Lucy St. Louis, the first Black actor ever to play the role of Christine Daaé in the London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, takes over the role of Glinda in the West End's Wicked March 7 at the Apollo Victoria Theatre.
That same evening Alexia Khadime returns to the role of Elphaba: St. Louis and Khadime are making history—it is the first time the London production's two leading roles are both played by actors of color.
Caitlin Anderson also makes her West End debut as Nessarose, and recent ensemble cast member Joe Thompson-Oubari takes over the role of Boq.
The company is also led by Ryan Reid as Fiyero, Sophie-Louise Dann as Madame Morrible, Mark Curry as The Wizard, Simeon Truby as Doctor Dillamond, Amy Webb as standby for Elphaba, and Lisa-Anne Wood as standby for Glinda, with Yuki Abe, Kofi Aidoo-Appiah, Conor Ashman, Jessica Aubrey, Joshua Clemetson, Fergus Dale, Effie Rae Dyson, Nicola Espallardo, Danny Fogarty, Ross Harmon, Kate Leiper, Nick Len, Jemima Loddy, Joshua Lovell, PaddyJoe Martin, Millie Mayhew, Harry Mills, Daniel Parrott, Aiesha Naomi Pease, Jeanie Ryan, Natalie Spriggs, James Titchener, Micaela Todd, Christine Tucker, Jaydon Vijn, and Taela Yeomans-Brown.
Lucie Jones (Elphaba), Helen Woolf (Glinda), Carina Gillespie (Nessarose), Nicholas McLean (Boq), Meg Astin, Alishia-Marie Blake, Pàje Campbell, Michael Colbourne, Nolan Edwards, Laura Harrison, Amie Hibbert, Lucie Horsfall, Samuel How, Christian Knight, Jasmine Leung, Maggie Lynne, Rhidian Marc, Jessica-Alice McCluskey, Stacey McGuire, Lewis Newton, and Samantha Thomas all played their final performances in the West End production March 5.
With music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman, the musical 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.
The hit Broadway production of Wicked continues at the Gershwin Theatre.
Ryan Reid and Alexia Khadime
Lucy St. Louis
Lucy St. Louis
Lucy St. Louis and Alexia Khadime
Joe Thompson Oubari
Caitlin Anderson
Alexia Khadime
