Maguire’s Wisdom

Though his novel has become a best seller and seen a Tony Award winning Broadway adaptation, Gregory Maguire still remains as humble as ever. The prequel fantasy to the L. Frank Baum story of “The Wizard of Oz” is coming to Indiana for the first time, though his ever growing emprie isn’t doing anything to keep Maguire’s head from growing - especially because of his children. “But for my mental health, I am grateful for the presence of my three adopted children,” he said to the IndyStar while at home in Concord, Massachusetts. “Their needs of learning, their spelling words and doing piano practice, their self-esteem and ego, are more important than my need to prance around in front of audiences and readers accepting praise…they keep me from following the cocaine of audience appreciation….the letters from readers have awakened aspirations to continue the story, so I’ve done two more sequels - “Son of a Witch” and “A Lion Among Men” - and I have one more planned that I hope to have finished by the end of the year.” The seminal novel sold four million copies and earned Tonys when it appeared on stage in 2004 before touring nationally in 2005. Get your Wicked tickets today from StubHub.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on May 29, 2009 - Post a comment

Wicked’s New Friend

Though he may not have won the big title, Adam Lambert is sure getting a lot of press for the runner up of American Idol. This week, the former Wicked star jet over to the Broadway production of “Hair” to check out some of his former co-stars from Wicked, including Caissie Levy, who is also starring in Broadway’s musical Hair currently, and other cast members. “I haven’t seen Adam since ‘Wicked,’ but I’m so proud of him! I have performances nearly every night, but I TiVo-ed every episode of ‘American Idol,’ she said to the New York Daily News. “I always knew Adam was a star, but it was exciting to have America discover what his friends have always known.” The Wicked cast mate still hasn’t revealed whether Lambert will return to the stage in one form or another in the near future, as Wicked tickets have remained popular in their years since the debut but would be bound to see a surplus if this year’s favorite to win on “American Idol” picked up a starring role in the show. Though he has revealed that he doesn’t know exactly what his next move is, Lambert material is sure to be taken well since so many millions voted for him during the finale last week. Decide for yourself as Wicked tickets remain on the market without him from StubHub.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on May 28, 2009 - Post a comment

Befriending a Wicked Character

Therese Bigelow, Chesapeake’s Public Library assistant director, is bringing her longtime friend Gregory Maguire to the Central Library for a free Thursday program. “It was a friend and family favor,” Bigelow said to the Hampton Roads regarding the arrival of her friend and author of “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” the novel that inspired the Broadway adaption and Tony Award winning play. The book has become an international bestseller and is currently enjoying a three week run at Norfolk’s Chrysler Hall. “I’ve heard him speak many, many times and I’ve always left satisfied. He gives entertaining comments as well as food for thought. He’ll give a rich presentation, and he’ll read from some of his works.” The two met and befriended one another in 1977 at a Simmons College Summer Institute in Children’s Literature in Boston, which Maguire eventually became professor and co-director of and a decade later co-founded the Children’s Literature New England. “I was working at the time as a children’s librarian in Hampton and I was an MA wannabe in children’s literature. We got to know each other better the following year and would see each other every year thereafter. He was living in Boston at the time teaching and working to become a writer.” Get Wicked tickets from StubHub today.

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

She’s Just a Bit “Wicked”

Kristin Chenoweth’s latest biography, “A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love and Faith in Stages,” is designed to be just like the former “Wicked” star herself, from tidbits of details regarding her hair style and stalkers to candid moments where she couldn’t stop gushing about her on again, off again relationship with West Wing writer Aaron Sorkin and more, the first book, she describes, is “more of a tea party and less of  aWagnerian night at the Opera.” The book is just like you would want to describe the meeting of a new best friend, as Chenoweth talks about everything, with the help of ghostwriter Joni Rodgers, that describes her faithful devotion to her religion (she is a devout Christian) and her stardom, both on the stage as well as her ill fated career with the television series “Pushing Daisies.” The story even starts all the way in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, where Chenoweth was born, to her days of curlers and eyelashes as a beauty pageant contestant to music school and Broadway, where she won a Tony for “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” while also starring in “The Apple Tree.” Though she no longer stars as the adorablly naieve but lovable Glinda the Good Witch on stage, she has made the role imperfect for others, helping Wicked tickets sell for years.

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

The Wicked Years

If you loved the inspirational tale of the Wicked Witch ofthe West, then pick up the other novels by Gregory Maguire, author of the novel that was made into the Musical on Broadway. The second story in the series is “Son of a Witch,” which follows Liir, a young straggler of the days from the witch’s reign and prior to Dorothy’s massacre that is found a decade after the loss of the green skinned devil comatose and bruises and lost of memory. The book asks questions too valuable for a boy who is only in his teens as he tries to remember his past and how he got in his state. Eventually, the suppossed son of Elphaba must tackle difficult questions and ask himself what would the witch do in certain situations, and whether he can survive in Oz have everything that has happened to it. The third installment in the series is “A Lion Among Men,” that follows “Brr,” a lion reporter that once again enters the mauntry in search of questions that follow his journey into the state of Oz as it, while also trying to find something about Elphaba and finding Liir. If you want to see this story evolve, start at the beginning with Wicked tickets.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on May 22, 2009 - Post a comment

