Wicked Wizards Vereen and Weygandt to Switch Cities for One Week

Wicked stars Ben Vereen and Gene Weygandt will literally trade places from August 30 through September 4. For that week only, Vereen will play the role of the Wizard in Chicago while Weygandt will play it on Broadway. The switch is taking place at the request of Vereen, who wants to spend some additional time with his family in the Windy City.

Vereen, who joined the Broadway cast in May, won the 1973 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as the Leading Player in Pippin. His other Broadway credits include Grind, I’m Not Rappaport, and Fosse. Weygandt has previously appeared on Broadway in the musical Big.

The Broadway cast of Wicked is headed by Shoshana Bean as Elphaba, Megan Hilty as Glinda, and Rue McLanahan as Madame Morrible. The stars of the Chicago company are Ana Gasteyer, Kate Reinders, and Rondi Reed. The national touring production of the show, currently playing in San Francisco, stars Eden Espinosa, Kendra Kassebaum, Carol Kane, and David Garrison.