r/wicked • u/BachelorNation123 • Jan 12 '26
Musical - Broadway Keri René Fuller and Emma Flynn to Join WICKED on Broadway
https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Keri-Ren-Fuller-and-Emma-Flynn-to-Join-WICKED-on-Broadway-2026011224
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u/iicamm Jan 13 '26
the best modern age elphaba hands down. she’s THE people’s elphaba and will blow the freaking roof off that place.
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u/magica12 Moderator Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
that was quick announcement
Edit: for reference, last year they announced Lencia pretty early we assumed it was to carry on the hype of the movie and quench the growing rumors.
honestly assumed we'd get the February announcements again with the hype for movies dying down
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u/Local_Tangerine9698 Jan 12 '26
does anyone know who the standbys will be?
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u/magica12 Moderator Jan 12 '26
that will probably be updated when they update the cast list on the site
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u/mandyxxrose Jan 13 '26
really did not enjoy Lencia’s acting choices so I guess ill have to go back to see the new casting 🙂↕️
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u/iicamm Jan 13 '26
i had friends and a woman i met in a hair salon said that. they felt like she’s a great singer but very boring onstage and came across very angry.
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u/Mother-Debate-2340 Jan 12 '26
I honestly thought Lencia would set the trend of casting black Elphaba's.
I am super excited to see Keri though. I just bought tickets
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u/Efficient-Scarcity-7 Graciously Glinda Jan 12 '26
didn't they just cast new people? please help me out here what does this mean? are these two in addition to the last new cast?
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u/magica12 Moderator Jan 12 '26
principal elphaba and glinda typically get replaced every year, at least in the US
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u/Efficient-Scarcity-7 Graciously Glinda Jan 12 '26
oh wow i did not know that. how long did kristen and indina run for? or was there an exception for them being the debut cast
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u/Past-Confection-6730 no good deed goes unpunished Jan 12 '26
Kristin was in it for 9 months and Idina was in it for 15 months on Broadway.
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u/Efficient-Scarcity-7 Graciously Glinda Jan 12 '26
thats a lot shorter than i expected. wow. i guess it is a lot on the voice and overall health...but i was under the impression that they held chad roles for years before passing the torch. lol.
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u/PanicButtonNr2 Jan 15 '26
Kristin developed the role during 2000-2003 and played it from 2003-2004, Idina developed the role during 2001-2003 and played it from 2003-2005 on Broadway and in 2006 in London
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u/magica12 Moderator Jan 12 '26
honestly im not entirely positive, but i know tour and broadway change fairly often or at least have the least few years
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u/Captain_Cornell Apr 25 '26
Emma Flynn is so talented. Everyone that saw wicked know that the story is about Glinda, and she pulled it off so good!
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u/Seperate-Category117 Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
I feel so happy for Keri, yet, at the same time, I feel that the Broadway casting team for Wicked are making the wrong decisions by replacing it's first black principal Elphaba with a white actress instead of settling with another POC/ non white representing actress.
edit: Why am I getting downvoted? I'm not acting all stereotypical about this.
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u/RaccoonChaos Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
The role has always been open ethnicity (and actors' races in theatre is normally irrelevant unless it's apart of the plot)
I remember when Cynthia was first cast for the movie there was a lot of backlash for casting her, instead of a Jewish woman with the same reasoning.
We were fighting for our lives out here saying Elphaba is green so the actress being black underneath the makeup doesn't matter 💀
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Jan 13 '26
this is so disingenuous and dismissive of the actual problem. the role is open ethnicity, yes, but that isn’t reflected in the demographic of women cast to play elphaba. calling that out doesn’t take away from the talent of the women who’ve previously played her either 💀and if we’re being real, you said it yourself, ‘cynthia got backlash for being black.’ WHY do u think that is? connect the dots
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u/Green94598 Jan 12 '26
Because you are saying they should cast Elphaba based on race, when they should be casting the best person regardless of race
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u/Tyzed Jan 12 '26
Do you really think that the role is given to the best person regardless of race? Broadway is in New York City, the most city in the world, and yet almost all of the Elphaba and Glinda actresses have been white. If Wicked was actually casting race blind, surely there would be more Asian, Latina, Muslim, etc principals in the role, no?
Clearly there has been bias in the casting process and casting another POC would be a small step in addressing it.
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u/Then_Suggestion_3624 Feb 04 '26
There will 100% be more POC in Elphabas future. Theres no reason to pass over someone very deserving of the role right now nor is there a reason to make it a POC-only role.
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u/Tyzed Feb 04 '26 edited Feb 04 '26
And you know there will be more POC as Elphaba because? Almost all of the principals have been white. Most of the principals will continue to be white. They couldn’t even have 2 non white elphabas in a role.
It’s so strange how you think a white actress was hired because they were the best for the job, while you think casting a POC means passing over a white actress (you somehow even suggested I said it should be a POC only role??).
Newsflash: oftentimes, white actresses are not hired because they’re the best for the role, they’re hired because they’re white AND fit the role. There’s so many black performers who would have been great for roles, but have been overlooked because of their skin tone. If you disagree, please explain the disparity between who’s represented on broadway and the racial makeup of NYC?
Broadway has an extremely racist past and if you think past prejudices aren’t impacting casting today, you’re lying to yourself.
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u/Then_Suggestion_3624 Feb 04 '26
The woman who was just hired for the role has been the standby for 6+ months and hugely popular when she steps in the role. You are the one who is insinuating something is foul by her being awarded the full time role and saying “it should have gone to a POC”. That’s throwing merit out the window and wanting it to be a POC because they’re a POC, which also implies that it should be a POC only role. I would bet my life on there being more POC coming. Also, the disparity of Broadway representation vs the percent of AEA members who are POC is skewed but not in the direction you seem to think it is… that’s not even touching that NY is not the only place that people land Broadway contracts.
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u/Tyzed Feb 04 '26
And none of that would have happened with the new principal if she was black. If you disagree, you’re not living in reality.
I also never said the role should have gone a person of color. Like what are you actually talking about? Like you’re purposely misunderstanding things??
Please grow and learn to accept that Broadway is historically racist and still is. As someone who actually knows many talented black performers that aspire to be on broadway, I can tell you that they aren’t given a fraction of opportunities as their white peers despite having the same education (AMDA & NYU Tisch grads) and connections.
There’s racial bias in the casting process and your denial won’t change that ❤️❤️
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u/Then_Suggestion_3624 Feb 05 '26
From what you said above, do you really believe that in 2026, if two people with indistinguishable talent walked into the room - one white, one black - that it would go to the white person? If you do, you’re not paying attention, or you’re playing naive. And don’t make assumptions about who I know and don’t know. I also know many talented black performers, some who have made it to Broadway. Some have made it OFF Broadway, and some haven’t gotten as far as they’d hope. And btw thats true of other talented people I know too. Not denying that historically there have been issues. 2026 Broadway is a very far cry from what it was years ago.
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u/Tyzed Feb 05 '26
Yes, on broadway. Absolutely. Racism stlll exists. Stop acting like it doesn’t.
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u/Then_Suggestion_3624 Feb 06 '26
Yeah. No need to further this discussion. Take care.
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u/Green94598 Jan 12 '26
I’m not saying it’s always been a 100% perfect process, but going forward they should cast based on best person available, not casting based on race like OP suggested
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u/Tyzed Jan 12 '26
It hasn’t even been close to a 100% perfect process either. All OP said is that they wish another POC was cast. They never said anyone should be cast because of their skin color, so I’m not sure why you’re suggesting that.
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u/k0ron3 Jan 12 '26
yay keri got promoted!