Wicked Hitting the TPAC
Tennessee’s Performing Arts Center is beginning its 2009-2010 Broadway season with “Wicked.” The show, no matter what city its in or getting ready to hit, finds fans with serious enthusiasm. In Nashville, travelers were easy to spot Thom Widmanns’ emerald toned luggage tags. ”In airports, getting in the taxi, it’s always ‘Have you seen it?’ ‘Are you in it?’ Everyone wants to start the conversation,” says Widmann, the international show’s New York-based production supervisor. No matter whether the party questioning him has seen it or not, there is some serious excitement with everything they ask. ”There’s this anticipation,” he says. “A very high bar has been set. And it’s been very fun to be a part of that.” Now the show hits Nashville’s Tennesse Performing Arts Center until Wednesday, September 20th and is taking over the city - with 14 trucks of rigging, scenery, costumes and more, a complete cast of 33, a crew of 18, a band of 6, a physical therapist, three stage managers and local professionals. ”We still have to pinch ourselves, how happy we are that Wicked is coming,” says Kathleen O’Brien, TPAC’s president and CEO. “We’re not immune to that, either.” The show is bound to be a hit when it comes to the stage this week, so don’t miss it with Wicked tickets today.
Wicked’s Fame Still Burning
As popular as Wicked is today, the show wasn’t as astounding from the start as playwrites, producers and actors made it out to be. When it first did previews in San Francisco, the reviews mixed. When it moved to New York, the reveiws didn’t change, even with actor changes and set design. For The New York Times’ Ben Brantley, the story carried some weight with its key players, Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda and Idina Mezel as Elphaba (the latter who won a Tony Award), but he also said that if it weren’t for its stars, Wicked would be ‘a bloated production that might otherwise spend close to three hours flapping its oversized wings without taking off.’
But before any other reviewers could say anything else, the fans got a hold of the show and overwhelmed those professional reviews with some of their own. It became an audiences’ show, as tour would eventually open up in Tokyo, London, Melbourne, Australia, Stuttgart, Germany and other US cities to break box office records, pick up a total of three Tony Awards and show off some of today’s brightest stars. So the story became popular, just like Glinda sings to Elphaba in the story, and Wicked tickets continued to sell out to crowds across the country and world. See for yourself what all the fuss is about.
Elphaba Isn’t Green with Envy - She’s Green with Excitement!
Alexia Khadime has returned as London’s Elphaba for the show “Wicked’ that has gained fame around the world for its relatabilty and passion. Talking with BWW, Khadime is estatic to be part of the cast again. “It’s a great story, but it does have bits of reality in there. If you’re young, old, male, female, wherever you’re from, you’ll watch it and at some point you’ll think, “I know what that’s like.” I first saw the show in Chicago in 2005, and I had no idea what it was about. I came out thinking how amazing and how well-written it was - I absolutely loved it,”she says to the BWW. Formerly of “The Lion King,” the star had never dreamed of appearing onstage plastered in green makeup. But as luck would have it, the same casting director for her former play was dealing with ‘Wicked’ and personally requested a tryout from her. “And I did, and I kept getting recalled - I can’t remember quite how many auditions I went through, but it was more than five. Then I got the phone call, and my heart was thumping. I remember saying to them, “No, I can’t have got it, you’re lying!’” But she did, and has manged to turn West End’s version of the Broadway feat into a timeless treasure as well, making Wicked tickets an outstanding treat for the whole family!
Getting a Shade Darker than ‘Teal’
Teal Wicks is wicked - really wicked. So much so that every night she gets dolled up in a black rope and green makeup to play the role of Elphaba onstage for packed audiences, singing the singles like “Defying Gravity” and more. The 26 year old first last year, and has since played Elphaba with the Los Angeles company following the stint with the national tour. “It’s a role I’ve wanted to play ever since I was a kid growing up in Sacramento. I’ts a dream come true for me,” she said. Growing up along Garden Highway and attending Natomas High School, she still returns to her home town where her family still resides.
