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

Wicked the Musical video montage

This great video montage of Wicked the Musical has been posted on YouTube.com, covering the show’s really amazing music, drama, acting, and scenery in its wide sweeping shots. It opens up with “The Wizard and I,” and a great rendition of it at that, and then moves on to “Popular,” (My favorite) and others, closing with the show-stopping “Defying Gravity.” It’s a very well-cut fan montage (though lord knows how they got the cameras in there), and a great teaser for the show.

And the touring show will be moving to Baltimore, Maryland in January of next year, the opener being on January 24. The venue is the Hippodrome at the beautiful France-Merrick Performing Arts Center. StubHub is selling tickets to all events at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center–give the Hippodrome at France-Merrick Performing Arts Center tickets page a look for other events playing in the near future. More on this move in coming posts, but for now the touring Wicked the Musical show is in Toronto, and will be stopping in Providence for a month before moving on to Baltimore.

StubHub is selling Wicked the Musical tickets online at its Wicked the Musical forum, where you can buy tickets to its permanent shows and any of its North American touring shows.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on November 26, 2006 - Post a comment

Wicked The Musical vs. Wicked the Book

This reviewer compared Gregory Maguire’s book Wicked to Stephen Schwarz’s musical adaptation, and the musical came out on top. Surprising to someone such as myself who enjoyed the book so much, but his points were well-taken. Mostly, the reviewer “Yuling” enjoyed the way the musical polished out some of the otherworldly literary red-herrings present in Maguire’s novel: “I thought the idea/plot was creative, but there were tons of rabbit trails that led to nowhere. It was pretty trippy at times (almost like Alice in Wonderland), … I thought the musical was a better story/experience as compared to the book. The characters and the humor was just plain fun. So if you can still catch it before it leaves TO, go for it.”

Post your comments on Yueling’s site–I think that those trials in Maguire’s book really made it something of an total and Orphic creation, but on the other hand, I can see what he means by polishing the story into a more single arc, which is exactly what adding music to a story will do.

So throw in your two cents, and if you’re looking for tickets to Wicked the Musical, check out StubHub’s Wicked the Musical tickets page for sold out shows, where Wicked fans buy and sell tickets.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on November 24, 2006 - Post a comment

Your own homemade Ruby Slippers from Wicked the Musical

Get out your needle and thread, your thimble and your… sequins, and get those clicking heels warmed up.

Too much? Well I have to say, this is why they invented the internet. Chloe Bates, a teenage fashion entrepreneur, started a company earlier this year called “makebelieveland.com“, in which she sells costumes and patterns for costumes she designs, as well as… ruby slippers. And emerald slippers. That’s a collection pictured above from Chloe’s Wizard of Oz ruby slippers line.

Written up on her site is a charming press release about how she came to form the company–it’s very well-written, and the website is cute. And definitely pink.

She was apparently making her own ruby slippers for sale, as she does with much of her stuff, but the demand grew too large and she now sells the instructions online for $6 a pop. So with a little work and a lot of sequins… there’s no place like home. Check out Chloe’s homepage for Dorothy’s ruby slippers here, and see for yourself. Her Halloween costumes are great as well, she’s got a little pumpinhead one for kids.

And if you’re looking for somewhere to go when you get all fancied up in your Wicked the Musical ruby slippers from makebelieveland.com, look on StubHub.com for the latest low prices on sold-out tickets: StubHub’s Wicked the Musical tickets page–where fans buy and sell tickets.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on November 15, 2006 - Post a comment

Harry Potter meets Wicked the musical

I found a charming piece of fan fiction online about J. K. Rowling’s Hermione Granger from the globally famous “Harry Potter” series, in which Hermione auditions for the part of Elphaba, the “Wicked” witch of the West from Wicked the musical based off of Gregory MacGuire’s novel Wicked. Read the full text of “The Dark Arts — Defying Gravity” ’s first chapter.It pits Hermione and Cho against each other for the role of Elphaba, and I think really captures the feel of Hermione’s character from the novels, her uncertainties and her dedication to her work:

