Wicked - Broadway

“The best musical of the decade.” - Entertainment Weekly

Wicked Tour Star Stephanie J. Block Injured; First Preview Canceled

Tonight’s scheduled first preview of the Wicked tour has been canceled. Star Stephanie J. Block cannot perform due to a minor injury she suffered during rehearsal, a production spokesperson told Broadway.com. Performances of the hit musical will now begin in Toronto on March 9 with Broadway understudy Kristy Cates playing Elphaba.

[Block] is experiencing muscle spasms which are preventing her from performing,” a production spokesperson said. “Ms. Block is expected to return in a few days.”

Block performed the role of Elphaba during the early stages of Wicked‘s development and was the production’s original standby, going on during the San Francisco tryout. She left Wicked before it hit Broadway in order to take the part of Liza Minnelli in The Boy from Oz. Her other theatrical credits include regional productions of Love A Piano, Fiddler on the Roof, James Joyce’s The Dead, The Grass Harp and Funny Girl.

Cates is in the ensemble of the Broadway production of Wicked and covers the role of Elphaba. She has appeared off-Broadway in Boobs! The Musical. Her regional theater credits include John and Jen and Into the Woods.

Wicked is scheduled to play a seven-week engagement at Toronto’s Canon Theatre. To make up for tonight’s cancellation, a performance has been added on Sunday, March 13 at 7:30pm. All tickets for this evening’s show will be honored at the Sunday evening performance.

In addition to Block, the touring company includes Kendra Kassebaum as Glinda, Carol Kane as Madame Morrible, David Garrison as The Wizard, Derrick Williams as Fiyero, Jenna Leigh Green as Nessarose, Timothy Britten Parker as Doctor Dillamond and Logan Lipton as Boq.

See Also:   News  | Wicked - New York, NY  | Jeffrey Kuhn to Take on the Role of Boq in Wicked  | From Fiddler to Fiyero: David Ayers to Step into Wicked  | Block and Kassebaum to Headline Wicked Tour Cast  | Shoshana Bean to Play Green Girl Elphaba in Wicked Starting 1/11  | Onstage Injury Forces Early Exit for Wicked Star Idina Menzel  | Stephen Schwartz Takes Home Grammy for Wicked Cast Recording  | Ben Vereen to Join Broadway's Wicked as the Wizard on May 31  | Rue McClanahan & Megan Hilty to Join Wicked on May 31  | Eden Espinosa to Star as Wicked's Next Elphaba; Kane & Williams Join Cast  | Will Wicked Make the Leap to the West End?  | Wicked to Bow at the West End's Apollo Victoria in September  | George Hearn Fills In for Ben Vereen as Wicked's Wizard  | Julia Murney Joins Wicked National Tour as Elphaba  | David Garrison and Jenna Leigh Green Join Broadway's Wicked  | Ana Gasteyer Headed for Broadway as Wicked's Elphaba 10/10  | Jayne Houdyshell Set as Wicked's Next Madame Morrible, Starting 11/14  | Wicked Original Cast Recording Goes Platinum  | Murney, Kassebaum and Arcelus to Join B'way Cast of Wicked  | Lenny Wolpe Will Be Wicked's New Broadway Wizard  | Carole Shelley Heading Back to Broadway in Wicked  | Annaleigh Ashford and Stephanie J. Block Set to Play Wicked's Witches  | Wicked Sets Benefit Performance for NYC "Friendship Garden"  | David Burnham Will Play Fiyero in Wicked  | Wicked Smashes Records, Earning $11.2 Million in One Week  | Miriam Margolyes to Bring West End Morrible to Broadway's Wicked  | London Elphaba Kerry Ellis Headed to Broadway in Wicked  | Wicked Books Open-Ended Run in San Francisco  | Annaleigh Ashford Heading to Chicago Company of Wicked  | Kendra Kassebaum, Jayne Houdyshell Headed Back to Wicked  | Winnie Holzman: Some Wicked Memories  | David Garrison: Give "Green" a Chance  | Sean McCourt: A Peek Behind Wicked's Emerald Curtain  | Waving Goodbye to Wicked (19)  | A Wild Birthday for Wicked! (20)  | Idina Menzel Departs the Merry Old Land of Oz (9)  | Stars Greet Oz's New Elphaba (4)  | A Backstage Visit to Broadway Smash Wicked (10)  | A Wicked Good Block Party (22)  | A Wicked Farewell and a Wonderful Hello! (15)  | Carrie Underwood Clicks her Heels and Goes to Wicked (4)  | Wicked Spell Casts 1000 Performances on Broadway (7)  | With a New Portrait, Stephen Schwartz is Popular at Tony's DiNapoli (13)  | On 3rd Anniversary, Wicked Hits the Street to Celebrate (25)  | In Hollywood, a Red Carpet Arrival for the Opening of Wicked (13)  | Going Green with Bette Midler at Wicked Day (24)  | Wicked Will Take Off on Second National Tour  | Aaron Tveit to Play Fiyero in Wicked on Broadway  | P.J. Benjamin Will Be Broadway's Wizard in Wicked  | Empire State Building Goes Green for Wicked Birthday; Final Yellow Brick Road Cast Announced  | Marcie Dodd & Alli Mauzey to Headline New Cast of Wicked  | Donna Vivino Flies High as Elphaba on Wicked National Tour  | Kendra Kassebaum and Teal Wicks to Headline Wicked in San Francisco  | Nicole Parker to Join Broadway Company of Wicked as Elphaba  | Wicked All-Stars Join Together to 'Defy Inequality'  | San Francisco Monuments Turn Green in Honor of Wicked  | Marcie Dodd and Helene Yorke Headline the Second National Tour of Wicked  | Tony Winner Rondi Reed Headed to Broadway Company of Wicked  | Wicked's Adam Lambert Makes American Idol Top 12  | Patty Duke to Join Wicked in San Francisco  | Kevin Kern Flies Back to Broadway's Wicked as Fiyero  | Stephen Schwartz Named President of the Dramatists Guild
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