Wicked UK Tour: Meet the cast!

After months of speculation and rumours it has finally been announced who will star in the UK touring production of Wicked! Former West End cast members Nikki Davis-Jones, Emily Tierney and George Ure will star as Elphaba, Glinda and Boq respectively. Also heading the forthcoming tour cast will be Liam Doyle as Fiyero, Marilyn Cutts as Madame Morrible, Dale Rapley as The Wizard and Doctor Dillamond, Carina Gillespie as Nessarose and Jemma Alexander as Standby Elphaba. Meet the cast below!

Nikki Davis-Jones (Elphaba) previously played ‘Elphaba’ in Wicked at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre where as ‘Standby’ she performed the role on hundreds of occasions. Her many other theatre credits include: ‘Maureen’ in the 20th Anniversary concert tour of Rent with Kerry Ellis; the new musical LIFT (Soho Theatre); ‘Wendy’ in Peter Pan (Liverpool Empire); ‘Serena’ in Fame The Musical (UK Tour); the Take That musical Never Forget (West End); ‘Anna’ in ASAP (Liverpool Unity Theatre); ‘Lisa’ in Mamma Mia! (West End) and ‘Linda’ in Blood Brothers (West End). She also appeared in the film adaptation of Mamma Mia.

Emily Tierney (Glinda) appeared in the London production of Wicked and subsequently starred as ‘Glinda’ in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s production of The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium alongside ‘Over The Rainbow’ winner Danielle Hope. Emily’s other theatre credits include: ‘Sally’ in All the Fun of the Fair (Garrick Theatre); ‘Maria’ in West Side Story (Barbican) and Titanic - The Musical (Shaw Theatre). Film credits includes: ‘Ellie’ in John Carter of Mars and ‘Alice’ in Kate Modern. Television includes: ‘Lydia Harrison’ in Push and Do It in Style and Eva Roderick in New Tricks. Emily trained at Mountview.

Liam Doyle (Fiyero) first came to prominence when he entered and won the nationwide talent search hosted by GMTV to find an actor to play ‘Troy Bolton’ in the stage version of High School Musical 2. He performed the role all over the country for the next 12 months. He has subsequently gone on to star as ‘Link Larkin’ in Hairspray (UK Tour) opposite Michael Ball; ‘Shane Gray’ in Disney’s Camp Rock (Dubai) and ‘Ricky Nelson’ in Rock & Roll Heaven (UK Tour). Liam recently made his West End debut playing ‘Eddie’ in Mamma Mia! at the Novello Theatre and will shortly be seen in the new musical Carnival of Animals at Riverside Studios.

Marilyn Cutts (Madame Morrible) is currently starring as ‘Mother Lord’ in the UK tour of High Society. A founding member of Fascinating Aida, Marilyn’s many theatre roles include: ‘Mrs Potts’ in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (UK Tour); ‘Mrs Sowerberry’ in Oliver! (London Palladium), directed by Sam Mendes; ‘Armina’ in Oklahoma! (National Theatre), directed by Trevor Nunn; the ‘Doormouse’ and the ‘White Queen’ in Alice In Wonderland (RSC); ‘Mme de Rosemonde’ in Adam Cooper’s production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses and ‘Helena Landless’ in the original London production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Marilyn recently appeared in Tom Hooper’s film of Les Misérables (Working Title/Cameron Mackintosh).

Dale Rapley (The Wizard and Doctor Dillamond) has recently starred as ‘Horace Vandergelder’ opposite Janie Dee in Hello Dolly! and ‘Louis Leplee’ in Piaf with Frances Ruffelle, both at the Leicester Curve. He has played both ‘Bill Austin’ and ‘Harry Bright’ in Mamma Mia! (West End and International Tour) and starred in productions at Shakespeare’s Globe; the Open Air Theatre Regent’s Park; the Young Vic; West Yorkshire Playhouse; the RSC and is currently appearing in Ostrovsky’s Larisa and the Merchants at the Arcola. His many television credits include: Doctors; Poirot; Spooks; Silent Witness; Aquila and Eastenders.

Carina Gillespie (Nessarose) starred as ‘Sandy’ in the most recent national tour of Grease, opposite Danny Bayne. Carina also played the role in the West End (Piccadilly Theatre) and on a previous national tour. Her other appearances include: ‘Linda’ in Bloodbath The Musical (Edinburgh Festival), with Siobhan McCarthy and Anthony Costa, and ‘Maria Elena’ in Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story on tour in the UK and Scandinavia.

George Ure (Boq) trained at Mountview and upon graduating he made his West End debut in Wicked at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre. He subsequently took over the role of ‘Boq’ and enjoyed a 3-year stay with the hit musical. He then went on to tour Europe in the Arena production of Hair. His TV and film appearances include: Britannia High (ITV); Don’t Stop Me Now (Sky One); and Guns on the Table (Out and Out Films). He recently appeared as a vocalist in Rod Stewarts’s Christmas (ITV).

Jemma Alexander (Standby Elphaba) recently played ‘Joanne’ in the 20th Anniversary concert tour of Rent alongside Nikki Davis-Jones and made West End debut in Lend Me A Tenor The Musical at the Gielgud Theatre, directed by Ian Talbot. Jemma’s other theatre credits include: A Tale of Two Cities (Charing Cross Theatre); Tommy (English Theatre, Frankfurt) and The Full Monty (New Players Theatre).

The UK & Ireland Tour will visit: Manchester Palace Theatre (12 September to 16 November 2013), Dublin Bord Gáis Energy Theatre (27 November 2013 to 18 January 2014), Milton Keynes Theatre (4 February to 8 March 2014), Wales Millennium Centre (12 March to 26 April 2014), Glasgow King’s Theatre (6 May to 31 May 2014), Leeds Grand Theatre (10 June to 5 July 2014) and Birmingham Hippodrome (9 July to 6 September 2014 / online booking opens 10 June 2013).

Official UK & Ireland Tour website: www.WickedTheMusical.co.uk

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