The story has been hashed out on this blog before - the ‘backstory’ of the witches of Oz, the Sacramento’s role on stage is extremely demanding, as she flies around on a broomstick while belting out tunes that are difficult and extremely profound. Meanwhile, she is painted head to toe in green makeup. “I get green every night for the show - it takes about 25 minutes, it make me a greener shade of teal,” she jokes. Currently Wicked is playing at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco on an extended run, so if you want to see the show and Wicks’ talent, get Wicked tickets today! “Come see me Sacramento, you’re so close!”
Wizard of Oz’s 70th Anniversary
Today marks the 70th anniversary of the Wizard of Oz, and as the play WIcked was based on the novel of the same name which was based off of the the Oz story by L. Frank Baum’s 1900 book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” let’s pay tribute to that tale and the film that went with it. For those in Kansas, members still celebrate its legacy with a line of designer ruby red slippers, a hot air balloon tour around the coutnry and OZtoberFest Festival and International Oz Club Convention in Wamego and Manhattan.
Though ‘Wicked’ became one of the most well known stories to come out of Oz, written as a prequel to the story played out by Judy Garland, there are many more depictions of what happened before and after the hit Broadway play and film. One such is Rob Schneider’s “Silver Shoes,” a story that follows Donald Gardner (sound familiar? Garland’s character was Dorothy Gale), the mother and father, a reclusive man - all who have characteristics that resemble Dorothy’s friends in the story. “The story itself is very reflective of Kansans’ inferiority complex,” Craig Miner said, professor of history at Wichita State University. OZtoberFest will also be in conjunction with the International Wizard of Oz club’s international convention from Oct. 2 to Oct. 4 in Wamego and Manhattan.
Oz Celebrates 70 Years this Week
Wizard of Oz fans everywhere are celebrating its 70th annivesary this week. The film first opened August 15th, 1939 and eventually became a cult classic when it showed in theaters everywhere as the first color film. Now the show has not only seen references in everything from ‘Star Wars’ characters like Chewis and C3PO but a prequl best selling novel and Broadway play based on the characters. The film took a while to find a serious home among audiences, as the year it premieredd “Gone with the Wind” stormed through the Academy Awards, though “Over the Rainbow” picked up the award for Best Song, as well as Best Core and Best Performances by a Juvile went to Judy Garland for her work in this film as well as “Babes in Arms.” It was a decade later, upon its re-release in theaters that the witches of Oz and Dorthy and her friends really caught the mainstream attention they deserved, earning twice as much as they had before. When the film first debuted on television in 1956 - it streamlined to over 45 million viewers. Though the “Wicked” series, which starts with the novel turned play and continues on with two more stories (and a fourth on the way), are the only Oz novels. If you want to celebrate its seven decades, get the next best thing to a televised version of the show with Wicked tickets today.
Wicked Fans from All Over
San Diegans are all excited to see the show ‘Wicked,” so much so that resdients who aren’t often moved from their home also put together a recreational bus to see the musical. Members of the Rotary Club of Fallbrook and their spouses entered a Silvergate bus to attend the recent matinee The bus was boarded yesterday afternoon and took off to the San Diego Civic Theater for San Diego for three dozen members of the Rotary Club that would enjoy a quick lunch and see the afternoon matinee of the show. The Fallbrook Bonsall Village News reported on the event, as seniors looked excited and lively to see the show for the day.
An examiner recently reportd that Wicked will return to the stage in Charlotte in May 2010 again at the Ovens Auditorium where it had previously seen the award winning show. Though little else was reported, fans will undoubedtly be excited to see the untold story of the witches of Oz back on the stage for another battle with fame this year. It’s a great show and should not be missed no matter what city you live in or how far you have to travel to get there, so get those Wicked tickets today!
