The release of Wicked: For Good on November 21 marked Cynthia Erivo’s return to the powerhouse role of Elphaba. Erivo’s performance earned her a historic second consecutive Golden Globe nomination, making her the first Black woman nominated twice in that category for the same role. Here’s a look back at all the actresses who played Elphaba on Broadway.
Idina Menzel
October 30, 2003, to January 9, 2005
Menzel originated the role of Elphaba on Broadway, winning the 2004 Tony Award for best actress in a musical for her performance. During her penultimate performance, she fell through a trapdoor on stage and cracked a rib, ending her run as Elphaba one night early. Famously, the injured Menzel appeared at the end of the show the next day in a red tracksuit to bid farewell to the Broadway production. She went on to originate the role in the West End production in 2006.
Shoshana Bean
January 11, 2005, to January 8, 2006
Bean became the first official Broadway replacement for the role of Elphaba. She first joined the show as the standby for the character. In 2025, Bean won a Grammy Award as a member of the company of Hell’s Kitchen on Broadway. She was most recently seen on Broadway in Sunset Blvd., guest starring as Norma Desmond at certain performances.
Eden Espinosa
January 10, 2006, to October 8, 2006
Espinosa was the first Elphaba standby on Broadway. She returned to the role numerous times, including stints in Los Angeles and San Francisco, in addition to her time leading the show on Broadway.
Ana Gasteyer
October 10, 2006, to January 9, 2007
Gasteyer was the original Elphaba in the Chicago cast from July 13, 2005, to January 24, 2006, and played the role on Broadway for a 13-week limited engagement. She is best known for the six years she spent on Saturday Night Live.
Julia Murney
January 9, 2007, to October 7, 2007
Murney starred as Elphaba in the national touring company of Wicked prior to joining the Broadway cast. At the time, her notoriety in the industry came mostly from her performances on the Broadway charity circuit, rather than in traditional productions.
Stephanie J. Block
October 9, 2007, to June 15, 2008
Stephanie J. Block first played Elphaba during the early development of Wicked, portraying the role in workshops. Block went on to originate the role of Elphaba on the first national tour in 2005. In 2019, she won the Tony Award for best leading actress in a musical for her performance as Star in The Cher Show. She married Sebastian Arcelus, who played Fiyero alongside her Elphaba in the first national tour of Wicked in 2006.
Kerry Ellis
June 17, 2008, to November 9, 2008
Ellis was the first British Elphaba in the West End production, taking over the role from Idina Menzel in January 2007. She also became the first Elphaba to transfer from the West End to Broadway.
Marcie Dodd
November 11, 2008, to January 14, 2009
Dodd began her journey with Wicked on December 5, 2006, when she became a part of the ensemble of the first national tour, covering Elphaba and Nessarose. She ended her journey with Wicked playing Elphaba in the San Francisco company on September 5, 2010.
Nicole Parker
January 16, 2009, to July 21, 2009
Parker, known for her work on the sketch comedy show Mad TV, took on the role of Elphaba in 2009. After her six-month engagement on Broadway, Parker returned to the role of Elphaba in the first national tour on May 18, 2012 and reunited with her Glinda from Broadway, Alli Mauzey.
Dee Roscioli
July 21, 2009, to March 23, 2010
Roscioli has portrayed Elphaba on Broadway, on the first national tour, in Chicago, and in San Francisco. She is best known for her record-breaking seven-year run as Elphaba in Wicked, playing the role more than any other actress across multiple productions.
Mandy Gonzalez
March 23, 2010, to January 30, 2011
After originating the role of Nina in In the Heights, Gonzalez joined Wicked on Broadway. In 2016, she joined the cast of Hamilton on Broadway as Angelica Schuyler, exiting the role in 2022.
Teal Wicks
February 1, 2011, to September 25, 2011
Wicks made her Broadway debut as Elphaba in February 2011 after leading the Los Angeles and San Francisco companies of Wicked. In 2018, she originated the role of Lady in The Cher Show on Broadway, playing the role opposite fellow former Elphaba, Stephanie J. Block. She is currently playing Anne Hathaway in & Juliet on Broadway.
