Idina Menzel to Star in London’s Wicked

Idina Menzel will reprise her Tony-winning performance as the green-faced Elphaba in the upcoming West End production of Stephen Schwartz’s hit musical Wicked.

The musical, which is currently playing Broadway, Chicago and a national tour, will officially open at London’s Victoria Apollo — currently host to Billy Joel’s Movin’ Out — on Sept. 27. Previews are set to begin Sept. 7.

Menzel, who will appear in the West End version of the show until the New Year, won the 2004 Best Leading Actress in a Musical Tony for her portrayal as Elphaba, the not-so-wicked witch who begins an unlikely friendship with her schoolmate Glinda.

The musical offers a prequel vision of the iconic 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz.” Based on Gregory Maguire’s novel, Winnie Holzman’s book for Wicked explores the early life of the witches of Oz: Glinda and Elphaba. The two main characters meet at Shiz, a school where both hope to take up sorcery. Glinda is madly popular and Elphaba is, well, green. By a misunderstanding, they wind up roommates and, after an initial period of mutual loathing, begin to learn something about each other. Their life paths continue to intersect through a shared love, entry into the Emerald City and interaction with the Wizard himself. Eventually, their choices and convictions take them on widely different paths.

Idina Menzel won a Tony Award for Leading Actress in a Musical for her work as Elphaba in Wicked. She created the role of Maureen in the original Broadway company of Rent, and her other theatrical credits include the City Center Encores! production of Hair, the Manhattan Theatre Club The Wild Party, the Public Theater’s See What I Wanna See and the benefit Funny Girl concert. Menzel’s film credits include “Ask the Dust” and “Rent.”

No further casting for the West End version of Wicked has been announced.