Jane Houdyshell joins cast of Wicked

Jane HoudyshellPlaybill and The Political Gateway are reporting that actress Jane Houdyshell, best-known for her Tony-Award nominated role in Well, will be joining the cast of Wicked in the role of Madame Morrible, replacing Carol Kane in the touring show.

Houdyshell’s performance in Well earned her a 2006 nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play, playing the character of Ann Kron, the play’s writer Lisa Kron’s mother. She garnered powerful reviews commending her performance, as in the New York Times which said of her work, “Ms. Houdyshell’s performance as Ann Kron retains an anchoring authenticity that guarantees that “Well” opens doors of insight and emotion that no other play in New York is unlocking right now.” (Read the full review here, or check out Broadway.com’s review–which focuses more closely on her career and place in the show –here.)
(And for–much, much–more information on Lisa Kron’s Well and Jane Houdyshell’s role in it, check out the in-depth publicity writeup in pdf)

Houdyshell is also a 2006 winner of the Theater World Award, and a 2004 nominee of the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play, again for Well.

While Carol Kane will be sorely missed as the manipulative headmistress of Elphaba’s Shiz University, we can be sure that Madame Morrible is in good–make that evil–hands yet.

Wicked, soon with Houdyshell, is currently touring in Philadelphia, and there are still tickets available to quite a few of the shows. Check out Wicked Philadelphia tickets for the latest prices or to post your tickets for sale.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on October 28, 2006 - Post a comment

Pre-Halloween Wicked Day

Wicked DayThere’s going to be a huge block party for the event in NYC at The Gershwin Theater from 11AM-2PM, stop by and have a great time getting your face painted, sneaking some candy in before Halloween, and having your photo taken!
Also, as mentioned previously, there will be a singing contest in all of the participating cities, with some fabulous prizes. I’ve listed the locations and times below. Click to go to Google Maps for a closer look.

-New York: The Gershwin Plaza, 12:30 PM
-Chicago: Daley Plaza, 11 AM
-LA: CityWalk @ Universal Studios Hollywood 11:30 AM- 1:30 PM
-Toronto: Toronto Eaton Center, 12:00 PM
Every contest has a great set of prizes. Here’s Toronto’s:

Six (6) tickets to the Toronto production of WICKED
Six (6) WICKED souvenir program autographed by (select) Toronto cast
10 weeks of professional training plus 10 weeks of auditions through Toronto
talent agency John Robert Powers
a personalized WICKED Platinum Record Plaque
One SEARS gift certificate valued at $250.00
One Hillcrest Mall gift certificate valued at $250.00
One Toronto Eaton Centre gift certificate valued at $250.00

Log onto the Wicked Day Website at www.wicked-week.com and find out what the prizes are in your city, where they’re holding the events, and how you can get involved.

And Wicked tickets are still available online for the shows in New York, Chicago, and Toronto on Halloween night, which of course will be one spectacular performance.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on October 26, 2006 - Post a comment

Multimedia Magic

I’ve been trolling around on the internet for some interesting new stuff on Wicked, and came across a few videos. Being a member of the death-by-television generation, I could hardly resist sharing with you.

Universal has a video for Universal’s Wicked trailer online that’s very well-produced, it has a behind-the-scenes feel for the entire production. You get little video snippets from members of the cast discussing what the play means to them, and toying around with the idea of the play’s subversive undertones. The director and I think Steven Schwartz, the writer, if I recognized him, also throw in their two cents. And of course there’s some awesome footage of the show’s spectacular set.

And the Wicked Week I mentioned in the last post has posted on their website a short video mini-documentary on their website; it’s definitely worth signing up for their club. It’s got music from the show in the background, and covers in montage-style the October singing contest in New Jersey. A bunch of starry-eyed high-schoolers competing on stage is really a charming sight. Definitely the next generation’s Elphaba/Glinda pair in there somewhere… I know there’s got to be a Searching for Bobby Fisher spin-off in there somewhere.

The downside to these little teasers is they leave you with nothing but an itch to go to the show again. Forgive me. The touring group with lovely lead Shoshana Bean is still in Toronto, and there are shows all over the states as well. StubHub has Wicked tickets on its ticket center; see when those wicked wiccans will be in your neighborhood.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on October 22, 2006 - Post a comment

3rd Anniversary!

So if you haven’t heard, Gregory Maguire’s Wicked is huge. (Wicked huge.)

