Ben Vereen to Join Broadway's Wicked as the Wizard on May 31

As Ken Mandelbaum mentioned on November 15, Ben Vereen will be Wicked's next Wizard, a production spokesperson confirmed to Broadway.com. He will begin performances on May 31, taking over for current star George Hearn.

Vereen won a Tony Award for his performance in another Stephen Schwartz musical, Pippin. His other Broadway credits include Sweet Charity, Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar which netted him a Tony Award nomination Grind, Fosse and I'm Not Rappaport. An actor with numerous big and small screen credits, Vereen also hosted his own television show, Ben Vereen… Comin' at Ya in 1975. He was most recently featured on television in 2002 as a prisoner in an episode of the cable series Oz.

Wicked currently stars Shoshana Bean, Jennifer Laura Thompson, George Hearn, Carole Shelley, David Ayers, Michelle Federer, William Youmans and Jeffrey Kuhn. Thompson's standby Megan Hilty, who has gone on numerous times in the role of Glinda, is expected to take over the role sometime this spring after Thompson departs the company.