Wicked Songs: “One Short Day”

Wicked’s soundtrack is one of the favorites to buy as a gift for those who have already seen the show, and even for some who have not. If you are one of the quickly decreasing number of people who have not seen it, then be prepared for something special when you get your Wicked tickets. As a taste of what you have to look forward to, here is a glimpse of what you will be experiencing when you see the show live.

The turning point of the musical takes place when Elphaba and Glinda go to The Emerald City to meet the Wizard of Oz. In the musical the scene begins with the song “One Short Day” which opens with Elphaba asking Glinda to come with her to the Emerald City to meet the Wizard. Then the chorus begins singing:

“One Short day
In the Emerald City
One Short Day
Full of So much to do
Ev’ry Way
That you look in the city
There’s something exquisite
You’ll want to visit
Before the day’s through!”

The musical is one that has been enjoyed by and inspired many, so it is definitely one that you will not want to miss! This story of intrigue challenges preconceptions and suppositions, it is beautifully performed by an incredible cast.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on February 27, 2009 - Post a comment

Wicked, the Musical, Heading to Portland

As we near March Wicked, the Musical, is now getting ready to make yet another move on its current national tour. Wicked tickets will soon be available for Keller Auditorium in Portland, Oregon, to begin performances on March 4, just three days before the second national tour launches in Fort Meyers, Florida. The musical has become the biggest grossing show on Broadway and the most talked about musical of the decade. As it continues to grow as a national, and international, phenomenon; Portland natives are excited to welcome the musical back to their state.  Wicked will be on stage at Keller Auditorium from March 4 to April 5 of this year, from there it will move on to Salt Lake City, Utah.

Wicked recently provided an economic boost for the city of Appleton, Wisconsin, where it has enjoyed nearly four weeks of hospitality. The economic boost provided by the musical has been warmly welcomed, and theatergoers in that city have been enjoying the musical for most of this month. The musical, which acts as a prequel to the orignal story of Oz, written by L. Frank Baum in 1900, is also going to be touring the cities of Jacksonville, Florida; Omaha, Nebraska; Norfolk, Virginia; Indianapolis, Indiana; and San Antonio, Texas; to name a few.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on February 26, 2009 - Post a comment

Wicked Songs: “I’m Not That Girl”

Wicked has a little something for everyone, which explains the wide-spread appeal that the musical enjoys. The story of Elphaba and Glinda is one that has become a favorite Broadway show, and it continues to play to a full house every night that it runs. On tour the show has been giving an economic boost to the towns that it visits, putting back into the community much of what is being put into it.

The story about a young girl with high ideals and a fiery heart and her friend, the popular and blond girl who has everything going for her, is a story that has become a favorite among theatergoers of all ages and sexes. The story developes some interesting and unexpected background behind the Wicked Witch of the West, who begins life as Elphaba and her friend Galinda, who later changes her name to Glinda.

One of the songs that is sung by Elphaba is “I’m Not That Girl,” it is a song that most young girls can relate to, particularly with the first verse:

“Hands touch, eyes meet
Sudden silence, sudden heat
Hearts leap in a giddy whirl
He could be that boy
But I’m not that girl:

Don’t dream too far
Don’t lose sight of who you are
Don’t remember that rush of joy
He could be that boy
I’m not that girl.”

The song, sung by Elphaba, is one that speaks of a lack of self-confidence in regards to the opposite sex. In what may be her first experience of love, Elphaba realizes that the boy that she has fallen for is one that she could never be the right girl for. It is an aspect of the story that many, especially teenage, girls can relate to. Don’t forget to buy your Wicked tickets today!

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on February 25, 2009 - Post a comment

Wicked Songs: Dancing Through Life

Wicked is a story that studies the evolution of characters. Characteristics displayed at the beginning of the musical are either enhanced or removed as the deeper layers of the characters are revealed. In the case of some, whimsical follies turn into morbid flaws, in the case of others the whimsical follies remain there, but become more transparent to reveal the deeper person on the inside. And, in the case of some, the character is so deeply complex that we are not sure where the flaws end and the strength of character begins. All this is told through the songs of the musical. And no character is more charming at the beginning than that of Fiyero, whose devil-may-care attitude on life h as gotten him in a great deal of trouble in the past.

