Brittney Johnson makes history February 14 when she takes over the role of Glinda in the international hit musical Wicked at Broadway's Gershwin Theatre. Recently the Glinda standby, Johnson is the first Black actor to assume the role of Glinda full-time.
Johnson, who has also appeared on Broadway in Les Misérables, Motown, Sunset Boulevard, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, and Kristin Chenoweth: For the Girls, succeeds Amanda Jane Cooper.
READ: Brittney Johnson Reflects on Her Wicked Return to the Broadway Stage
The Broadway company also welcomes Sharon Sachs February 14. Sachs, who recently played Madame Morrible in the national tour of Wicked, now steps into the same role at the Gershwin. She succeeds two-time Tony winner Judy Kaye, recently seen in Diana The Musical, who briefly returned as Morrible February 2.
The cast also features Lindsay Pearce as Elphaba, Michael McCormick as The Wizard, Sam Gravitte as Fiyero, Mili Diaz as Nessarose, Jordan Barrow as Boq, and Michael X. Martin as Doctor Dillamond.
Since opening October 30, 2003, Wicked has been performed in over 100 cities in 16 countries. In October 2019, the international hit musical surpassed Les Misérables to become the fifth longest-running production in Broadway history.
READ: 11 Elphabas Reflect on Playing Broadway's Not-So-Wicked Witch
Wicked, 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.
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.
