Lisa Howard Joins the Wicked National Tour as Madame Morrible

Shiz Univeristy has a new headmistress! Broadway's Lisa Howard takes over the role of of Madame Morrible in the national tour of Wicked beginning on February 1 at Centennial Hall in Tucson, Arizona. Howard replaces Sharon Sachs, who joins the Broadway company on February 14.

Howard's Broadway credits include Escape to Margaritaville, It Shoulda Been You, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, 9 to 5, South Pacific and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

She joins a cast that stars Talia Suskauer as Elphaba, Allison Bailey as Glinda, Cleavant Derricks as The Wizard, Clifton Davis as Doctor Dillamond, Amanda Fallon Smith as Nessarose, Jordan Litz as Fiyero and DJ Plunkett as Boq. Natalia Vivino is the Elphaba standby. The ensemble features Travante S. Baker, Anthony Lee Bryant, Nick Burrage, Jordan Casanova, Matt Densky, Marie Eife, Ryan Patrick Farrell, Sara Gonzales, Kelly Lafarga, Marina Lazzaretto, Megan Loomis, Ryan Mac, Alida Michal, Jennafar Newberry, Alicia Newcom, David Scott Purdy, Jackie Raye, Rebecca Gans Revis, Andy Richardson, Jenna Nicole Schoen, Wayne Schroder, Paul Schwensen, Ben Susak and Justin Wirick.

Wicked is based on the novel by Gregory Maguire and features music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. The production, which opened on Broadway in 2003, is directed by Tony winner Joe Mantello with musical staging by Tony winner Wayne Cilento.