As the character is introduced during the beginning scenes of the first act, we discover a boy who simply wants to have fun. He sings:

“Dancing through life
Skimming the surface
Gliding where the turf is smooth
Life’s more painless
For the brainless
Why think too hard?”

And we wonder if this young man actually has much of anything upstairs, until we realize that in order for him to actually philosophize about these things he must actually have at least a few brain cells that rub together. But what happens to Fiyero later on in the story? If you do not already know then don’t look here, get Wicked tickets and find out! This is a fantastic musical that has been the hottest topic on Broadway for the past year, and is still growing in popularity.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on February 24, 2009 - Post a comment

A Wicked Beginning

Wicked, the Musical, is bookended by two important songs that both foreshadow the story of The Wizard of Oz that most of us are fondly familiar with. The first is the song “The Wizard and I” in which the heroine of the story, Elphaba, sings of a bright future, in which she will stand next to the Wizard. She sings:

“Unlimited
My future is unlimited
And I’ve just had a vision
almost like a prophecy
I know - it sounds truly crazy
And true, the vision’s hazy
But I swear, someday there’ll be
a celebration throughout Oz
That’s all about me!”

The song is a hopeful one, full of promise and a bright future in store for the young girl, Elphaba. But from the first song that we hear in the musical, “No One Mourns the Wicked” we know that the green-skinned girl, Elphaba, dies alone and her death is celebrated by all of Oz. So what happened in between “The Wizard and I” and the beginning song of the play? Get your Wicked tickets for the new tour which will be starting at the Barbara B. Mann Hall in Fort Myers, FL, to find out.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on February 23, 2009 - Post a comment

Wicked Popular

It seems fitting that one of the favorite songs from the hit Broadway musical Wicked is actually the song titled “Popular.” After all, what person who has seen the musical has not enjoyed the sight of Galinda prancing about the stage in all her foot-popping glory, singing:

“Popular!
You’re gonna be popular!
I’ll Teach you the proper plys
When you talk to boys
Little ways to flirt and flounce
I’ll show you what shoes to wear
How to fix your hair
Everything that really counts.”

This is a great show with moments that are entertaining, touching and powerful. The song “Popular” has become a huge favorite for both its charmingly silly presentation as well as its rather satiracle lyrics. such as the lines:

“And though you protest
Your disinterest
I know clandestinely
You’re gonna grin and bear it
Your new found popularity…”

Words that, ironically, bring to mind moments such as Clueless when Cher tries to make over Tai. But this time the makeover artist is artfully satiracle in some great lyrics by  Stephen Schwartz. This is the charm of Wicked, that characters state both the fact of what they are doing and the satyrical truth behind it in a charmingly guilless manner. Enjoy Wicked tickets today!

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on February 20, 2009 - Post a comment

Wicked’s Ruby Slippers

Wicked is a story that continues a tradition in American literature, theater, and possibly someday in film as well, that been carried down since the beginning of the 20th Century. The tradition began with American writer L. Frank Baum, who essentially helped to create the American fairytale when he published the first book of the series The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, in 1901. One of the most important icons of the story is the Ruby Slippers, which first became famous as the most recognizable shoes ever to appear on television, when the movie based on the book was first released in 1939. Incidentally, the shoes in the book were not ruby, but silver, as they are in the newest book in the saga Wicked: The Life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West. However, screenwriter Noel Langley decided to change the shoes to ruby in the movie, as he believed that silver would not stand out on screen as much.

