Broadway Greats Who Played Elphaba and Glinda in ‘Wicked’ Through The Years

Menzel won a much-deserved Tony Award for Best Actress for her originating performance as Elphaba in Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre, which she played from opening night on October 30, 2003-January 2005. In an Entertainment Weekly interview, Menzel revealed that her favorite song in Wicked isn't even an Elphaba number, but the Act II opening song "Thank Goodness."

Fun fact: Stephanie J. Block is technically the very first Elphaba because she was cast opposite Chenoweth in the workshops, but was replaced by Meznel after a few months. Block got her time to shine in the character when she was cast in the first U.S. tour of the show, and then on Broadway from 2007-2009. Kendra Kassenbaum played Glinda opposite Block's Elphaba on the tour and later on Broadway opposite Julia Murney.

Shoshana Bean gave her first Elphaba performance as a replacement when Idina Menzel injured herself falling through a trap stage door the day before her final show as Elphaba in January 2005. Thompson replaced Kristen Chenoweth when Chenoweth departed the show in July 2004.

While Bean performed most of the show for Menzel, an injured Menzel famously came onstage to sing Elphaba's final song in a red tracksuit, earning a standing ovation. Menzel would go on to play Elphaba once more on the West End.

Espinosa and Hilty were standbys for Elphaba and Glinda, respectively, during the show's original run, and got to be full leads on parts of the U.S. tour and their own Broadway runs, following up Shoshana Bean and Jennifer Laura Thomspon.

SNL star Ana Gasteyer and Something Rotten! star Kate Reinders played Elphaba and Glinda for the Wicked Chicago company. After cutting their teeth in the Windy City, the pair replaced Eden Espinosa and Megan Hilty on Broadway in 2006.

Shortly after her Broadway debut in the 2005 musical Lennon, Murney succeeded Stephanie J. Block in the touring show and later followed up Ana Gasteyer on Wicked on Broadway.

Mendez and Clarke came together to play Elphaba and Glinda, respectively, in 2013. In this shot, they are celebrating Wicked's 4000th show on June 18, 2003. Mendez told Broadway.com she loved the show since seeing Idina Menzel in the role in high school, and added, "I didn’t see myself as an Elphaba. When they asked me to do it, I was like, 'Oh, OK. I would love to take a crack at it.'"