Harriet Thorpe will return to Wicked next week to step into the role of Madame Morrible after Louise Plowright’s withdrawal from the production due to ill health.
The long-running magical musical today wished Plowright a full and speedy recovery as they announced that Thorpe would return from 22 April to 16 November to reprise the role the comic actress first played for a two-year stint from 2008.
Arguably still best known for her long-standing association with Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French, which saw her appear in numerous episodes of French & Saunders and the Saunders-led Absolutely Fabulous, Thorpe is also a familiar face to many following her leading role in the BBC’s popular comedy series The Brittas Empire.
On stage Thorpe was last seen reprising another musical role when she appeared in Rufus Norris’ Olivier Award nominated Cabaret at the Savoy theatre last year following her performance in the acclaimed production in 2006. The actress has also appeared in Mamma Mia! in the West End and starred in the Regent’s Park Open Air theatre’s hugely successful production of Crazy For You, which transferred to the Novello theatre for a West End run.
Wicked, which recently celebrated welcoming its five millionth West End audience member, is based on the novel by Gregory Maguire that famously tells the untold story of the witches of Oz. Starring Louise Dearman and Gina Beck as the misunderstood sorcerers alongside Ben Freeman, Keith Bartlett, Christopher Howell, Sam Lupton and Katie Rowley Jones, the production is currently booking to 26 April 2014 at the Apollo Victoria theatre.