Mandy Gonzalez, who originated the role of Nina in the Broadway musical, In the Heights, joined WICKED as Elphaba in late March.

Mandy Gonzalez as Elphaba in Wicked

Mandy joins a cast which includes Katie Rose Clarke as Glinda, Tony Award-winner Rondi Reed as Madame Morrible, P.J. Benjamin as The Wizard, Andy Karl as Fiyero, Alex Brightman as Boq, Jenny Fellner as Nessarose, and Timothy Britten Parker as Dr. Dillamond.

Mandy Gonzalez in Wicked

Mandy Gonzalez was last seen on and off-Broadway in the Tony Award-winning musical In The Heights, where she originated the role of Nina Rosario (Drama Desk Award/Ensemble). Other Broadway appearances include Lennon, Aida, and Dance of the Vampires. Mandy received an OBIE Award for her performance in the Off-Broadway production of Eli’s Comin’. Film/TV: “The Good Wife,” “One Life to Live,” “The Guiding Light,” “Third Watch,” and recently completed the film After. Mandy can be heard in Disney’s Mulan 2 as the singing voice of Mei.

Wicked is performing at the Gershwin Theatre, 222 West 51st Street.

Buy Wicked Gershwin Theatre Tickets.

“Wicked” is closing its record-breaking San Francisco run. The return engagement of the insanely popular “Wizard of Oz” prequel will close on Sept. 5 after some 660 performances in the city where the show was first born.

Theater officials say the blockbuster musical must close to make room for the revival of “West Side Story” and other touring shows in the SHN/Best of Broadway series this fall. So far, more than 1 million theatergoers have seen “Wicked” in San Francisco, and the production, which began in January 2009, has grossed more than $75 million.

For the record, “The Phantom of the Opera,” which ran for five years, still holds the record for the longest-running Broadway musical in San Francisco history.

“Wicked,” dubbed the “best musical of the decade” by Entertainment Weekly, made its world premiere in San Francisco in 2003 before becoming a pop-culture juggernaut. A girl power revamp of the L. Frank Baum mythology, “Wicked” is based on the popular books by Gregory Maguire with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz.

Buy Wicked San Francisco CA Tickets

{Via San Jose Mercury News}