Gina Beck, Matt Willis Join West End's WICKED

WICKED, the smash hit musical that tells the untold story of the Witches of Oz, is pleased to announce that Gina Beck and Matt Willis will join the cast on Monday 12 December 2011 to star as Glinda and Fiyero respectively. Desmond Barrit is returning to the show to play The Wizard. They will be joined by Lillie Flynn (Nessarose), Christopher Howell (Doctor Dillamond) and Adam Pettigrew (Boq).

Gina Beck (Glinda) recently finished a two-year season starring as ‘Christine Daaé' in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera at London's Her Majesty's Theatre. She made her West End debut in 2006 as ‘Cosette' in Les Misérables at the Queens Theatre and recently performed in the 25th Anniversary Concert at The O2. Gina is currently starring in The Belle's Stratagem at the Southwark Playhouse.

Matt Willis (Fiyero) first shot to fame as a member of the chart-topping, BRIT award-winning band Busted. In 2006 he won the popular ITV show I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. He has subsequently made countless TV appearances, many alongside his wife, presenter Emma Willis. Having originally trained at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, Matt returned to his theatre roots in 2010, to make his West End debut as ‘Nick Hurley' in Flashdance. He most recently starred as ‘Chuck' in the UK national tour of Footloose.

Desmond Barrit (The Wizard) originally starred in WICKED in 2008/09. The Olivier award-winning RSC and National Theatre actor has just finished playing ‘Falstaff', directed by Sir Peter Hall, to great acclaim.

Gina Beck (Glinda), Matt Willis (Fiyero), Desmond Barrit (The Wizard), Lillie Flynn (Nessarose), Christopher Howell (Doctor Dillamond) and Adam Pettigrew (Boq) will join current WICKED stars
Rachel Tucker (Elphaba) and Julie Legrand (Madame Morrible) from Monday 12 December 2011.

WICKED recently played its 2000th performance and will celebrate its landmark 5th birthday on Tuesday 27 September 2011. The "hugely popular musical" (The Times) has now been seen by almost 4 million people since its West End premiere in 2006.

Acclaimed as "the hit musical with brains, heart and courage" (The Sunday Telegraph), WICKED has won multiple awards including the 2010 Olivier Award for Most Popular Show and the Whatsonstage.com Award for Best West End Show in both 2011 and 2010.

Apollo Victoria Theatre, Wilton Road, London, SW1V 1LG

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