In Wicked, the show that is currently enjoying monumental success on Broadway and on stages around the world, the musical again unveils the ruby slippers that were first created by the pen of Noel Langley. This musical is based on the book Wicked: The Life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West, written by Gregory Maguire, but as Maguires book is a response to the book by Baum, the musical is a response to the Wizard of Oz, the 1939 movie. Having already run for more the five years on Broadway, and appeared in numerous cities around the US as well as a number of stages abroad, this musical promises to be one of the longest running musicals in Broadway history. So far it is the largest grossing musical currently on stage. Get your Wicked tickets soon, as they sell out fast.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on February 19, 2009 - Post a comment

Wicked: Greatest Musical in 30 Years

It is no secret that the musical Wicked is considered to be the greatest musical currently on stage. And in a recent awards ceremony for the Dress Circle Awards Wicked’s Oliver Tompsett and Dianne Pilington were on hand to receive the award for Wicked as The Greatest Musical of the Past 30 Years. The award was given in London, where the msuical has received wide recognition among the theater-going public. The musical opened at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre in September 2006 and celebrated its 1000th performance on Valentines day this past week. It has recently become recognized as the most successful musical on London’s famous West End (the British equivalent of New York’s Broadway.)

For those of us on this side of the pond, in the United States, Wicked tickets are currently available for the following cities: Appleton, Wisconsin; Birmingham, Alabama; Denver, Colorado; Fort Myers, Florida; Jacksonville, Kentucky; Memphis, Tennessee; New York, New York; Norfolk, Virginia; Omaha, Nebraska; Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City, Utah; San Antonio, Texas; San Francisco; and Tempe, Arizona. This is a great time to get tickets to see this incredible musical, so be sure to get your tickets as soon as you can, and enjoy the Greatest Musical in 30 Years!

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on February 18, 2009 - Post a comment

Wicked sings British Invasion

Wicked tour cast members are currently in Appleton, Wisconsin, and they recently took part in a fundraising event that included them singing the Beatles. The event was held to benefit two AIDs charities, one is the Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDs and the other is the AIDs Resource Center of Wisconsin. The performing arts center that the cast performed at will also benefit from the concert. The benefit was fueled by the passionate interest that many of those in theatre are passionate about. Though the disease of AIDs has become more liveable here in the U.S., there are many in the world who suffer greatly from it. The singers and dancers from the musical rocked the stage as they sang the songs of Ringo, John, Paul, and George.

In other Wicked news, Gregory Maguire, the author of the novel Wicked, will be speaking at U-E High School in New York. The author will be reading from his latest book A Lion Among Men and he will answer questions from the audience. He will also be doing a signing. In addition to his novel Wicked being made into a musical, with an eventual movie version likely coming in the future, Maguire’s novel Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister was adapted as a two-hour television movie.

Wicked tickets are currently available at StubHub.com as the show continues to be the most popular show on Broadway. This is a great opportunity to enjoy the most phenomenally successful musical currently staging in New York.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on February 17, 2009 - Post a comment

Wicked Talks to Local Students

Wicked tour cast members Donna Vivino (Elphaba) and Katie Rose Clark (Glinda), spent some time with some students from Renaissance School for the Arts at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center this past weekend. The 150 students had already spent some time at the theater when they volunteered as greeters earlier on in the month. The actresses gave the students time to ask questions about being a performer, professional auditions, and what a typical day on tour is like. The actresses also answered questions about career and  life goals, giving positive, down-t0-earth advice for students who are beginning to make career decisions. The stars gave excellent advice to the students about staying true to themselves and remembering the value of knowledge and education.

Donna Vivino and Katie Rose Clarke are currently staring in the first of two national tours of Wicked that are circulating the US this year. The second tour will be starting in the month of March. Both actresses have already had stellar track records in the show, and have gained growing national respect and fame during the tour. Vivino is a native of Fair Lawn, New Jersey, who first joined Wicked in 2008, in a previous tour with Wicked. Clarke hails from Friendswood, Texas, and came to Wicked from Light in the Piazza in 2007. To get your Wicked tickets, check www.stubhub.com, today!

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on February 16, 2009 - Post a comment


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