Wicked is the biggest show on Broadway, the posters are up all over Manhattan, it’s on a 14-city tour, and on October 29th, Wicked will celebrate its third anniversary as a jaw-dropping, spectacular musical. And this is hardly going unnoticed. If you’re in the Toronto, Chicago, or New York City areas, you can win tickets, stretch your vocal cords and compete in the “Be Wicked” talent contest, or schmooze with the stars! To cap off all the celebrations, there’s a block party in all three cities on October 29th, Wicked’s official birthday. Check out the complete calendar of events on the Wicked Week website, and go for the green. Gold. Green gold.

And if you want the good, old-fashioned traditional experience, (unlike that iconoclast Elphaba) the shows are going on as strong as ever. Check out the tour dates to see when Wicked is coming to your city.

With a killer cast that has Ana Gasteyer back in her Tony-winning role, enough showtimes to accommodate any busy sorceress or wizard in so many cities, and a big there’s no reason to not go. So find yourself Wicked tickets, hop on a broom and get ready to brew up some fun.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on October 20, 2006 - Post a comment

Wicked in Toronto

Audiences in Toronto are spellbound with Broadway’s Wicked. 

The Wicked Witch of the West has worked her way to Toronto and audiences agree that it’s good to be wicked. 

Not that we’re surprised. 

The Toronto Star gave the Wicked witch a score of four stars out of four and says the show is totally wicked.  “Elphaba and Glinda, those beguiling witches who won Toronto’s hearts last year, have come back for another visit and this time let’s hope they stay through the holidays.” 

In other ‘Wicked’ news, Eden Espinosa played her final performance of the perhaps not-so-wicked-witch Elphaba on October 8.  The former star of Brooklyn is the third actress to dawn green makeup and show us a witch more misunderstood than wicked.  

Now, Ana Gasteyer is back in the role she once played to Tony-winning effect.  Her other appearances, though lacking in green, have been on “Saturday Night Live,” The Threepenny Opera, The Rocky Horror Show, and off-Broadway in The Vagina Monologues. 

Wicked has been delighting audiences.  The show is currently in Toronto, as part of its 14-city tour that will take it next to Providence, Rhode Island.  Fans looking to get their hands on Wicked Tickets are sure to get a delight out of this wicked production.   

 

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on October 17, 2006 - Post a comment

Wicked offers fans a Wicked Soundtrack

Wicked Soundtrack among the bestsellers.  

The soundtrack to Wicked is now one of the top-selling CDs in America.  And why not?  It’s nothing new for composer Stephen Schwartz, whose music has often reached beyond the traditional theater audience.   

Besides Broadway, Schwartz has composed for movies and TV, earning three Grammy Awards, three Oscars, and four Drama Desk Awards. Audiences have a rare opportunity to hear the music of Stephen Schwartz, given that the Broadway hit Wicked is on tour.  The show is currently delighting audiences in Toronto until the end of November and will then hop on its broomstick and fly into Providence, Rhode Island.  

Audiences in New York are gearing up to celebrate Wicked Day on October 29, in celebration of the third anniversary of the Broadway hit.  The block party will be outside the Gershwin Theater. 

Fans looking to get their hands on Wicked Tickets can get tickets for the national tour and should also keep their eyes peeled when the Wicked Witch of the West whisks her way into New York at the end of October.  

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on October 17, 2006 - Post a comment

Wicked Goes on Tour

Broadway smash hit, ‘Wicked,’ goes on 14-city tour.
  

The Broadway show ‘Wicked,’ a sensation in New York City, has started its 14-City tour.  The show begins its national tour on the West Coast in Portland, Oregon, and ends in October 2007 in Boston, Massachusetts. 
  

During the span of the next year, the Wicked Witch of the West will work her way through Portland, Seattle, Toronto, Providence, Baltimore, Tampa, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Denver, Oklahoma City, Columbus, East Lansing, Philadelphia, and then Boston.  

‘Wicked’ has thrilled New York audiences for the past three years.  The Seattle Post Intelligencer comments that the show never loses its magic for its writer, Gregory Maguire.  “I’ve seen ‘Wicked’ 19 or 20 times, it’s like an addiction,” says Maguire.  

The Chicago Sun Times says that ‘Wicked’ works because audiences of every age find something in the show that they like.  “Wicked has worked its magic the old-fashioned way…by connecting with audiences through its accessible music, story and characters.” 

Anne Marie Welsh, a Union-Tribune Theater Critic says, “Witty ‘Wicked’ delights a spellbound Audience.”  

People who have not had the chance to catch the Wicked Witch on stage are in a flurry to get Wicked Tickets as the show tours the country.  Ticket prices vary depending on the location.  Tickets in Seattle, where ‘Wicked’ will be traveling next, run from $40 to $309.  Tickets in Boston, where the show will finish its tour next fall, run from $171 to $348.  

 

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on October 17, 2006 - Post a comment