This is a list of everyone who's ever played Elphaba. If I've left anyone/anything out, please let me know.

Gemma Atkins
West End understudy

Shoshana Bean
Broadway standby, Broadway lead, First Tour lead

Stephanie J. Block
Pre-Broadway understudy, First Tour lead, Broadway lead

Lisa Brescia
Broadway standby, Chicago lead

Anne Brummel
Second Tour understudy, Second Tour standby, Second Tour lead

Laura Bunting
Australian Tour standby

Jackie Burns
First Tour lead

Sabrina Carter
West End understudy

Kristy Cates
Broadway understudy, First Tour standby, Chicago standby, Chicago lead

Merideth Kaye Clark
First Tour understudy, First Tour standby, San Francisco standby

Courtney Corey
Chicago understudy, Los Angeles understudy

Carmen Cusack
Chicago standby, First Tour lead, Melbourne standby

Nikki Davis-Jones
West End standby

Jennifer DiNoia
Chicago understudy, Chicago standby, Broadway standby, Sydney standby

Marcie Dodd
First Tour understudy, Los Angeles understudy, Los Angeles standby, Broadway lead, Second Tour lead, San Francisco lead

Christine Dwyer
Second Tour understudy, Second Tour standby

Masae Ebata
Tokyo lead, Osaka lead, Fukuoka

Maria Eberline
First Tour understudy

Kerry Ellis
West End standby, West End lead, Broadway lead

Eden Espinosa
Broadway standby, First Tour standby, First Tour lead, Broadway lead, Los Angeles lead, San Francisco lead

Alyssa Fox
San Francisco understudy

Ana Gasteyer
Chicago lead, Broadway lead

Melanie Gebhard
Stuttgart understudy, Oberhausen understudy

Mandy Gonzalez
Broadway lead

Pippa Grandison
Sydney lead

Ashleigh Gray
West End understudy, West End standby

Jenna Leigh Green
First Tour understudy

Megumi Hamada
Tokyo lead

Laurel Harris
Second Tour understudy

Amanda Harrison
Melbourne lead, Sydney lead

Asami Higuchi
Tokyo standby, Tokyo lead, Osaka lead

Cassidy Janson
West End understudy, West End standby

Zoe Jarrett
Melbourne understudy, Sydney understudy, Australian Tour understudy


Alexia Khadime
West End lead

Chiaki Kimura
Osaka lead

Chelsea Krombach
Broadway understudy

Caissie Levy
Broadway understudy, Los Angeles standby, Los Angeles lead

Maria Lucia
Copenhagen lead

Carrie Manolakos
Second Tour standby

Brandi Chavonne Massey
Broadway understudy

Victoria Matlock
First Tour standby, First Tour lead

Idina Menzel
Pre-Broadway lead, Broadway lead, West End lead

Julia Murney
First Tour lead, Broadway lead

Vicki Noon
Chicago understudy, Los Angeles standby, San Francisco standby, Second Tour lead

Minami Okamura
Osaka lead

Nicole Parker
Broadway lead

Angel Reda
Los Angeles understudy, San Francisco understudy

Julie Reiber
Los Angeles standby, Broadway standby

Felicia Ricci
San Francisco standby

Jemma Rix
Melbourne standby, Sydney standby, Sydney lead, Australian Tour lead

Dee Roscioli
Chicago standby, Chicago lead, San Francisco standby, Broadway lead

Saycon Sengbloh
Broadway standby

Coleen Sexton
First Tour standby

Carla Stickler
First Tour understudy

Stevie Tate-Bauer
West End understudy

Anna Thoren
Oberhausen standby

Patrice Tipoki
Melbourne understudy, Sydney standby, Sydney lead

Stephanie Torns
First Tour understudy, Broadway understudy

Mariand Torres
First Tour standby

Rachel Tucker
West End lead

Roberta Valentini
Stuttgart understudy, Stuttgart standby, Oberhausen standby, Oberhausen lead

