West End vs. Broadway: Wicked — Two Elphabas Defying Gravity

As citizens of Oz get ready to rejoicify with the release of the long-overdue film adaptation of Wicked, we thought we’d take the opportunity to pair up “the greatest team there’s ever been” for a special episode of West End vs Broadway.

The role of Elphaba is one of the most coveted — and most challenging — in musical theater today, and we were lucky enough to welcome New York’s Mary Kate Morrissey and London’s Alexia Khadime for this Emerald-infused edition of our transatlantic tête-à-tête, in partnership with our sister site, WhatsOnStage.

Watch our video with these two talented members of the “green sisterhood” below:

Wicked is currently the 10th-longest-running show in West End history, and the fourth-longest-running on Broadway. The musical, which has received over 100 global awards, features music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman.

Directed by Joe Mantello, with musical staging by Wayne Cilento, it is based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, which offers a unique perspective on the characters from L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Wicked is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Stage Productions, The Araca Group, Jon B Platt, and David Stone, with Michael McCabe serving as the executive producer for the UK production. Scenic design is by Eugene Lee, costumes by Susan Hilferty, lighting by Kenneth Posner, sound by Tony Meola, projection designs by Elaine J McCarthy and hair and wig designs by Tom Watson. Music arrangements are by Alex Lacamoire and Stephen Oremus, with dance arrangements by James Lynn Abbott, orchestrations by William David Brohn, and musical supervision by Oremus.