Wicked’s Famous Stars

Kansas City’s 5 talks to the lead popular girl of Broadway’s hit musical “Wicked” as her story storms through the theater this season. Helen Yorke plays the future Glinda the Good Witch who travels by bubble and friends the green faced Wicked Witch of the West, otherwise known as Elphaba. But for the actress who plays a popular character, she finds herself relating more to the often black robbed, pointed hat star. “I identify with her,” she says to kctv5.com. “I was awkward in high school and I wasn’t very popular. So I definitely think her story has more of an influence on me.” The co-headliner for the show is Marcie Dodd, who Yorke confirms is a close friend. “It’s like twins, we have a symbiotic relationship. We’ve done it so much, we can read one another. If one of us is having a bad day, the other will do something goofy to make the other laugh. But we usually know how the other is feeling.”

Yorke returns to the stage as another love - hate character after portraying Sharpay in the traveling “High School Musical.” “I’m just right for it. I guess it comes easy for me. But both characters grow and change and you learn to love them.”

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

Wicked’s Impact on the World

Gregory Maguire remembered the first time he and cast members of his novel turned Broadway hit musical invited fans to a meet and greet special. Women clutched their music albums to get signed, and he says to the Dentonrc.com, “Every 16th woman would get through the line to Idina [Menzel] — they’d get to Elphaba — and they would burst into tears,” Maguire said in a telephone interview from his home in Concord, Mass. “Sometimes it was a young girl, and sometimes it was an older woman. But there was one woman — you couldn’t see what she looked like because she was wearing a burqa, the veil that goes from head to foot. I remember pulling my chair a little closer, and she said to Idina, ‘This is the first time since I’ve been in America that I’ve seen myself mirrored in anything at all.’ It never occurred to me when I was writing the novel that she would move so many different people. I mean, I knew she was a hero to me, but I was surprised that she moved so many people.” Maguire speaks this Saturday in Hubbard Hall on Texas Woman’s University. The free lecture will be the conclusion of the Denon Reads, a small group that discuss and study a title in partnership with Denton Public Library and the University of North Texas and TWU libraries.

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

A ‘Wicked’ Return to Cleveland

Wicked is returning to Cleveland’s Playhouse Square November 18 through December 13, 2009, reports Broadway World. The show will feature the famous lyrics and music by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. The story follows the Frank L. Baum book and film “The Wizard of Oz” as a prequel to Dorothy and her travels to find the Wizard. The show is currently directed by two time Tony winner Joe Mantello with musical staging by Tony Award winner Wayne Cilento. The show will perform Tuesday- Friday evenings at 8pm, Saturdays at 2 and 8pm and Sundays at 1 and 6:30pm.

Following the Saturday, December 5th performance the Playhouse Square Community Engagement and Education Department is hosting a special Teen Night; the event is free for ticket holders and teens 14 to 19 can enjoy pizza, a DJ, karaoke and meet members of the cast. “Playhouse Square is among the first cities in the country to present the tour of Wicked for a third time,” Gina Vernaci, Vice President of Theatricals said to Broadway World. “Once again, Cleveland is deservingly at the forefront as this spectacular musical returns to the State Theatre.”

If you want to catch this infamous show when it comes to town again, get Wicked tickets from StubHub.

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

Wicked Still Top of Sales

“Wicked”  hasn’t been affected by the economic state at all. The Broadway, Tony Award winning hit came to the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center and just yesterday the theater presented its sales target to the community. “‘Wicked’ totally sold out in the month of February which had me a little bit nervous with people leaving town for warming climates,” Fox Cities PAC President Susan Stockton said. The show hit the Fox Cities PAC with more than 17,000 first time buyers. The project sales for the company did well since sale expectations were lower than normal due to the economic state. But apparently, sales in the arts don’t see an economic downturn. “We budgeted very conservatively in light of the economic climate, and we feel that we are meeting all of those targets right now,” Laura Braun said, Vice President of Finance and Operations.

“I’m pleased to say that the Center was able to exceed operational projections by 5.5%. That’s not a small task when you are looking at the economics that we are faced with in the community,” PAC chair Mike Weller said. The theater company gets about $12.5 million a year for the economy. The show is fantastic making it a hit no matter the state of things.

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

Wicked’s Success Doesn’t Stop at Recession

Few cities are lucky enough to get the Broadway hit musical “Wicked” in their town. For Cleveland’s Playhouse Square’s State Theater, this tour will hit the familiar stage for the third time in four years. Why you might ask? According to Playhouse Square’s Theatrical Vice President Gina Vernaci to Cleveland.com, it’s because they have sold more tickets in the past (for example, more in the past 11 weeks - ten percent more - than the last time the show was there) than anywhere else. The performance this time around as well, concludes Vernaci, is even shorter than ever before too - with a four week, 32 performance run. “At this rate, we will be over $6 million [in ticket sales] by the first performance,” she said, “which is 83 percent of the total gross potential of the entire engagement. We are currently into [selling] standing room only [tickets] for some of the performances.”

As only the second city in the country to get a re-return (besides Denver), the show has done some serious stuff for the play. And while Cleveland might be at the top, that doesn’t mean every other city is suffering - “Even with the recession, we’re only down 1 percent in sales from last year in New York, and in London, we’re actually up 2 percent,” said Producer David Stone.