Willemijn Verkaik
Stuttgart lead, Oberhausen lead

Donna Vivino
First Tour standby, First Tour lead

Maria Walter
Stuttgart understudy

Sabrina Weckerlin
Stuttgart standby, Oberhausen standby

Shona White
West End standby

Teal Wicks
Los Angeles standby, Los Angeles lead, San Francisco lead, Broadway lead

Dan’yelle Williamson
Chicago understudy

Maria Ylipaa
Helsinki lead

And I don't know if you want to put USJ Elphabas there, but Jillian Giacchi, Erin Cornell, Lara Janine, Kathleen Hennessey are the only ones I can remember off of the top of my head.

Thanks, but I'm just including actuall Wicked.

I think Marcie is like the busiest Wicked cast member ever. Or one who has done a lot. She's done:
Tour Ensemble
Tour u/s Nessa
Tour u/s Elphaba
LA lead Nessa
LA u/s Elphaba
LA Standby Elphaba
NY Lead Elphaba

And she's like the first person to do 2 roles in Wicked as a lead! Bravo Marcie! I wonder if there will ever be a Glinda/Elphaba switch up kinda like Sho and Megan have faked doing it. Or someone who has done Nessa, Elphaba and Glinda! Oh my! lol

I know she never went on, but is it true that Jenna Leigh Green was originally contracted as the Elphaba understudy for the first couple of weeks in Los Angeles? I know she wasn't listed as such when I saw it on March 1st 2007.

I don't know about before the production, but no Julie was always the standby once it had opened.

^ You mean understudy for the Tour, right? Lol.

I know they've not performed yet, but once they do... Anne Brummel, Stephanie Torns, and Sabrina Carter will go on the list as Chicago, first tour, and London understudies, respectively... assumming that Anne and Sabrina get the chance to go on.

Jessica, Roberta has been bumped up to the position of alternate in Stuttgart. She'll have her first show sometime this week...

Thanks. Do you know who the new u/s is?

You're welcome.

They have two "understudies" now; Maria Walter & Melanie Gebhard.

Cool. I'm changing the list though to include just the English-language productions. Stuttgart's format is confusing and I can't begin to figure out Tokyo.

I agree about Tokyo, but I think Stuttgart should still be included, lol. Tokyo makes NO sense to me whatsoever! Maria & Melanie are basically Stuttgart understudies, while Roberta is alternate. I love me some Die Hexen von Oz.

What the hell, I love the Stuttgart production too.

Lmao, that cracked me up. You are officially awesome-- eh, you already were to begin with.

I thought "hell" was a forbidden word here. I guess you learn something new every day!

Stuttgart has had 5 Elphabas so far:

Willemijn Verkaik - lead
Sabrina Weckerlin - alternate (until November 08)
Roberta Valentini - unterstudy, now alternate (since November 08)
Melanie Gebhart - understudy (since November 08)
Maria Walter - understudy (since November 08)

Because Roberta is playing Marie Antoinette in Bremen (which is way up in the north of Germany, Stuttgart is in the south) she can't always be there, when Willemijn is ill, so there are now 2 understudies.

Jenna Leigh Green was the first understudy for Elphaba on tour when she played Nessa, and went on close to 50 times, but did not cover Elphaba when she was in the original LA cast, nor when she was Nessa on Broadway.

Well, then it's not the definitive list. I think you should have the Tokyo women you had before, and if anyone finds out new info, they can just post it here.

I agree, Conor. I'd love to have the Tokyo info.

Tokyo is confusing. It looks like they have two lead Elphabas at the same time. Surely that can't be true?

I could recite all of them a couple years ago, but since then, the London, Tour, Chicago and Broadway production has extended; Japan, LA, Stuttgart and Melbourne have opened. So I can no longer do that.

I think you've got most of them

Anne Brummel

I don't think she's gone on yet. When she does, she'll be added to the list.

I have...

Megumi Hamada Original Tokyo lead
Higuchi Asami Tokyo lead

I don't know any standbys or understudies.