Jackie Burns
September 27, 2011, to February 10, 2013
July 31, 2017, to July 16, 2018
Burns is Broadway’s longest-running Elphaba in Wicked, playing over 1,300 performances. She returned to the role on Broadway in July 2017 and ended her run the following year.
Willemijn Verkaik
February 12, 2013, to May 26, 2013
Verkaik has played Elphaba in Wicked more than any other actress, performing the role over 2,000 times and being the only actress to play her in three different languages. She has played Elphaba in Germany, the Netherlands, on Broadway, and on London’s West End.
Lindsay Mendez
May 26, 2013, to February 22, 2014
Mendez played the role of Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway for the 10th anniversary of the show. In 2018, she won the Tony Award for best performance by an actress in a featured role in a musical for her performance as Carrie Pipperidge in the Broadway revival of Carousel.
Christine Dwyer
February 25, 2014, to December 16, 2014
Dwyer and Jenni Barber were guest stars on Project Runway: All Stars for the challenge of “Good vs. Wicked” in the Glinda and Elphaba costumes. Dwyer returned to the role on Broadway in February 2015 for a limited time, while Dwyer’s Elphaba successor, Caroline Bowman, underwent surgery.
Caroline Bowman
December 16, 2014, to September 13, 2015
Bowman first joined Wicked in 2011 understudying the role of Elphaba. Three years later, she became the principal Elphaba on Broadway. Bowman has gone on to originate the role of Karen in Smash on Broadway.
Rachel Tucker
September 15, 2015, to August 1, 2016
Tucker is best known for playing Elphaba in Wicked for more than 1,000 performances on both the West End and Broadway. She is one of the longest-running Elphabas in the show’s history. Primarily an actress in London’s West End, Tucker has also appeared on Broadway in The Last Ship and Come From Away.
Jennifer DiNoia
August 1, 2016, to July 31, 2017
After first beginning her Wicked journey with Elphaba in Chicago in 2007, DiNoia made her debut as the full-time Elphaba on Broadway in 2016. She’s a constant in the world of Wicked, having returned multiple times for brief runs over the years and performing stints as Elphaba in Asia, Australia, and London.
Jessica Vosk
July 16, 2018, to May 14, 2019
Vosk played Elphaba on both the national tour of Wicked and in the Broadway production, which she joined after a successful career on Wall Street. She will return to Broadway this spring to star in the musical adaptation of Beaches.
Hannah Corneau
May 14, 2019, to February 25, 2020
Corneau made her Broadway debut performing the role of Elphaba. She had previously performed as Yitzhak on the first national tour of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
Lindsay Pearce
February 25, 2020, to May 24, 2022
Pearce made her Broadway debut as Elphaba in February 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. She returned to the role in September 2021 after the 18-month Broadway shutdown.
Talia Suskauer
May 24, 2022, to March 7, 2023
Suskauer previously played Elphaba in the national tour before taking the role to Broadway. Prior to her run in Wicked, she made her Broadway debut in Be More Chill.
Alyssa Fox
March 7, 2023, to March 5, 2024
Fox auditioned for Wicked in 2008 and spent years playing Elphaba in different productions before achieving her dream of playing the role full-time on Broadway. She is the first Asian American Elphaba.
Mary Kate Morrissey
March 5, 2024, to March 4, 2025
Morrissey made her Broadway debut as Elphaba in Wicked after playing the role on tour almost a decade earlier. During her Broadway run, she created a series on her TikTok account titled Degreen and Yap that amassed millions of views.
Lencia Kebede
March 4, 2025, to March 1, 2026
Kebede made her Broadway debut as the first Black principal actress to play Elphaba on Broadway. She previously performed as Angelica Schuyler in the U.S. national tour of Hamilton.
Keri René Fuller
March 3, 2026, to present
Fuller joined Wicked on Broadway as the standby for the role of Elphaba prior to assuming the role full time. She has previously appeared on Broadway in SIX as Jane Seymour, Jagged Little Pill, and Waitress.
Photos by Joan Marcus, photo of Willemijn Verkaik by Matt Crockett.
