Wicked - Tom McGowan joins cast as The Wizard
Casting news
THE first official London cast photographs of Broadway star Tom McGowan as The Wizard have been released. Check them out.
Previously Posted: On Monday, September 21, 2015, American stage, television and film actor Tom McGowan will make his West End stage debut when he takes over the role of The Wizard in the hit musical Wicked, which is currently booking at the Apollo Victoria Theatre until April 30, 2016.
He will continue in the role until Saturday, March 12, 2016.
Tom McGowan has been playing The Wizard in various North American productions of Wicked to great acclaim since 2009, including three separate engagements at the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway.
His other Broadway credits include Bessie in Harvey Fierstein’s Casa Valentina, directed by Joe Mantello; Amos Hart in Chicago; Anton Chekhov’s Ivanov, adapted by David Hare; and the original production of David Hirson’s La Bête, for which he received Tony® and Drama Desk Award nominations for Best Actor in a Play.
Off-Broadway, he won an OBIE Award for his performance as Otto in Nicky Silver’s The Food Chain.
His many television appearances include recurring roles as KACL Station Manager Kenny Daly in Frasier; Bernie in Everybody Loves Raymond and Joe in The War at Home; while guest starring roles include Veep, Modern Family, Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters, CSI, Hot in Cleveland, ER and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
His film credits include The Birdcage, Heavyweights, Ghost World, Bad Santa, As Good As It Gets, Bean, The Family Man, Twelve and Holding and Sleepless in Seattle.
Tom McGowan said: “I am thrilled to be invited to make my West End stage debut in Wicked playing the role that has been such a huge and fulfilling part of my career on Broadway and across North America at various times since 2009. I look forward to meeting and working with the amazing London cast.”
And Executive Producer (UK) Michael McCabe said: “We are absolutely delighted that the wonderful Tom McGowan will be recreating his acclaimed Broadway performance as The Wizard in the West End production of Wicked, and we very much look forward to welcoming him to the Apollo Victoria Theatre in September.”
From Monday, September 21, 2015, Wicked will star: Emma Hatton (as Elphaba), Savannah Stevenson (Glinda), Oliver Savile (Fiyero), Liza Sadovy (Madame Morrible), Tom McGowan (The Wizard), Sean Kearns (Doctor Dillamond), Daniel Hope (Boq), Katie Rowley Jones (Nessarose), Natalie Andreou (Standby for Elphaba) and Carina Gillespie (Standby for Glinda).
Completing the cast will be Chloe Ames, Nicholas Collier, Laura Emmitt, Kerry Enright, Oliver Evans, Freya Field, Joseph Fletcher, Rosie Fletcher, David Gale, Sergio Giacomelli, Sheila Grant, Chester Hayes, Lauren James Ray, Aaron Jenkins, Jasmine Kerr, Natalie McQueen, Billy Mitchell, Scott Monello, Kane Oliver Parry, Steph Parry, Julienne Schembri, Paulo Teixeira, Joe Toland, Hannah Toy, Russell Walker and Helen Woolf.
Wicked tells the incredible untold story of an unlikely but profound friendship between two girls who first meet as sorcery students at Shiz University: the blonde and very popular Glinda and a misunderstood green girl named Elphaba. Following an encounter with The Wizard, their friendship reaches a crossroads and their lives take very different paths. Glinda’s unflinching desire for popularity sees her seduced by power while Elphaba’s determination to remain true to herself, and to those around her, will have unexpected and shocking consequences for her future.
Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfil their destinies as Glinda The Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.