Bob Fosse’s Big Deal, for which he received Tony and Drama Desk nominations, the Broadway revival of Hair, Brooklyn The Musical, and The Full Monty.
The three will join a cast that currently includes Sharon Sachs as Madame Morrible, Amanda Fallon Smith as Nessarose, Tom Flynn as Doctor Dillamond, Curt Hansen as Fiyero, and DJ Plunkett as Boq.
The ensemble features Natalia Vivino, Travante S. Baker, Jake Bevens, Kerry Blanchard, Jordan Casanova, Matt Densky, Ryan Patrick Farrell, Sarah Anne Fernandez, Nick Gaswirth, Sara Gonzales, Kelly Lafarga, Megan Loomis, Mattie Love, Micaela Martinez, Alida Michal, Hayden Milanes, Jennafer Newberry, Alicia Newcom, Jackie Raye, Andy Richardson, Wayne Schroder, Brandon Stonestreet, Ben Susak, Aidan Wharton, and Justin Wirick.
Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, the Joe Mantello-helmed musical, featuring a score by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman, opened on Broadway in 2003. Wicked is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt, and David Stone.
