The Broadway sensation Wicked will welcome new cast members to its National Tour, starting performances on Tuesday, February 7, 2023, at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando, FL.
**Timothy Shew (The Wizard)** joins the Wicked family, bringing an impressive resume that includes the original company of Les Misérables on Broadway, where he played Jean Valjean for six years. He has also performed leading and featured roles in productions like Funny Girl, The Visit, Evita, Bye Bye Birdie, Wonderful Town, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Sunset Boulevard, and Guys and Dolls. His touring credits include The Light in the Piazza and Hello, Dolly! Timothy was a soloist for the Grammy-nominated Bernstein Mass Project at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and The Vatican. On television, he has appeared in “Madame Secretary,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “FBI: Most Wanted,” and “Ryan’s Hope.”
**Boise Holmes (Doctor Dillamond)** is an actor, singer, writer, voiceover artist, and licensed minister from Los Angeles. His Broadway and National Tour credits include Tonton in Once on This Island and Mufasa in Disney’s The Lion King (Germany). Boise has also been featured on television in “NCIS,” “Law & Order,” “Chicago Fire,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” and “Blackish.” He is known as Exxon Mobil’s “Mr. Supremium” and is a NAACP/Ovation Award winner.
**Tara Kostmayer (Nessarose)** will be joining the Wicked National Tour after recently performing in Disney’s Aladdin. Off-Broadway, she appeared in the NYCC Encores! production of A Chorus Line. Her other credits include Chicago (The MUNY), Pride and Prejudice (TheatreWorks Silicon Valley), and Ojo (La Jolla Playhouse).
**Kyle McArthur (Boq)** is thrilled to join his first National Tour with Wicked. He originated the role of Simon in the Off-Broadway musical Superhero at Second Stage and the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. His television credits include roles in Showtime’s “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels” and HBO’s “The Deuce.”
**Christian Thompson (Fiyero)** is fulfilling a childhood dream by joining Wicked. Hailing from Ft. Lauderdale, he has appeared in Thoughts of a Colored Man, Ain’t Too Proud (Original Broadway Company and First National Tour), and toured in the Rent 20th Anniversary Tour (Benny and Roger understudy). His regional credits include the world premiere of The Devil Wears Prada and Catch Me If You Can at Arena Stage.
They join a cast that currently includes Lissa deGuzman as Elphaba, Jennafer Newberry as Glinda, Natalie Venetia Belcon as Madame Morrible, and a talented ensemble featuring Emily Kristen Morris, Alexia Acebo, Jennifer Mariela Bermeo, Remmie Bourgeois, Kyle Brown, Anthony Lee Bryant, Matt Densky, Marie Eife, Jenny Florkowski, Sara Gonzales, Chelsea Cree Groen, Courtney Iventosch, Kelly Lafarga, Marina Lazzaretto, Ryan Mac, Brittany Marcell Monachino, David Scott Purdy, Jackie Raye, Andy Richardson, Jenna Nicole Schoen, Derek Schiesel, Wayne Schroder, Paul Schwensen, Ben Susak, Brion Marquis Watson, and Justin Wirick.
Currently the fifth longest-running show in Broadway history, Wicked has won over 100 international awards, including a Grammy and three Tony Awards. Since its 2003 opening, it has been performed in more than 100 cities across 16 countries (U.S., Canada, UK, Ireland, Japan, Germany, Holland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, the Philippines, Mexico, Brazil, Switzerland, and China) and translated into six languages: Japanese, German, Dutch, Spanish, Korean, and Portuguese. Wicked has been seen by over 60 million people worldwide and has generated over $5 billion in global sales.
In addition to the Broadway production, Wicked in North America has enjoyed record-breaking runs in Chicago (nearly four years), Los Angeles (two years), San Francisco (nearly two years), and two North American Tours.
Wicked tells the story of what happened in the Land of Oz from a different perspective. Long before Dorothy’s arrival, another young woman with emerald-green skin, smart, fiery, and misunderstood, forms an unlikely friendship with a popular bubbly blonde. Their rivalry turns into a deep friendship until the world labels one as “good” and the other as “wicked.”
Featuring a thrilling score with hits like “Defying Gravity,” “Popular,” and “For Good,” Wicked has been hailed by The New York Times as “the defining musical of the decade,” by Time Magazine as “a magical Broadway musical with brains, heart, and courage,” and by NBC Nightly News as “the most successful Broadway show ever.”
Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. The production is directed by Tony Award winner Joe Mantello with musical staging by Tony Award winner Wayne Cilento. Wicked is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Stage Productions, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt, and David Stone.