Lencia Kebede, the first Black actor to play the role of Elphaba full-time in Wicked on Broadway, will exit Oz this spring. Both Kebede and her Glinda, Allie Trimm, will play their final performance March 1.
Both took to social media January 9 to reveal the news of their departure. Wrote Kebede, "I can’t really begin to talk about how I feel about this life-changing year of my life or else I’ll prob throw up and die, but anyways this is a PSA that my last show in Wicked is MARCH 1ST friends. SUNDAY, MARCH THE FIRST. COME THRU. And don’t say I didn’t tell you okay."
READ: Wicked's Lencia Kebede and Jenna Bainbridge Are Through Accepting Limits
Wicked began previews on Broadway October 8, 2003, with an official opening October 30. Currently the fourth longest-running show in Broadway history, the production celebrated its 20th anniversary in October 2023.
With music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman, is based on the novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire.
The Joe Mantello-helmed production features musical staging by Wayne Cilento, scenic design by Eugene Lee, costume design by Susan Hilferty, lighting design by Kenneth Posner, sound design by Tony Meola, projections by Elaine J. McCarthy, wig and hair design by Tom Watson, music supervision and arrangements by Stephen Oremus, orchestrations by William David Brohn, and dance arrangements by James Lynn Abbott. Casting is by the Telsey Office.
Video: To Play Elphaba, Wicked's Lencia Kebede Wears a Braided Wig Inspired by Cynthia Erivo
Wicked won 2004 Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical (Menzel), Best Costume Design (Hilferty), and Best Scenic Design (Lee). The musical, which reopened on Broadway September 14, 2021, following the pandemic shutdown, is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Stage Productions, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt, and David Stone.
The the two-part Wicked film adaptation, directed by Jon M. Chu, won two 2025 Academy Awards for part one. Award season is pending for the second installment.
Click here to purchase tickets to Wicked.
Lencia Kebede and company of Wicked
Allie Trimm, Lencia Kebede, and company of Wicked
Lencia Kebede and Allie Trimm in Wicked
Allie Trimm in Wicked
Lencia Kebede and Jenna Bainbridge in Wicked
Jordan Litz, Allie Trimm, and company of Wicked
Company of Wicked
Allie Trimm, Lencia Kebede, and company of Wicked
Allie Trimm, Lencia Kebede, and company of Wicked
Allie Trimm and Lencia Kebede in Wicked
Allie Trimm in Wicked
Jodan Litz, Allie Trimm, NaTasha Yvette Williams, and company of Wicked
Jenna Bainbridge in Wicked
Allie Trimm and Lencia Kebede in Wicked
Lencia Kebede in Wicked
Lencia Kebede in Wicked
NaTasha Yvette Williams in Wicked
Daniel Quadrino in Wicked
Jordan Litz in Wicked
Brad Oscar in Wicked
William Youmans in Wicked