Did she really go on 50 times?

Around that! She said so in an interview i read with her.

I cant believe that... that likes like one a week for a year.

She did go on a lot.

Evidently... Perhaps Stephanie missed 50, gulp, shows. Unfortunately, I think Steph has had the worst, again GULP, attendance record. Even Julia seemed to be there more. I know she had her wedding, the strike and 9 to 5 but she is a Wicked legend (IMO). I luckily had the chance to see her the first time I saw it in NYC. I was on cloud 9!!! I met her too

She missed a lot of shows on tour due to her injury.

^Exactly, and it wasn't her fault, so it was beyond her control. It's not like she WANTED to call out!

How did she hurt herself?

She hurt herself during the Toronto Rehearsals. They created a lift that was going to bring her down during No Good Deed (Not Defying Gravity) but half way through the lift jammed and she was stuck in it for hours and she hurt her back while she was in it becuase the machine kept moving around.

I'm preety sure thats what happened feel free to add on if I have left anything out

Now I'm not bashing Kerry or anything of the sort but I think Kerry has the honor of having the worst attendance record here. She had trouble adjusting to our weather and our crazy air con here though. Julie has gone on over 100 times here and in LA combined and in LA she went on around 40 times I believe.

I don't think she was stuck for hours, but that's pretty much what happened. I think it was a harness?

I didn't realise Kerry had called out quite that often on Broadway, that'd be more than twice a week if Julie's been on 60-odd times (and hasn't Chelsea been on quite a lot for an understudy too?). Though actually working it out Kerry missed 130 shows in 17 months in London (I believe Shona went on 37 times, CJ 90 & Ashleigh 3) so that averages about one and a half shows missed per week.

(I really should have better things to do in my lunch break than be sitting with a calculator working out Wicked cast absence rates!)

Chelsea has been on more than most understudies. She went on a few times that Julie was on the west coast and just out for a day or two. Maybe Julie's numbers in LA are near 50. I dunno, I'm just guessing after reading her blog from LA that said she was on some 40-odd times and at a benefit here the other week it was said that she has been on as Elphaba 100 times.

Haha! Cat you know your wicked facts almost too well!! and clearly work is to much stimulation for you.

And Jess, you should add Sabrina Carter - London U/S. She hasnt been on yet, but im sure she will eventually.

I'll add her once she goes on.

Ok relax no one is making a big deal out of her absence...

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was a harness, I think a while back someone said that since many theatres didn't have a trap door where Elphaba can come up in a mini lift for NGD, they wanted to FLY her into NGD, and I think the harness somehow hurt her back badly.


Um, Ok, how about you relax, as I'm totally relaxed and was relaxed when I posted that. I know no one made a big deal of her absense, I simply said it wasn't her fault, it was beyond her control, and that she didn't WANT TO miss shows. So yeah, how about you relax about telling me to relax, because I'm totally relaxed and am in a happy mood

Yeah, she was going to fly in on a broom for NGD. She fell and her back started spasming (sp?) She still has the injury.

Julie's blog said she was on over 30 times. I could be wrong, but I don't think it got to 40.

EDIT: I remember someone kept track of all her shows, I'll try to find it.

EDIT AGAIN: When Teal hit 33 performances as a standby someone commented that she had already passed the number of times Julie had gone on. So I would think Julie was under 35 performances in LA. That leaves her going on a lot in NY to make 100!

Anne Brummel as Chicago understudy.

Anne didn't go on, she only almost went on.

Oh wow. Thank you since I wasn't for sure. Going on over 65 times for Kerry is alot considering she was only here for 6 months(Well Chelsea did some also).

Maria Eberline also went on for Elphie roughly 50 times, too.

She almost went on?

Um...
Perhaps Stephanie missed a little over 50 shows, but Kerry Ellis missed double that in her first run.

So if Maria Eberline went on around 50 times, that would mean Steph called out near to 100 times at least as Jenna has stated in interviews she performed the role of Elphaba just over 50 times.