Wicked the Musical Info - Wicked Broadway, Wicked Chicago and more

“ I have always loved musical theatre,” Wolpe said in the interview. “We had very \few musical recordings when I was growing up, but I played them over and over and memorized every word. I think the only cast recording ti Had when I grew up were West Side Story, The Sound of Music and My Fair Lady. I dont’ think that there was any vinyl left on any of them.” Wolpe, who previously finished a run of “The Drowsy Chaperone,” will continue his run in the Broadway production of Wicked until it is up in January 2008. Wicked, which currently has a national tour under way, is playing at theaters in New York, Los Angles, London, Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinatti, Boston, Buffalo, Hartford, Saint Luis and many more. For Wicked tickets at a theater near you, check Stubhub.com.

Roscioli an instant hit in “Wicked” after “Cats” Debut

Dee Roscioli, an Easton, Pennsylvania native who started acting at age 12 and saw her first Broadway musical, Cats, at age 16, has become a fast start in the Broadway original production of “Wicked” based on the book by Gregory MaGuire and the play by Stephen Schwartz. Roscioli, who plays the part of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, ironically got her initial break on Broadway in the production of Cats as the glamour character Grizabella, according to her fan Web site. The DeSales University theater major played in productions such as “The Music Man” and “Sweeney Todd” during college and got her big break after graduation in 1999 when she won the role of Delia in “Pokemon Live!” which toured nationally. Shortly after, Roscioli won the role of Elphaba in Wicked, which she continues to play in the Chicago production through the shows run into next year.

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Wicked is off and running in four major citites; critics are stunned with performances

“Wicked,” the Broadway musical that sky rocketed off New York’s stages and has been transplanted into theaters across the country - Chicago and Los Angeles to name a few - as well as internationally in London, is doing a knock-up job with its extensive and diverse cast that is on tour through next year and is continuing to receive stunning reviews from critics and audiences - young and old alike. In a review by the Chicago Sun Times, a staff writer gushes: “…the show’s themes - the rewards and trials of friendship, outsiderness vs. popularity, courage in the face of an oppressive system - have struck a deep chord in theatergoers.”

The story, centered in the land of OZ, chronicles the lives of Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch of the East and the unlikely friendship they form while away at sorcery boarding school together. The result turns rotten when the two have a falling out over differences in personality, which is played out hysterically by a cast that mirrors Glinda’s snobby and often petty attitude in contrast to Elphaba’s condescending and mostly cynical attributes. While some may question the appropriateness of this play for children, it has been said by most to be enthralling for all age groups. The whimsical characters are easy to laugh along with and audiences will both laugh and cry at the series of ups and downs the two women go through as they try to find themselves in the far-away land, long before Dorothy ever drops into the picture. For “Wicked” tickets, visit Stubhub.com.

“Wicked” co-creator Schwartz opens new production, “Snapshots”

Stephen Schwartz, co-creator of the musical “Wicked,” will open a brand new production Sept. 20 at Dayton, Ohio’s Human Race Theatre Company loft - a show that features old, new and revised songs, according to an Aug. 21 article on Playbill.com. Schwartz, who has gained critical acclaim over the past several years for his long-running and successful show “Wicked” - a spin-off of Gregory MaGuire’s novel that tells the story of how Glinda the Good Witch of the East and Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West met, became friends and eventually tooks sides in the land of Oz, long before Dorothy dropped into the picture.

In his newest prodcution, Schwartz has laid out the story of Sue and Dan, a couple who has been married for thirty years and who is on the verge of breaking up. When Sue decides to leave Dan, she suddenly finds a box of old photographs and as she sorts through them, snippets of their life come to life and are re-enacted in front of audiences. “Snapshots” features the songs “Making Good” and “Popular,” both of which were used in Schwartz’s “Wicked.”  Schwartz did, however, write a title namesake song for the new production, which will run through Oct. 7 and be co-presented with the Victoria Theatre Assocation. “Wicked” will continue its run at theaters in Chicago, New York, London and Los Angeles through next year. For “Wicked” tickets at a theater near you, visit Stubhub.com.

