Ethan Slater
American actor and singer
Boq is a Munchkin man who is a central character in the musical Wicked, where he is portrayed as a friend of Elphaba and Glinda during their time at Shiz University. He becomes the love interest of Elphaba's younger sister, Nessarose, though his feelings are not mutual; he only pursues her to impress Glinda, who does not remember his name. When Nessarose discovers Boq's true affection for Glinda, she attempts to cast a spell on him from Elphaba's spell book, but mispronounces it, causing his heart to shrink and disappear. To save his life, Elphaba transforms him into the Tin Woodman. This transformation is a key plot point in the musical, though it is not part of the original Wizard of Oz story, where Boq does not appear. In the 2024 film Wicked and its sequel Wicked: For Good (2025), the role of Boq is played by actor Ethan Slater, who spent 20 days filming in prosthetics to portray the character's transformation into the Tin Man.
Factsheet
(1992-06-02) June 2, 1992 (age 33)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
singer
(1992-06-02) June 2, 1992 (age 33)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
singer
So we all know Boq’s actions in Act 1 of the musical leads to him being turned into the Tin Man in Act 2, but what I find frustrating is that after his transformation (post Wicked Witch of the East) he essentially ceases to exist in the remainder of the show. We know through the Wizard of Oz that he travels with Dorothy, meets the wizard, finds out he’s a fraud and gets a ticking clock but after that he has no character resolution. No confrontation with Glinda, no apologies for his actions, nothing. I could see if his arc was about self love and by the end he doesn’t need Glinda just himself, but the musical doesn’t set that up to be an issue with him. He kind of just falls flat and disappeared. Anyone else feel like this?
Videos
Where is Wicked playing on Broadway?
Wicked plays at:
The Gershwin Theatre
222 West 51st St.
New York, NY 10019
For information on how to get to the Gershwin Theatre, head to our guide to The Best Ways to Get to Broadway Theaters.
Are translation services available for Wicked on Broadway?
Audien Translation System devices are available for $10 on the second level of the theatre – currently offered in Japanese, German, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Mandarin and Korean. You can rent a headset and get a running synopsis of the show in any of these seven languages.
What is the running time of Wicked on Broadway?
Wicked is 2 hours and 45 minutes long, with one intermission.
I was reading through The Wizard of Oz again, and I noticed that Boq was there, by name. It was in the scene where she had just started along the yellow-brick road. She had stopped for a dinner at his house.
Dorothy ate a hearty supper and was waited upon by the rich Munchkin himself, whose name was Boq. Then she sat upon a settee and watched the people dance.
When Boq saw her silver shoes he said,
"You must be a great sorceress."
"Why?" asked the girl.
"Because you wear silver shoes and have killed the Wicked Witch. Besides, you have white in your frock, and only witches and sorceresses wear white.”
I haven’t seen part II, so I don’t know if this shown or not. I assume it’s not, since it has nothing to do with Elphaba.
It’s a cool reference, but I don’t think it quite fits the story. First of all, if Boq is the tin man, that can’t be the same person. Since the tin man at this point is standing in a field rusting as he has been for a year. Also, he seems really happy that she killed the witch, which doesn’t quite work with the romance with Nessa.
I feel like it could be Boq’s father or something. The Boq in Wicked is potentially Boq Jr.
If nothing else, I think this is where Gregory Maguire got the name.
Spoiler tag to be safe.
Just saw the movie last night and have been haunted by Boq’s story. Same with Nessa to an extent, but she at least had Elphaba’s love.
I know it all matches the play’s storyline, so it wasn’t a surprise, but I think the play brought some levity with comedy. The strong acting and CGI in the movie really drive home how bad he got screwed and how alone he ended up. Seems unfair everyone got some redemption except him and Morrible, but he wasn’t even a villain
Curious what others think.
SPOILERS ✨There may be some spoilers if you're not familiar with the source material. ✨ I saw Wicked for my 5th time today.🙃 It was phenomenal, as usual.🙌🏼 I love that every time I see it, it hits me differently. 🫶🏼 This is much needed comfort food for me. It's holding space in my heart. 🩷💚💚🩷 NOW Boq Talk😂 BOQ: (Movie/Musical-Not Book & Character, Not Actor!) Let's chat about how he is really a Giant Jerk in Munchkin clothing. This isn't just my conclusion, it's a consensus from people I've seen it with or have seen it. Them telling me how he came across so cringy! I'm actually going to have to agree with this opinion! Look, I get he just wants to "fit in" and make friends, but at the expense of playing with someone else's emotions & heart? Even though Nessa is a horrible sister to Elphaba, she still does not deserve this. (Nessa being a horrible sisiter-This is a different convo & thread😉) I mean he's clearly enamored with Glinda from day one. But, it's sad that he thinks he's actually going to garner Glinda's attention in that way by "dating" Nessa. So, why use her like that? Glinda could honestly care less. We aIl know who she wants to be with, at this time. I mean 'Come on'! She calls him Bic, for Oz's-sake! 😂 At the most, he is a part of their friend group now, which is cool. However, to still harbor these intense feelings for somebody else and just keep dating Nessa, or keeping it 'Casual' with Nessa? That's super messed up. I mean we all know he's not really into her. So...Yeah, he comes across as a jerk. Let's not forget he even shook hands with her Dad, after a "this is my boyfriend" conversation? Cringe! 😬 Thoughts? Opinions? The comment section below is open & yours!🫶🏼🩷💚