I’d Do Anything contestant and former We Will Rock You star Rachel Tucker will be turning a delightful shade of green this spring when she takes over in the role of Elphaba in hit musical Wicked from 29 March.
Tucker is joined in the cast by Louise Dearman, who is to replace Diane Pilkington as Glinda.
Tucker, who most recently played Meat in the West End production of Queen musical We Will Rock You, may have been brought to the public’s attention by the 2008 reality TV casting show I’d Do Anything, but she had previously garnered a wealth of theatrical experience. Her credits included Merry Christmas Betty Ford and The Wizard Of Oz at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast and UK tours of The Full Monty, Tommy and Tonight’s The Night.
Dearman, who is currently playing Cinderella in Milton Keynes, has played the leads in UK tours of Evita, Guys And Dolls and Jekyll And Hyde
Additional changes to the cast, which currently includes Harriett Thorpe, Sam Kelly and Oliver Tompsett, are expected to be announced shortly.
Wicked, which transferred to London in 2006 following tremendous success on Broadway, is set in L Frank Baum’s imagined world of Oz. It tells the story of how a young girl named Elphaba, born with unnaturally green skin, became known as the Wicked Witch Of The West.
The show, which features music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, has won over 30 awards worldwide and has now been seen by more than 2.5 million theatregoers at London’s Apollo Victoria theatre.
MA