“Wicked” star Julia Murney releases new album “I’m Not Waiting”

Julia Murney, who stars as Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West in the Broadway musical “Wicked,” has recently released an album called “I’m Not Waiting.” The talented actess has starred in the Broadway production of “The Vagina Monologues” and made guest appearances on several TV shows, including “Sex and the City.” She is now making her debut solely as a music artist and said that things have been hectic since she started doing the “Wicked” tour in January since she was on the road for six months before that, according to a July interview by BroadwayBullet.com.  It’s also hard not to be exhausted after playing her role as Elphaba, she said. “Wicked has more – she’s just more energetically out there, Elphaba is, and so it just takes so much from the minute you hit stage, and just going, going, going, going, and then running, and changing your clothes, and running, and then going under the stage, and then running up the stairs, and carrying a broom,” Murney said. “It takes a lot. There’s not a lot of — when the shows over, there’s not a lot of: ‘Hey, where we going you guys, we going out?’ It’s like: ‘And goodnight everybody, I’m going home, have some tea.’”

“Wicked” tells the story of Elphaba and Glinda, the Good Witch of the East, and how the two opposite women became unlikely friends at sorcery school and went on to hate each other long before Dorothy dropped into the land of Oz. Based on the novel by Gregory MaGuire and the screenplay of Stephen Schwartz, “Wicked” has caught the attention of thousands of fans and continues to make its way to theaters across the country and worldwide. That phenomenon has been hard to explain for Murney, she said during the Broadway Bullet interview. “The show, for reasons that I don’t think anyone will ever be able to truly discern, caught lightening in a bottle,” Murney said. “And it’s interesting, because it’s not like a show like Beauty and the Beast, which is catered to kids; it’s the kind of a show where the adults are like: “We’re going to see Wicked, should we bring the kids?” And so little ones enjoy it, teenagers enjoy it, because it speaks to anyone who’s ever felt like an outcast or not enough, and then adults — I was just saying earlier, I think that it’s the kind of a show, people — it’s very easy for people to turn around, and make personal.”

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“Wicked” becomes Chicago’s longest running theater production

After its three year run, “Wicked” recently became Chicago’s longest running theater production in history. On June 21, the production celebrated its 833rd performance at the Ford Center for Performing Arts and the show is scheduled to run through January 2008. Chicago, which has become an epicenter for the performing arts and many Broadway musicals, continues to attract large crowds for “Wicked,” which grossed more than $1.25 million in the city’s box office to date, according to an article on BroadwayWorld.com.  Surpassing the 1996-97 production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”
The Ford Center - which has ornate designs, enormous domed ceilings and expansive surrounding pillars - has also hosted many musicals, such as Ragtime and Cats. With an Arabian-themed architecture, this theater was repaired in the 1990s using money from the Ford Endowment for Performing Arts, giving the venue - once called the Oriental Theatre - its new name. Today it is one of the premier arena for theater productions.

“Wicked” unfolds in the land of Oz and tells the story of an early blossoming childhood friendship between Glinda the Good Witch of the East and Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West.  The two, who met long before Dorothy dropped into the picture, are as different as can be and their personalities shine through in animated scenes from this production, which is sure to entertain a broad audience of both young and old alike.

For “Wicked” tickets at a theater near you, visit Stubhub.com.

“Wicked” behind the scenes wraps up; production still going strong

Universal Studios wrapped up their “Wicked Wednesday” live series in Hollywood last week on Aug. 15, but that doesn’t mean that the production - inspired by the hit Broadway musical that tells the story of the early childhood friendship between Glinda the Good Witch of the East and Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West - will die out anytime soon.

The series, which starred Eden Espinose and Meghan Hilty (two stars from the Los Angeles production that is currently playing at Pantages Theatre), was a chance for fans to see their favorite witches sing several of the musical’s theme pieces and sign autographs, according to NewYorkCity.com.

Throughout the series, which has been running since the beginning of the summer, various cast members from the LA production, including Jane Rubenstein, Julie Reiber and Melissa Fahn, have taken up their roles on Universal Studio’s Blues Brother Stage for an eager audience who enjoyed the original production so much that couldn’t help coming back for more. As the production spans on, until November of this year, many more will have the chance to see the critically acclaimed production and Grammy Award winning cast act out the story, based on the novel by author Greg Maguire and written by Stephen Schwartz and Winne Holzman. For “Wicked” tickets, visit Stubhub.com.

