Full winter cast announced for Wicked London

Wicked, the long-running hit West End musical that tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz, has announced that Savannah Stevenson (Glinda), Jeremy Taylor (Fiyero), Sue Kelvin (Madame Morrible) and Olivier award-winning actor Paul Clarkson (Doctor Dillamond) will join international Wicked star Willemijn Verkaik (Elphaba) in the new London cast at the Apollo Victoria Theatre from Monday 18 November 2013.

Sam Kelly will return to play The Wizard, a role he previously played in 2009/2010.  Katie Rowley Jones (Nessarose) and Sam Lupton (Boq) will continue in their current starring roles. Emma Hatton will be Standby Elphaba and current ensemble cast member Sophie Linder-Lee will become Standby Glinda.

Louise Dearman (Elphaba), Gina Beck (Glinda), Ben Freeman (Fiyero), Harriet Thorpe (Madame Morrible), Keith Bartlett (The Wizard), Christopher Howell (Doctor Dillamond), Hayley Gallivan (Standby Elphaba) and Lucy van Gasse (Standby Glinda) will all play their final performances on Saturday 16 November 2013.

Savannah Stevenson (Glinda) has most recently been playing ‘Sybil Evers’ in Chariots of Fire at the Gielgud Theatre, directed by Edward Hall. Her other theatre appearances include: Cowardy Custard (UK Tour); Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Aspects of Love (Menier Chocolate Factory), directed by Trevor Nunn; The Secret Garden (West Yorkshire Playhouse); Simply Cinderella (Leicester Curve); Gone With The Wind (New London Theatre), directed by Trevor Nunn; The Wings of the Dove (UK Tour); Follies (Royal & Derngate, Northampton); Mary Poppins (Prince Edward Theatre), directed by Richard Eyre; Our Miss Gibbs (Finborough Theatre) and She Stoops To Conquer (Hampton Court Palace). Her film and television appearances include: The New Testament; Casualty; Twentiet h Century Greats; Playing the Field and Peak Practice. Savannah trained at the Guildford School of Acting.

Jeremy Taylor (Fiyero) is currently appearing in the Queen/Ben Elton musical We Will Rock You (Dominion Theatre). Upon graduating from the Guildford School of Acting, Jeremy joined the cast of the Andrew Lloyd Webber production of The Sound of Music (London Palladium). He was subsequently cast as ‘Rolf’ for the musical’s hugely successful national tour. He also appeared in the national tour of Evita.

Sue Kelvin  (Madame Morrible) enjoyed a long and much acclaimed run as ‘Mama Morton’ in Chicago at both the Adelphi Theatre and Cambridge Theatre and also played the role at the 10th Anniversary Gala. Prior to joining Wicked, she will be playing ‘Louise’ in Jonathan Kent’s revival of Private Lives at the Gielgud Theatre. Her other major theatre credits include: Travelling Light, directed by Nicholas Hytner, and A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by Trevor Nunn (both at the National Theatre); ‘Golde’ in Fiddler on the Roof (Savoy Theatre) directed by Lindsay Posner; Steven Berkoff’s Sit and Shiver (New End and Hackney Empire); ‘Widow Corney’ in Oliver! (London Palladium) directed by Sam Mendes; Assassins (Donmar Warehouse) directed by Sam Mendes and ‘Madame Thenardier’ in Les Miserables (Palace Theatre). Her television and film credits include: Silent Witness; Doctors; The Legend of Dick & Dom; Love Soup; Dr Who; Keen Eddie; Couplin; London Bridge; Red Dwarf III; Reuniting the Rubens; Song of Songs and Anxiety.

Sam Kelly (The Wizard) returns to the West End production of Wicked where he previously played The Wizard from May 2009 to March 2010. Since the early 70s, Sam has been one of the UK’s most popular comic actors, appearing in many long-running television series including: Porridge; ‘Allo, ‘Allo; Now and Then; Haggard; On The Up; Holding On and Barbara with Gwen Taylor. His more recent appearances include: The Charles Dickens Show; Outnumbered; My Family; Magic Grandad and the film Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang. Sam has worked frequently with the director Mike Leigh, appearing in the films Grown-Ups, Topsy-Turvy, All or Nothing and A Running Jump and on stage, at the National Theatre, in Grief with Lesley Manville. His numerous other theatre roles include: ‘Senex’ in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (National Theatre), directed by Edward Hall, and ‘Herbert Soppitt’ in J.B. Priestley’s When We Are Married (Garrick Theatre) opposite Maureen Lipman, directed by Christopher Luscombe.

Paul Clarkson (Doctor Dillamond) created the role of ‘Harry Bright’ in the original London production of Mamma Mia! at the Prince Edward Theatre, directed by Phyllida Lloyd. He won an Olivier Award as ‘Best Actor in a Musical’ for his performance as ‘John Tallentire’ in the West End premiere of Howard Goodall and Melvyn Bragg’s acclaimed musical The Hired Man, directed by David Gilmore. Amongst his many television roles, he is best known as ‘Graham Carpenter’ in Hollyoaks; footballer ‘Keith Nichol’ in two series of Channel 4’s The Manageress with Cherie Lunghi, and, early in his career, as ‘Mr Christian’ in Tripper’s Day with Leonard Rossiter.


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