Marcie Dodd (born March 10, 1978) is an American

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

actress, who is best known for playing

Elphaba Elphaba Thropp () is the protagonist of Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel '' Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'', the novel's musical theatre adaptation, and the musical's two-part film adaptation, '' Wicked'' (2024) and '' ...

and

Nessarose The Wicked Witch of the East is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum. She is a crucial character but appears only briefly in Baum's classic children's series of ''Oz'' novels, most notably ''The Wonderful Wizard of O ...

in various U.S. companies of the smash-hit musical ''

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * ''Wicked'' (Maguire novel), a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', a 1997 novel series collaboration between Australian children's authors Paul Jennings and Morris ...

''.

Early life and career

Dodd was born in

Yuba City, California Yuba City ( Maidu: ''Yubu'') is a city in Northern California and the county seat of Sutter County, California Sutter County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

, on March 10, 1978, the third of four children. Her father is an agricultural consultant and her mother is a piano teacher. She attended Bethany College in

Santa Cruz County, California Santa Cruz County (), officially the County of Santa Cruz, is a county on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 270,861. The county seat is Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz County comprises the Sa ...

, with a major in music from 1997 to 1999. In 1999, she transferred to

Azusa Pacific University Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a private evangelical research university in Azusa, California, United States. The university was founded in 1899 in Whittier, California, with classes first held on March 3, 1900, and degrees offered in 193 ...

, graduating in 2001. After graduation, she was cast as a singing princess in

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...

. During a three-year run, she performed as Belle and Snow White. At Disneyland, she met her husband, Colin Follenweider, a Hollywood stunt-double. Together, they have two children.

Regional roles

Dodd's first non-Disney role was as Sandy in a regional production of '' Grease''. She then took understudy roles in the Las Vegas productions of ''

We Will Rock You "We Will Rock You" is a song by the British rock band Queen from their 1977 album '' News of the World'', written by guitarist Brian May. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it number 330 of " The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and the RIAA it p ...

'' and ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * Hairspray (1988 film), ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** Hairspray (1988 soundtrack), ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundt ...

'', before becoming a cast member of the musical ''

''.

''Wicked''

Dodd made her ''Wicked'' debut on December 5, 2006, as a member of the ensemble of the show's Emerald City Tour. She also understudied the roles of

and

. Her first performance as Nessarose was at the matinee on March 25, 2007, in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

; her first performance as Elphaba was at the matinee on April 7, 2007, in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. Dodd departed the first national touring company on December 2, 2007, in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

. After a year on tour, she replaced

Jenna Leigh Green Jenna Leigh Green is an American actress and singer best known for her performances as Libby Chessler on the television show ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'', as well as for roles on tour in the musical ''Wicked'' and later in the Broadway product ...

as the principal Nessarose in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

sit-down production. Her first performance took place on December 13, 2007. Due to the injury of fellow cast member Courtney Corey, she temporarily became an understudy for Elphaba, from late March to early May 2008. Her first performance as Elphaba in Los Angeles took place on April 22, 2008. On May 13, 2008, she replaced

Teal Wicks Teal Wicks (born September 8, 1982 in Sacramento, California) is an American singer and stage actress, who is best known for her performances as Elphaba in the Broadway theatre, Broadway, San Francisco, and Los Angeles productions of the musical ' ...

as the standby for Elphaba, due to Wicks' promotion to full-time lead. In addition, she returned to understudying Nessarose, with Briana Yacavone replacing her in the lead role. She departed the Los Angeles company on October 26, 2008. Dodd was succeeded by

Vicki Noon Vicki Noon (born 1985) is an American theater performer, who played the lead role of Elphaba on the Second National Tour of ''Wicked'', a role she had previously covered in various other productions of the musical. Early life Vicki Noon was bor ...

as the standby to Elphaba. Dodd then joined the Broadway production at the

Gershwin Theatre The Gershwin Theatre (originally the Uris Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 222 West 51st Street, on the second floor of the Paramount Plaza office building, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 19 ...

, replacing

Kerry Ellis Kerry Jane Ellis (born 6 May 1979) is an English actress and singer who is best known for her work in musical theatre and subsequent crossover into music. Born and raised in Suffolk, Ellis began performing at an early age before training at La ...

in the lead role of Elphaba on November 11, 2008. Upon her move to Broadway, Dodd became the first, and only actress to date, to have performed in the lead roles of both Nessarose and Elphaba. She ended her limited Broadway engagement on January 11, 2009, and was replaced by

Nicole Parker Nicole Parker is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her work on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox's sketch comedy show ''Mad TV'' (2003–2009, 2016), for which she was a regular cast member. In 2009, Parker played Elphaba in the ...

. Dodd then originated the role of Elphaba on the Munchkinland Tour of the show, which began performances March 7, 2009, and officially opened March 12. Dodd exited the touring company on April 4, 2010, and was once again succeeded by Vicki Noon. She then succeeded

Eden Espinosa Eden Erica Espinosa (born February 2, 1978) is an American actress and singer who is best known for her performances as Elphaba for the Broadway, Los Angeles, and San Francisco productions of the musical '' Wicked''. In 2022, she was nominated f ...

as Elphaba in the

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

sit-down production on June 29, 2010. She starred alongside Alli Mauzey as Glinda, and remained with the production until its closing night on September 5, 2010.

References

External links

*
Marcie Dodd at Playbill.com

Broadway.com page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodd, Marcie 1978 births American women singers American musical theatre actresses American stage actresses Azusa Pacific University alumni Bethany University alumni Living people Actresses from California Singers from California People from Yuba City, California 21st-century American actresses