Gershwin Theater continues Broadway tradition with “Wicked” run

Although it’s only been open since 1972, the Gershwin Theater on Broadway and 51st Street in New York has become one of the most prominent venues of its time. Originally known as the Uris Theater, this 1,900-seat arena has housed many production, including “My Fair Lady” and “Annie,” but the most recent showing at the theater is “Wicked” which has been reviewed as the best new musical of its time. Telling the story of Glinda the Good Witch of the East and Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West and how the unlikely pair of polar opposites became friends long before Dorothy dropped into Oz, “Wicked” has been playing at the Gershwin since August and will run through its tour until Sept. 30 of this year, according to the Gershwin Theater’s official Web site.

The Gershwin Theater is the largest of its kind on Broadway and therefore is usually the center for major musical productions and has played host to some of the most high-profiled actors, actresses and musicians, including Barry Manilow, Angela Lansbury and Kevin Kline. The theater was renamed in honor of composer George Gershwin in 1983 during the theater’s annual Tony Award broadcast. Now as “Wicked” plays at the famed theater, the cast is getting just as much attention as many of the other stars who have graced the theater’s stage, and rightfully so. The young Glinda, played by Kendra Kassebaum, who has broken into her Broadway career with her role in the production, leads a strong and talented cast of Julia Murney as Elphaba, Lenny Wolpe as the Wizard and Jane Houdyshell as Madame Morrible. For “Wicked” tickets, visit www.stubhub.com.

Broadway’s “Wicked” scores Tony Award winner and production veteran Shelley

Carole Shelley, an original Broadway cast member of “Wicked” who created the role of Madame Morrible, will return to the production Aug. 28, according to an Aug. 15 story on BroadwayWorld.com. The actress and London, England native won a Tony Award for best actress in a play for her role as Mrs. Kenadall in the 1979 production “The Elephant Man.” She was also nominated for Tony Awards in 1975 and 1987, for her roles in “Absurd Person Singular” and “Stepping Out” respectively. The Broadway star has also played in “Cabaret,” “Show Boat,” “The Last Night of Ballyhoo,” “The Odd Couple” (NY Debut) and “The Miser,” and has made guest appearances on such TV shows as “The Cosby Show” and “Fraiser” and films such as “Bewitched.”

In “Wicked” the musical, two girls meet in the land of Oz. One has emerald-green skin and is fiery and smart, yet misunderstood. The other is beautiful, confident and very well-liked, and the production reflects the tale of how the two become unlikely friends and eventaully morph into the Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch of the East, long before Dorothy ever drops into the picture. Written by Stephen Schwartz and based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, this production has been a hit in Broadway and across the country. For “Wicked” tickets, visit Stubhub.com.

Thinking “Wicked?” Visit LA’s Pantages Theatre for the “wickedest” experience yet

If you haven’t seen “Wicked” the musical, you are probably living your life under a rock. All joking aside, the hit Broadway production has been turning heads and garnering major critical acclaim since it opened in New York in 2004. Now, three years later, the musical is still riding on the coattails of success and playing in both international and US theaters - and one of those is Los Angeles’s Pantages Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. What makes this theater so special? The historic building, constructed in 1930 for $1.25 million, was one of the most stunning venues of its time, hosting film premiers such as Judy Garland’s “A Star is Born” and later - in the 1950s - housing the annual Academy Awards ceremonies, according to the theater’s Web site.
The Emmy Awards were also held at the theater in 1977 but were then moved to Pasadena. Pantages’ stage has been graced by high-profile actors and actresses, such are Marie Osmond, Kevin Costner and Brooke Shields and in 1999, when the theater hosted the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, big time stars Julia Roberts, Will Smith and Minnie Driver made appearances. Most recently, celebs Tom Hanks, Kate Hudson and Jennifer Love Hewitt have been spotted at Pantages.

Over the years, Pantages has become one of the greatest landmarks in Hollywood. It is only fitting, then, that “Wicked” - which was dubbed “Best Musical of the Year” by Time Magazine - would be shown within this prestigious theater. The musical, which has been running at Pantages since June 2006 and will be open to spectators through  November of this year, tells the story of how Glinda the Good Witch and Elphaba the Wicked Witch became friends and then eventually enemies long before Dorothy decided to drop into the land of Oz. To get your “Wicked” tickets, visit Stubhub.com.