Willemijn Verkaik to Make Her Broadway Debut as Wicked's New Elphaba

Willemijn Verkaik will make her Broadway debut as Elphaba in the blockbuster musical Wicked. Verkaik will take over the role from current Elphaba Jackie Burns on February 12, 2013. Burns plays her final performance on February 10. Verkaik will lead the production for a 15-week engagement at Broadway’s Gershwin Theatre.

The Dutch actress has played the role of Elphaba in Germany and Holland and is currently headlining the musical's Dutch production (which ends its run on January 11). She was awarded the Musicalworld Award for her performance and received the 2009 and 2010 Readers’ Choice Best Musical Actress Award from the German magazine Musical. Verkaik’s other stage credits include Elisabeth, 3 Musketiers, We Will Rock You and Aida.

Verkaik will join current Wicked stars Alli Mauzey as Glinda, Kyle Dean Massey as Fiyero, Randy Danson as Madame Morrible, Adam Grupper as The Wizard, Catherine Charlebois as Nessarose, Tom Flynn as Dr. Dillamond, and F. Michael Haynie as Boq.

Check out Verkaik performing “Defying Gravity” in Dutch in the video below.