With a second movie on the way, the BAD the train isn’t slowing down any time soon—and now John M. ChuThe hit movie hit the ticket sales for the Broadway premiere. Not only that, but now the stage production of the musical is releasing the first Black Elphaba.

Beginning March 4, musical theater enthusiasts and film fans who watch the show live on Broadway will witness the debut of Lencia Kebede as Elphaba Thropp in the story of the Wicked Witch of the West.

Kebede is the first full-time main cast member who is a Black woman to play Elphaba on Broadway, although Black performers such as Saycon Sengbloh and Brandi Massey joined to play Elphaba in the production before—and Black performers alike portrayed her full-time in the British home of the show in London’s West End.

This casting has been a long time coming and following by Cynthia Erivo expressive take on the character for the Universal Pictures film.

Once upon a time, the Broadway show cast Brittney Johnson as the first Black woman to play Glinda in 2022; He has been an understudy in that role since 2019.

Joining the cast of 2025 opposite Kebede is Allie Trimm, who replaces popular role played by Ariana Grande in the 2024 film. Kebede ran as Angelica Schuyler in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton to play Elphaba, while Trimm steps into the role after being shown as standby for Glinda since 2021.

Take a look at the casting announcement below from Bad: The MusicOfficial YouTube.

Bad: The Music now running on Broadway. BAD the movie is now out in theaters and digital. and Evil: For Good opens this Thanksgiving.

Update: This post has been updated to note that Black performers have played the role of Elphaba on Broadway before, with Kebede being the first full-time cast member to play the role.

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