“You really want to do this? You’ll have to practice all the time, and performances are almost every night,” Ginny warned.
“I know that, Ginny. I just really want to do something special, something that means I’ll stop being ‘library girl’ and start being… me.” Hermione stared out of the window of the Hogwarts Express, watching the scenery go by.
“I think Cho Chang is planning on auditioning, too,” Ginny replied.
“Good for her, she’d make a great Galinda.” Hermione’s remark confused Ginny, but she continued to try to change Hermione’s mind.
“You’ll have to paint yourself green!”
“It’s a simple spell. You really should audition, too. You’d be good at theatre,” Hermione suggested, but Ginny shook her head.

And the idea of witches trying out to play witches… brilliant.

Anyways, read the full text and give the author some feedback–I’m sure he/she would appreciate it.

And for those of you who yearn to get closer to Wicked just like Hermione, I found what looks like Kristen Chenoweth’s (Glinda the “Good” witch) livejournal page. Especially “if you’re cute”. Odds of this being for real? Slight. Odds of me getting a dinner date with a former West Wing actress? Suddenly better than zero. High five.

And then there’s the time-tested approach, the reason that everyone wants to be involved with Wicked the Musical, which is of course Wicked the Musical itself. StubHub is selling tickets to all the north American showings of Wicked right now, and the tour is still making its way around the country. Check out the forum for great deals from other fans on sold out shows!

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on November 12, 2006 - Post a comment

Who’s Watching Wicked the Musical?

Get excited.

Everybody and their AIM buddies is watching Wicked the Musical. Good lord.

Because Wicked is on tour across the United States and permanently stationed in Chicago, LA, and New York City, as well as a several-times-extended stay in Toronto, Canada, and London, England, it’s created what one might consider a large enough population to do effective population sampling. So today we’re going to see what unafiliated people around the world are saying about the Wicked phenomenon.

This frenetic, web-happy youngster was brought from emotional peaks to their attendent valleys, experiencing in this her first musical both high comedy and high tragedy, and connecting with her mother who brought her to the show probably as a result of that deep emotional engagement. A cute site for parents and kids to take a peek at.
This jaded Londoner was absolutely thrilled by the London production of Wicked the Musical, enough to make a conscious decision to commit as much of it as possible to memory, to make modern art with it, to figure out who the cast was, to… essentially, do what normal people do when they enjoy a musical or event like Wicked. See? I said he was jaded.

And this absolutely die-hard fan from Toronto has seen the show lord knows how many times, she can identify changes in the gift shop’s merchandise, for pete’s sake. She has incredibly detailed reviews of every song in the show, and has a great group of friends to talk with about her favorite parts in the show.

In other words, fans of Wicked the Musical are everywhere and they’re over the top wild about the show. So if bandwagons are your thing or you’re getting curious as a witch’s cat–forgive me–tickets to all the North American shows are onsale right now on StubHub’s Wicked the Musical tickets page, where Wicked superfans buy and sell tickets.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on November 8, 2006 - Post a comment

Wicked the Musical online

Found this online, a broadway quiz that determines “which broadway character you are”. Forget what got me a Glinda The Good Witch, but give it a shot yourself. It’s an entertaining little game, but I do have a predisposition for cheesy things. So it goes.

I found a wonderful human interest story online as well about a woman who took her niece to Wicked the musical as a birthday present, and some of her friends arranged for backstage passes. She’s got a picture of her neice horsing around on the fantastical Wicked set, could get one a little jealous. People’s journals online about their visits to Wicked are really great testaments to the show, everyone raves about it and breaks out their strongest adjectives.

Google’s BlogSearch function is a great way to get tapped into all the other Wicked fans out there, new converts and old proselytites. Read a few and see what all the fuss is about.

Too much fun! Too much fun! If you can’t take it no more, see Wicked in person get Broadway tickets to Wicked the musical at StubHub, where fans buy and sell tickets.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on November 6, 2006 - Post a comment

Jane Houdyshell joins cast of Wicked

Playbill and The Political Gateway are reporting that actress Jane Houdyshell, best-known for her Tony-Award nominated role in Well, will be joining the cast of Wicked in the role of Madame Morrible, replacing Carol Kane in the touring show.

