Boq (also known as Moq and Bog in other productions) is the Munchkinlander man who was Elphaba and Glinda's friend during their time at Shiz University in Wicked. He is also the man who becomes the Tin Woodman and is Nessarose's love interest.
History[]
James Gilligan as Boq with Idina Menzel as Elphaba
Boq is the love interest of Elphaba's younger sister, Nessarose (who would later become The Wicked Witch of the East). However, the feeling is not mutual; Boq only became involved with Nessarose in hopes of impressing Galinda, on whom he truly has his heart set. Unfortunately, Galinda has so little regard for him that she cannot remember his name (calling him Bick).
When Nessarose eventually becomes the governor of Munchkinland, she uses her power to enslave Boq as her personal servant, given that he is a Munchkin. When Boq confesses his love for Glinda, Nessarose becomes extremely angry with him. At that point, she attempts to casts a spell on him from Elphaba's spell book, but mispronounces the incantation. This causes Boq's heart to shrink until it is completely gone. In a desperate attempt to save Boq's life, Elphaba casts a spell on Boq who falls asleep. Boq awakens as the Tin Woodman as Elphaba disappears. In her fear, Nessarose blames his new form on Elphaba, saying she did it purposely and that she had tried to stop Elphaba.
Unlike in the novel, Boq plays a considerably condensed role in the stage production. He later took part in the witch hunt against Elphaba as the Tin Woodman, full bent on killing Elphaba for both capturing Dorothy and turning him into the Tin Woodman. This puts him in a slightly more negative light, as even though she saved him, he became angered that she had saved his life.
Susan Hilferty's sketch of Boq's Wicked Witch of the East costume.
Musical Numbers[]
Solos (In A Group Number)[]
- Dancing Through Life (Fiyero, Glinda, Nessarose, Elphaba, and Students of Shiz)
- The Wicked Witch of the East (Elphaba and Nessarose)
- March Of The Witch Hunters (Ozians)
Others[]
- Dear Old Shiz (Glinda and Students of Shiz)
- What Is This Feeling? (Glinda, Elphaba, and Students of Shiz)
Portrayers[]
Broadway Production[]
Michael Wartella and Catherine Charlebois as Boq and Nessarose
- Christopher Fitzgerald (2003-2005)
- Randy Harrison (2004; temporary)
- Jeffrey Kuhn (2005)
- Robb Sapp (2005-2006)
- Logan Lipton (2006-2008)
- Ben Liebert (2008)
- Alex Brightman (2008-2010)
- Etai BenSholmo (2010-2012)
- Taylor Trensch (2012; temporary)
- Etai Benshlomo (2012)
- Jesse JP Johnson (2013; temporary)
- F. Michael Haynie (2013)
- Michael Wartella (2013-2014, 2022-2023)
- Robin De Jesus (2014-2016)
- Zachary Noah Piser (2016-2017)
- Jye Frasca (2017-2018)
- Jesse JP Johnson (2018-2019)
- Riley Costello (2019-2021)
- Jordan Barrow (2021-2022)
- Jake Pedersen (2023-Current)
Broadway Understudies[]
- Rick Desloge
- Daniel Switzer
- Larkin Bogan
- Daniel Quadrino
- Jeff Heimbrock
1st National Tour[]
- Logan Lipton (2005-2006)
- Kirk McDonald (2006)
- Josh Lamon (2006-2007)
- Brad Weinstock (2007-2008)
- Ben Liebert (2008-2010)
- Justin Brill (2010-2013)
- Jesse J.P. Johnson (2013)
- Etai BenShlomo (2014-2015)
Chicago Production[]
- Telly Leung (2005-2006)
- Adam Fleming (2006-2007)
- Stanton Nash (2007-2008)
- Ted Ely (2008-2009)
West End (London) Production[]
- James Gillan (2006-2008)
- Jeremy Legat (2008-2009)
- Alex Jessop (2009-2010)
- George Ure (2010-2011, 2019-2020)
- Ben Scott (2011)
- Adam Pettigrew (2011-2012)
- Sam Lupton (2012-2015)
- Daniel Hope (2015-2016)
- Idriss Kargbo (2016-2017, 2019)
- Jack Lansbury (2017-2019)
- Nicholas McLean (2020-2023)
- Joe Thompson-Oubari (2023-Current)
Los Angeles Production[]
- Adam Wylie (2007)
- Michael Drolet (2008)
- Eddy Rioseco (2008-2009)
Stuttgart Production[]
- Stefan Stara (2007-2009)
- Stephan Luethy (2009-2010)
Melbourne Production[]
Michael Wartella as Boq
- Anthony Callea (2008-2009)
- Stuart Fisher (2009)
San Francisco Production[]
- Eddy Rioseco (2009-2010)
- Etai BenShlomo (2010)
2nd National Tour[]
- Ted Ely (2009)
- Zach Hanna (2009-2011)
- Dan Pacheco (2011-2012)
- Michael Wartella (2012-2013)
- Alex Wyse (2013-2014)
- Lee Slobotkin (2014-2015)
- Sam Seferian (2015-2016)
- Andy Mientus (2016-2017)
- Robin De Jesus (2017-2018)
- Cole Doman (2018)
- Michael Wartella (2018-2019)
- DJ Plunkett (2019-2022)
- Jake Pedersen (2022-2023)
- Kyle McArthur (2023-Current)
- Alex Vinh (2024)
Australian Tour Production[]
- Anthony Callea
- James D. Smith (Final)
- Edward Grey
Oberhausen Production[]
- Ben Daramain (2010-2011)
Scheveningen Production[]
- Niels Jacobs (2011-2013)
Scheveningen Understudies[]
- Martijn Vogel (2011-2012)
- Nuno Azevedo
- James Cook
Helsinki Production (non-replica)[]
- Antti Lang (2010-Present)
Copenhagen Production (non-replica)[]
- Kim Hammelsvang Henriksen (2011-Present)
1st Asian National Tour Production[]
- James D. Smith (Original)
- Ben Brown (Understudy)
- Christopher Scalzo (Understudy)
1st UK/IRE National Tour Production[]
- George Ure
- Richard Vincent
- Tim Edwards (Understudy)
- Harrison Clark (Understudy)
- Oliver Evans (Understudy)
Mexico City Production[]
- Adam Sadwing (Original)
Mexico City Understudies[]
- Sebastian Treviño
Brazilian Production[]
- Bruno Fraga
- Matheus Paiva (Understudy)
- Jessé Scarpellini (Understudy)
- Sandro Conte (Understudy)
UK/International Tour Production[]
- Iddon Jones
- Nicholas Corre (Understudy, Later Lead)
- Kyle Anthony (Understudy)
2nd UK/IRE National Tour Production[]
- Iddon Jones
- Jason Broderick (Understudy)
- Jack Harrison-Cooper (Understudy)
3rd UK/IRE National Tour Production[]
- Jed Berry
- Daniel Hope (Temporary replacement)
- Conor O'Hara (Understudy)
- Nick Len (Understudy)
Hamburg Production[]
- Jan Rogler
- Gabriele Bruschi (Understudy)
- Salvatore Maione (Understudy)
Sydney Revival[]
- Kurtis Papadinis