Patty Duke to Join Wicked in San Francisco

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Patty Duke taking over the role of Madame Morrible in the Bay Area production of Wicked. Duke will replace Carol Kane, whose last performance is March 22.

Duke made her Broadway debut in 1959 as Helen Keller opposite Anne Bancroft in The Miracle Worker, which won the Tony Award for Best Play. The 1962 movie version won Duke the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and after another Broadway appearance in 1962’s Isle of Children, Duke starred in the popular TV series The Patty Duke Show. Her film/TV credits include Valley of the Dolls; Me, Natalie; My Sweet Charlie; Captains and the Kings and another adaptation of The Miracle Worker, which earned her an Emmy Award in the role of Helen Keller's teacher, Anne Sullivan. In 2002, she returned to Broadway as Aunt Eller in Oklahoma!

Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, a book by Winnie Holzman and is directed by Joe Mantello. The smash-hit musical had its world premiere in San Francisco in 2003 before moving to Broadway. It returned to San Francisco on February 6.