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

Wicked’s Veteran Wizard

Veteran actor Richard Kline, who was in “Three’s Company,” is now performing with the Tony Award winning touring production of “Wicked.” Though up until a few months ago, Kline hadn’t even seen the play. “I hadn’t seen it, but before my final audition in front of the entire “Wicked” creative team, I went to see it in New York City and was pretty much blown away,” he said to Vindy. “I think it’s an exciting thing to be a part of. I love the show. I love the part, The Wizard, they talk about him for an hour and 15 minutes before he comes on in the first act. It’s kind of a thrill because everybody is expecting to see who The Wizard is and what’s he going to do.”

The show is storming through Cleveland December 14th at the Playhouse Square’s State Theater. “And I like the fact that the character is shaded. He’s not some sort of stock musical character, nor is he the guy from the film, for that matter. He’s a con man, he’s power hungry and he has different levels to him, and I’ve discovered that as I’m playing him. So that’s been challenging and fun for me.”

See how Kline performs in Cleveland next month, with Wicked tickets from StubHub.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on November 13, 2009 - Post a comment

Wicked Travels

Wicked is gearing up for another run of their performance, this time in Kansas City. The show will be performing for three weeks at the Kansas City Music Hall for its second run through the windy city. “It speaks to hope,” stage Manager Bryan Landrine said to KCTV 5. “Elphaba is hope. She is battered down, and she keeps rising to the occasion…those that are optimists at heart really connect and it empowers them.” The show staff is constantly rotating to ensure stability with the original performance. The current crew, which just came from Wichita, started touring in January and had been originally part of the fixed Chicago production. The sequel to the Judy Garland film “Wizard of Oz,” the play has four international productions and four in the States. Still, the actors do not taking traveling lightly. ‘The first thing I tell them is to drink the same brand of national bottled water. Each city has chemicals in their water that take seven to ten days to acclimate to the body. I also tell them to avoid fast food at all costs.” While the actors work out every day, there is also a physical therapist on staff. As expectations rise for fans nationwide, the cast must remain vigorous as they perform nightly.

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Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on November 12, 2009 - Post a comment

Kansas City’s New Holiday Tradition

Kansas City’s downtown will get some “Wicked” fanfare when the Broadway show’s cast sets up the holiday season November 19th. The show’s national tour cast members will serenade fans during the annual tree lighting ceremony following a free performance at Barney Allis Plaza. The Broadway national tour is making its rounds in Kansas City around the same time that the annual holiday specials happen, and President and CEO of the Downtown Council Bill Diertrich thought it would be a perfect addition to the typical show. With a free concert, many fans that weren’t able to act quickly enough to get their own Wicked tickets are sure to be happy when it performs in the plaza.

The actual musical is running for three and a half weeks at the Music Hall (across from Barney Allis). The musical stars will sing special holiday treats without costume with the marching band from Raymore Peculiar High School as they salute the Christmas tree. The event will also premiere the Downtown Santa Parade where all residents are invited, provided they are wearing holiday attire and meet at the Kansas City Marriott Downtown lobby at 5:30pm as marchers continue through the Power and Light District.

Though Wicked traditions are new via StubHub, many are old - so join in on the holiday fun this year.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on November 10, 2009 - Post a comment

Wicked Wins People Choice Award in London

Though Wicked came out nearly a decade ago on the Broadway stage, winning tons of accolades from fans as well as several Tony Awards, the show hasn’t stopped impressing audiences and critics alike as it goes into a new season and traveling tour. Recently the show picked up the Best Family Fun at the BT Visit London People’s Choice Awards 2009. The annual People’s Choice Awards allow the public to vote on their favorite event of the year in London. This award, according to the Show and Stay website, is about number 50 for the internationally recognized play that first opened in 2004.

The show has done at least 1,300 performances while at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre with over two million viewers. The show is likely to remain at the top for several more years thanks to its strong fan base, which earned the London company a new Guinness World Record in October when the fans showed up at the Wicked Cackle for a Halloween celebration. The event broke so much force into the industry and the story that the company added three more Wicked Christmas matinee shows!

If you are intrigued by the Wicked Witch of the West and her story, get Wicked tickets today via StubHub.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on November 9, 2009 - Post a comment

A Wicked Burglary Weekend

It seems that not even magical powers can keep “Wicked” castmembers safe when it comes to burglars. While performing at the Century II in Wichita, Kansas, several “Wicked” cast members were burglarized. Police are currently searching for the culprit, reports KSN.com.

Apparently the culprits really knew when to strike, and when it would hurt the most. The crime happened during the first weekend of the musical’s touring show in Kansas, police noting that the thieves were in the dressing room area once the cast left for the night. Several personal items were stolen, including a laptop, camera, MP3 player, leather jacket and shoes. The total amount reportedly lost comes out to be around $1,500.

“It’s quite possible that that area could be accessible to people walking off the street, it just depends on the security, the level of security at that time,” Lt. Mike Hennessy said from the Wichita Police Department. Police believe that Century II security and staff as well as the musical’s cast and crew have been around the Century II building 24 hours a day, yet it was unknown whether the dressing room was constantly locked. Though clearly some of the cast members are upset about the events, they are all professionals and still plan on putting on a great show.

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Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on November 6, 2009 - Post a comment


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