San Diego Native Comes to Play Glinda, the Good Witch
For San Marcos native Chandra Lee, performing on Broadway for five years as the good witch Glinda was a dream, but now she will really be enjoying the spotlight when she comes to her home town for the first time, performing at the San Diego Civic Theatre as she takes over the role of Glinda in the national tour of “Wicked.” She was thrilled that she landed the part she first auditioned for in 2004 after the 1999 graduate had previously been ‘too young,’ by casting agents. “I’m really so happy to be doing this in my hometown,” she said in a phone interview before rehearsals to the North County Times. “It’s as if the stars have aligned correctly.”
Born and raised in San Marcos, she did some acting in the city’s Theatre West youth drama company before spending her teenage years singing with a band. She graduated from high school and performed at Palomar College, THEATRX and PATH theatre before moving to New York to begin a professional career. She found success quickly there, working at Gateway Playhouse and landing a speaking role alongside Bernadette Peters in the Broadway revival “Gypsy.” Later she starred as Penny in the national tour of “Hairspray” and Sharpay in “High School Musical’s” national tour. ”I consider myself a comic actress, and this is a nice soprano part. It’s kind of rare to find those kinds of roles because usually the comic roles are low and belty,” she said. ”There’s a certain outline I have to follow for continuity, but they’re very encouraging about making her my own,” she said. “I’m still just getting to know Glinda, but I think of her as a very loving, vivacious person who’s dynamic and who people flock to. What are viewed by others as her faults —- that she’s shallow and conceited —- are just who she is and how she’s been raised. During the course of the show, she gets to the see the other side of things and she changes through her relationship with Elphaba.”
Wicked’s Composer Celebrated
San Marcos native Chandra Lee Schwartz, who played Sharpay in the national tour of “High School Musical,” will step out as glinda August 21st during the Wicked run in San Diego.
Stephen Schwartz, the musical director and five time Tony nominee for his scores of Pippin, Godspell, Working, Wicked and lyrics for Rags,will be celebrated during the closeing night concert of the Festival of the New American Musicals in Los Angeles on August 22nd. The 3-6pm closing party and concert is directed by Scott Schwartz and will feature Tony winner Marissa Jaret Winokur, Tony nominees Peter Gallagher and Susan Egan, Graham Phillips, David Burnham, and songwriter Georgia Stitt, all of whom will perform Schwartz’s songs. The stage a few days later will house a free Bubble Boy readings, presented at the Disney Commissary at 8pm. As the Tony and Academy Award winning director will be announced, Wicked tickets will continue to show off his talent so make sure that you get some today. It is a great show!
There’s a New Witch in Town
Chandra Lee Schwartz will be taking over the role of Glinda the Good Witch on August 21 for the Wicked play that has taken over the Southern California town of San Diego - the San Diego Civic Center will welcome Schwartz in a role that she has perfected on other stages including Damn Yankees, Off-Broadway, Go-Go Beach in New York, Hairspray in Las Vegas, But I’m a Cheerleader in New York and Gypsy on Broadway as well as the Broadway Reival.
Schwartz will be joining the cast when it opens at the San Diego Civic Center through the end of the month, along with Donna Vivino (Elphaba), Myra Lucretia Taylor (Madame Morrible), Lenny Wolpe (The Wizard), Richard H. Blake (Fiyero), Ben Liebert (Boq), Amanda Rose (Nessarose), Paul Slade Smith (Dr. Dillamond), Todd Anderson, Terra Lynn Arrington, Kevin Aubin, Luis Avila, Antonette Balestreri, Stefanie Brown, Dominic Giudici, Brenda Hamilton, Courtney D. Jones, Spencer Jones, Ryan Patrick Kelly, Renee Lawless-Orsini, Philip Dean Lightstone, Marissa Lupp, RJ Marshall, Lauren Masiello, Lesley McKinnell, Kevin McMahon, Robert Pendilla, Christopher Russo, Adam Sanford, Robert Spaniolo, Stephanie Torns, Shanna VanDerwerker, Jessica Walker, Betsy Werbel, Bryan West, Blake Whyte, and Samantha Zack.
See how she does while enjoying San Diego’s beaches, with Wicked tickets today!
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