So, it's pretty much official that Donna Vivino and Ben Liebert will replace Carmen and Brad on November 5. There's no word on who will take over for Katie and DeeDee. However, according to some sources Richard H. Blake who payed Warner in Legally Blonde on Brodway will succeed for Cliffton sometime in November.

http://www.witchesofoz.com/wicked_boards/i...0&start=460

Richard as Fiyero is definitely interesting. I'll be seeing the tour in December so I guess I can look forward to him.

I didn't know Ben was joining the tour. I really enjoyed him when I saw the show on Broadway so it'll be great to see him and Lenny again.

I think Richard would be a great Fiyero!

I'm SO excited for Richard Blake as Fiyero. It's always a role I've seen him playing, I know a lot of people aren't happy about it, but don't knock it 'til you've tried it.

But I don't know how "official" Donna taking over is.

I thought Carmen confirmed at stage door.

Wow, Richard Blake as Fiyero should be interesting! I'm sure he'll do great!

Haha, you know who I would LOVE to see as Fiyero?? Andy Karl! "I've got a package..."

But yeah, Richard should do great! He's got the voice (I assume, I never really heard him belt in LB, as he would kind of have to do as Fiyero...) and goodness knows he's got the looks!



I can totally see him with his hair all slicked back, in his Captain of the Guard costume...and his ALAYM outfit...and for Oz's sake, those DTL pants...

Okay. I need to stop.

I do like Donna, don't get me wrong... but does anyone else agree with me that she just might not be ready to be principle Elphie?

I think Ben Leibert will be great on tour..I saw him as Boq earlier this year and I really liked him (he's cute too hehee)..after seeing Richard's pic, I think he will look quite dashing as Fiyero..now I really want the tour to come back to somewhere in my area XD

Did Donna Confirm??

I'll update cast replacement histories... but what date do the new cast members start...? It's not the 7th, is it?

The 5th.

D'accord. Yay. French in the forums!

Not at all.

Ok no one has said, did Donna confirm or not.... someone please answer.

I completely disagree. I saw her three times in August (more than I saw Carmen!), and she was spot-on every single time. She would be the perfect replacement when Carmen leaves.

Okay, well... she may be really good, but that doesn't mean she has enough experience to take over for Carmen full time. I just don't think she's vocally ready.

Carmen confirmed it at the stage door.

Donna Vivino? Have you looked at her resume? She's not exactly a newbie to the theater world.

I think Donna is 100% ready to take over.

PS - Thinking back to Sunday, Richard never specified it was the 1st National Tour he was joining. He could be starting the 2nd National Tour.

^ He said the 1st National Tour.

I totally agree with you about Donna. Heck she was in the OBC of Les Mis some 20 years ago.

Are you sure? Donna is only 30, she would have been at least 10 years old when it started.

She played Young Cosette if I'm not mistaken?

Donna was the Original Young Cosette on Broadway.

That kinda seems like it...

What?

So, it appears that there is still no word on who will take over for Katie and DeeDee. Has anyone heard anything?

ETA : Never mind

Has anyone seen the cast recently and asked when Carmen and Katie's last date is? November 2nd seems to be correct, but I'm getting really worried that nothing is completely official. I've heard November 2nd from a month to two months ago - but recently, what have you guys heard? November 2nd makes sense to me, because it's the last date in Atlanta, and normally the cast won't leave in the middle of a city's performances. I've had tickets for that date since July and I just wish something was certain. It's unsettling

Confirmed to me by the cast tonight:

Carmen leaves 11/2 to be replaced by Donna Vivino (confirmed by Carmen)
Katie is staying on. (confirmed by Carmen)
Cliffton & DeeDee are leaving 11/16 (confirmed by DeeDee)

Side note: Marcie Dodd is taking over on Broadway (confirmed by Carmen)

Katie must love playing this role since she is extending. She's been on tour for nearly a year now.

We now I'm not upset about Katie being passed over for Broadway.

YAY!!!!!!!!! This is exactly what I've been hoping for, I can't believe it's happening!

Now, must find way to go see it again in some other city...

I find that funny that Carmen confirmed that and not one person on Broadway could confirm it when I asked a few ensemble members about it.

Oh, wow, that's interesting. I thought Katie was leaving with Carmen. Hmm, I wonder if they're waiting for someone to come over and take her place. She's been on tour for quite a while. That kind of makes November 2nd even sadder because one of them is leaving, and I know they love performing together. They constantly talk about the other in interviews.

Aww

The people on Bway have probably all been warned about how crazed wicked fans are and dont want to say anything because they have been told not to. Carmen is a very genuine person (not saying the ones on bway arent) and she is leaving the show, she really have nothing to lose if she spills a few beans where as the bway cast may have some sort of reprocussion.

I found it funny that Carmen was talking about Marcie coming to Broadway. Not her leaving herself. The fans on Broadway aren't the crazy ones. Half the time they couldn't care about who is even in the show. I saw more crazy fans when I saw the tour to tell you the truth.

Did Carmen says what is next for her... since she knows everyone else's business.

I am so happy that Donna will be the principal Elphaba, I saw her in August and she was absolutely awesome! She totally deserves it!

And I am also very happy that Katie is staying, so more people will be able to see her wonderful performance.

So the cast will be, as far as we know...
Elphaba: Donna Vivino
Galinda: Katie Rose Clarke
Fiyero: Richard Black...as far as we know
Boq: Ben Lieber
Nessa: Unknown-Not DeeDee after 11/14 I beleive
Wizard: Lenny Wolpe
Morrible: Myra Taylor
Merideth Kaye Clarke: Elphaba stand-by

Along with many other ensemble changes.

-Richard Blake (from Legally Blonde) will most likely be taking over Fiyero..he said this to a WoO member at LB SD..but as far as other cast members go..yes, Donna, Katie, Ben all seem to be on board lol :-)

Oh. My. God!!!!

This has officially just made my day!
You seriously don't know how excited I am. I was SO bummed out that Katie wouldn't be doing Minneapolis but now she is!! And hopefully I can make it in time to see DeeDee and Cliffton too...

And Lenny as the Wizard? Confirmed? If so, that would be awesome too, because I missed him on Broadway. And Ben is just adorable.

Anyway, yeah, but does anyone know what Carmen is doing next??

Thanks for the info!

Lenny just joined the cast about 2 months ago, so I would imagine he will be with the show for a while.

I heard Carmen is going to take a long break... She definitely deserves it!

Just needed to edit the spelling on the names because it was bothering me.



Okay </OCD)

I'm OCD too.

Do you know how long Katie's new contract is? I'm dying to see her again!

Oh okay... wow I'm out of the loop. Well then I'm excited to see him

And yeah, I agree, she does deserve a very long break.

::sigh!:: you misread... okay... "crazed wicked fans" I did not use the Broadway company as an adjective. Wicked fans as a whole are known for being crazed, but thanks for speaking for fans of the broadway company as a whole.



I realize that. The fact still remains that if Carmen gives away any of that information on any production she doesnt have much to lose, because she is leaving soon, where as the people on broadway have been told to keep it hush-hush.

Yeah, but I'm happy she is extending. Even though I would love for Katie and Carmen to both be on Broadway together, I'm afraid that will just have to remain a fantasy of mine.

My dream: Carmen takes some time off. Katie stays on the tour for a few more months. Carmen and Katie go to Broadway together.

Yes, definitely...

Even better: Katie and Lisa do Broadway together.