One “Wicked” Website

It is amazing how much acclaim the Broadway musical Wicked jhas earned in its years on stage - even citing its on web page deemed “Wicked the Musicall, 50 Wicked related pages here! All about the show Wicked on Broadway, Wicked tour, Wicked San Francisco & International.” For a complete list, check out www.musicalschwartz.com). The website includes a brief Wicked the Musical history, Wicked Reviews and Awards, Wicked Frequently Asked Questions, Wicked merchandise, a list of some of Wicked stars, novels from some former cast members (like Kristin Chenoweth, the play’s first Glinda), as well as the inside scoop from the play itself in “Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked.” Quick links include Wicked tickets on Broadway, on the national tour and in San Francisco, as well as an international one, Wicked sheet music and so much more!

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on May 21, 2009 - Post a comment

Augusta’s Wicked

Though it isn’t the traditional way “Wicked” is performed, Misfit Theatre Group’s version of the show in Augusta, Georgia is still just as good. The company, which opened up in 2002, is all about audience participation, especially during October time when their nickname “Erotic Nightmares” comes out and they perform the annual “Rocky Horror Picture” show on Halloween. “Every show we do, we make the audience feel like they’re part of it,” Robert Seawell, found of the troupe, said to the Metro Spirit. “We put the “un” in unconventional theater.” The story behind the Wizard of Oz is now coming to this sometimes dark stage; “The Wizard of Oz is a glitch; Wikced is all about her,” Seawell continues, as he talks about his own role, playing lead character and green faced star Elphababa, who later become the Wicked Witch of the West. Along with Seawell is Alisa Farrington as Galinda, who become Glinda the Good Witch. “We want to give an incredible show,” says Seawell, who also directes the show. The small theatre, which relies on donations for support, has tons of cast crossovers, as Matt Lindsey, the assistant director, also plays Fiyero. See how this version does with your own Wicked tickets today.

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

Wicked Number One

Sure, everyone knows that American Idol is popular, but for those theatre fans, the truth is that Wicked remains at the top no matter which elimination is up next. The musical prequel to the “Wizard of Oz” had a 6.30 power score according to TicketNews’s Weekly Top Events for the week that ended on May 17th. The musical shot to the top even when competing with American Idol Live’s score of 4.51 and the New York Yankees’s 2.51. The rest of the list is dominated by sports events, as the baseball season is just getting in gear again, while playoffs and elimination season is in the air for the rest of the categories - but still, Wicked tickets and performances remained at the top for the sheer wit and character of Gregory McGuire’s The show acquired the top spot for all “combined events,” while “American Idols Live Tickets” made the Top Concert Events and “New York Yankees Tickets” the Top Sports Events.

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

American Idols in Wicked

Though “American Idol” typically attempts to discover new kids in the musical art scene, for this year’s Idol favorite Adam Lambet, he’s already felt what it was like to be on the top - of the musical. Lambert had two stints in Wicked before the 27 year old tried out to join the cast of American Idol - first in March 2005 with the touring company (for six months) and opoening in the extended Los Angeles production in February 2007 through its close in October 2008. For both series he remained an understudy for Fieryo and a member of the ensemble. “Adam was a theatre guy. He came in and had that amazing voice or as I like to say ‘instrument’ because he has this incredible range,” Bernard Telsey said to the Associated Press (Telsey was the man who auditioned Lambert for the role). “I literally remember saying, ‘Oh my God, this guy has the highest range. And you are always looking for ensemble people who have a huge vocal range and vocal power. In an ensemble of only a handful of voices, you want that kind of a sound. It makes a show feel like there are 20 people in the ensemble as oppossed to 10.” If you want to see this show with all the power that it was able to include an American Idol, get your Wicked tickets today.

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

Lottery Galore

If you’re a Norfolk resident and haven’t yet picked up your Wicked tickets, you’re in luck as the Broadway musical is giving away some of the tickets via a lottery during its three week run at the Chrysler Hall. With tickets running as much as $100 a pop, it is no wonder that more people are coming two and a half hours early like the rest of the hopeful lottery players to get their Wicked fix! With $25 cash in your pocket and a lucky draw, you could be a winner if you play by all the rules - “I came up here expecting to see a lot of people, but I’m the only one,” Shawn Lawhorn said just before Thursday’s matinee performance. Lawhorn is unemployed, so getting the tickets at a reduced rate really helps her survive during these harsh economic times. “It’s more affordable for me because I really didn’t want to spend $87.00,” she continued. 

Via WVEC.com, “Here’s how to enter, go to the Box Office outside Chrysler Hall two-and-a-half hours before showtime.  30 minutes before the curtain rises, you’ll find out if you’re a winner.

You can get two tickets at $25 each and you’ll need to have cash — no credit cards or checks.

The seats are at different locations inside the hall.

Dawn and Shawn got front row seats.”

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on May 15, 2009 - Post a comment


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