Houdyshell’s performance in Well earned her a 2006 nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play, playing the character of Ann Kron, the play’s writer Lisa Kron’s mother. She garnered powerful reviews commending her performance, as in the New York Times which said of her work, “Ms. Houdyshell’s performance as Ann Kron retains an anchoring authenticity that guarantees that “Well” opens doors of insight and emotion that no other play in New York is unlocking right now.” (Read the full review here, or check out Broadway.com’s review–which focuses more closely on her career and place in the show –here.)
(And for–much, much–more information on Lisa Kron’s Well and Jane Houdyshell’s role in it, check out the in-depth publicity writeup in pdf)

Houdyshell is also a 2006 winner of the Theater World Award, and a 2004 nominee of the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play, again for Well.

While Carol Kane will be sorely missed as the manipulative headmistress of Elphaba’s Shiz University, we can be sure that Madame Morrible is in good–make that evil–hands yet.

Wicked, soon with Houdyshell, is currently touring in Philadelphia, and there are still tickets available to quite a few of the shows. Check out Wicked Philadelphia tickets for the latest prices or to post your tickets for sale.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on October 28, 2006 - Post a comment

Pre-Halloween Wicked Day

Wicked Day There’s going to be a huge block party for the event in NYC at The Gershwin Theater from 11AM-2PM, stop by and have a great time getting your face painted, sneaking some candy in before Halloween, and having your photo taken!
Also, as mentioned previously, there will be a singing contest in all of the participating cities, with some fabulous prizes. I’ve listed the locations and times below. Click to go to Google Maps for a closer look.

-New York: The Gershwin Plaza, 12:30 PM
-Chicago: Daley Plaza, 11 AM
-LA: CityWalk @ Universal Studios Hollywood 11:30 AM- 1:30 PM
-Toronto: Toronto Eaton Center, 12:00 PM
Every contest has a great set of prizes. Here’s Toronto’s:

Six (6) tickets to the Toronto production of WICKED
Six (6) WICKED souvenir program autographed by (select) Toronto cast
10 weeks of professional training plus 10 weeks of auditions through Toronto
talent agency John Robert Powers
a personalized WICKED Platinum Record Plaque
One SEARS gift certificate valued at $250.00
One Hillcrest Mall gift certificate valued at $250.00
One Toronto Eaton Centre gift certificate valued at $250.00

Log onto the Wicked Day Website at www.wicked-week.com and find out what the prizes are in your city, where they’re holding the events, and how you can get involved.

And Wicked tickets are still available online for the shows in New York, Chicago, and Toronto on Halloween night, which of course will be one spectacular performance.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on October 26, 2006 - Post a comment

Multimedia Magic

I’ve been trolling around on the internet for some interesting new stuff on Wicked, and came across a few videos. Being a member of the death-by-television generation, I could hardly resist sharing with you.

Universal has a video for Universal’s Wicked trailer online that’s very well-produced, it has a behind-the-scenes feel for the entire production. You get little video snippets from members of the cast discussing what the play means to them, and toying around with the idea of the play’s subversive undertones. The director and I think Steven Schwartz, the writer, if I recognized him, also throw in their two cents. And of course there’s some awesome footage of the show’s spectacular set.

And the Wicked Week I mentioned in the last post has posted on their website a short video mini-documentary on their website; it’s definitely worth signing up for their club. It’s got music from the show in the background, and covers in montage-style the October singing contest in New Jersey. A bunch of starry-eyed high-schoolers competing on stage is really a charming sight. Definitely the next generation’s Elphaba/Glinda pair in there somewhere… I know there’s got to be a Searching for Bobby Fisher spin-off in there somewhere.

The downside to these little teasers is they leave you with nothing but an itch to go to the show again. Forgive me. The touring group with lovely lead Shoshana Bean is still in Toronto, and there are shows all over the states as well. StubHub has Wicked tickets on its ticket center; see when those wicked wiccans will be in your neighborhood.

Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on October 22, 2006 - Post a comment