Carol Kane and Michael Wartella to Join Cast of WICKED as 'Madame Morrible' and 'Boq' on 7/1 and 6/25

Emmy Award-winner Carol Kane will return to the Broadway production of Wicked as Madame Morrible, starting performances on Monday, July 1, 2013. Ms. Kane has previously performed the role on Broadway, in Los Angeles, and on tour. Fresh off the national tour of Wicked, Michael Wartella will assume the role of Boq, beginning performances on Tuesday, June 25.

Ms. Kane and Mr. Wartella will join a cast that include Lindsay Mendez as Elphaba, Katie Rose Clarke as Glinda, Derek Klena as Fiyero, Adam Grupper as The Wizard, Catherine Charlebois as Nessarose, and John Schiappa as Dr. Dillamond. Randy Danson, who is currently playing the role of Madame Morrible, will play her final performance on Sunday, June 30th. F. Michael Haynie, who is currently playing the role of Boq, will give his final performance on Sunday, June 23rd.

Carol Kane was most recently seen on Broadway in Harvey. Her many theatre credits include Family Week; Debutante Ball; John Cassavettes' Woman of Mystery; The Tempest; Wasp and Other Plays; Love, Loss, and What I Wore; Ian Rickson's The Children's Hour (West End), and The Vagina Monologues. She made her film debut in Mike Nichols' Carnal Knowledge, and also appeared in the films Wedding in White, The Last Detail, Dog Day Afternoon, Annie Hall, The Lemon Sisters, The Princess Bride, Scrooged, My Blue Heaven, Trees Lounge, Addams Family Values, When A Stranger Calls, Flashback, The World's Greatest Lover, Office Killer, Sleepwalk With Me, and Hester Street which garnered her an Academy award nomination. Most widely known for her two-time Emmy-winning performance in "Taxi," Ms. Kane also appeared on the following TV series: "Pearl," "All Is Forgiven," "Chicago Hope" (Emmy nomination), "Law & Order: SVU," and "Two and a Half Men."

Michael Wartella joins the Broadway production directly from the national tour. Other theatre credits include Rent, The Kid (The New Group), Seussical (Theatreworks/USA), and Oliver Twist (TFANA). Regionally he appeared in A Midsummer Night's Dream, A Christmas Carol, and A Prayer for Owen Meany (Ovation nomination), all with the Denver Center Theatre Company, andOliver Twist (co-production with A.R.T. and Berkeley Rep). His film work includes Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet and the Hallmark original movie Loving Leah.

Broadway's #1 show for an unprecedented nine consecutive years, Wicked has been declared "A Cultural Phenomenon" by Variety and "The Best Musical of the Decade" by Entertainment Weekly. There are currently 7 productions worldwide: New York, London, Japan, Holland, Seoul and two concurrent North American National Tours. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and a book by Winnie Holzman. The production is directed by Joe Mantello with musical staging by Wayne Cilento. Wicked is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone.

Winner of 35 major awards including the Grammy Award and three Tony Awards, Wicked is the untold story of the witches of Oz. Long before Dorothy drops in, two other girls meet in the land of Oz. One, born with emerald-green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. Wicked tells the story of their remarkable odyssey, how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.

To get tickets and more information, visit www.wickedthemusical.com. Wicked is performed at the Gershwin Theatre, 222 West 51st Street, between Broadway and 8th Avenue.