After the Success of the Movie, Wicked Has Found Broadway’s First Black Elphaba

With a second movie on the way, evil Soon—and now the train isn’t slowing down John M. ChuIts hit film influenced ticket sales for major Broadway features. Not only that, but now the first cast of the stage production musical is Black Elphaba.

Starting March 4, musical theater enthusiasts and movie fans who go to see the show live on Broadway will see the debut of Lencia Kebed as Elphaba Throop in the tale of the Wicked Witch of the West.

Kebede will be the first full-time principal cast member who is a black woman to play Elphaba on Broadway, although black performers such as Sekon Sengbloh And Brandi Massey has stepped in to play Elphaba in past productions—and black performers have similarly portrayed her throughout her time in the show’s British home in London’s West End.

This casting has been a long time coming and followed Cynthia Erivore Universal Pictures took revelations on the character for the film.

Before that, the Broadway show cast Brittany Johnson as the first black woman to play Glinda in 2022; He has been an understudy for the role since 2019.

Joining the cast in 2025 is Ally Trim, taking over the role opposite Kebed popular The 2024 film starred Ariana Grande. Kebede came into the run as Angelica Schuyler in Lin-Manuel Miranda Hamilton to play Elphaba, while Trim steps into the role after being a featured standby for Glinda since 2021.

Take a look at the casting announcement below Wicked: The MusicalIts official YouTube.

Wicked: The Musical Currently playing on Broadway. evil The movie is out in theaters now and Digital. And Evil: For good Opens this Thanksgiving.

Update: This post has been updated to note that black performers have played the role of Elphaba on Broadway in the past, making Kebede the first full-time cast member to take on the role.

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