Wicked: Lindsay Mendez to play Elphaba

Lindsay Mendez will play the lead role of 'Elphaba' in the Broadway company of Wicked from 28 May 2013. Mendez will assume the role from Willemijn Verkaik who will play her final performance on 26 May 2013.

Mendez has previously worked with both the composer and director of Wicked, having appeared in the 2011 Broadway revival of Stephen Schwartz's 'Godspell,' and, more recently in the Off-Broadway musical, 'Dogfight,' staged by Wicked director Joe Mantello.

The Broadway musical Wicked opened at the Gershwin Theatre on 30 Oct 2003, following previews from 8 Oct 2003 and is currently selling tickets through to 05 Jan 2014.

Long before Dorothy drops in, two other girls meet in the land of Oz. One, born with emerald-green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. Wicked tells the story of their remarkable odyssey, how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch.

The musical currently stars Willemijn Verkaik (Elphaba), Katie Rose Clarke (Glinda), Adam Grupper (The Wizard), Randy Danson (Madame Morrible), Kyle Dean Massey (Fiyero), Catherine Charlebois (Nessarose), Tom Flynn (Doctor Dillamond) and F. Michael Haynie (Boq).

Wicked has music & lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, book by Winnie Holzman, based on the novel by Gregory Maguire.

The musical is directed by Joe Mantello, with choreography by James Lynn Abbott, scene design by Eugene Lee, costumes by Susan Hilferty, lighting by Kenneth Posner and sound by Tony Meola.

Lindsay Mendez