If you love seeing how different performers approach the same role, buy a second ticket to the national tour of Wicked before it leaves Houston later this month. Newcomer Jackie Burns takes over as Elphaba (aka the Wicked Witch of the West) on Thursday, July 8. Burns brings New York credentials with her: She was in the original cast of the recent Broadway revival of Hair and the original company of Rock of Ages off-Broadway. In Oz, she’ll be joining Chandra Lee Schwartz as Glinda, Randy Danson as Madame Morrible and Richard Kline as The Wizard. Wicked will continue to enchant Houston audiences at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts through Sunday, July 25, as part of the Broadway Across America–Houston series. Information broadwayacrossamerica.com/houston.

Image: Jackie Burns, the new witch in town. Photo courtesy Wicked tour.