A Wicked Departure
Kristoffer Cusick, who is currently portraying Fiyero in the Los Angeles production of Wicked, and who will be replaced by Derrick Williams when he leave to record his debut album, is gearing up for the release of his debut solo recording in May.
Entitled Lost, this album contains all original songs, blending together pop, jazz and adult contemporary sounds. With as strong a voice as Cusick has, the quality of the album promises to be an amazing listening experience, although it is also safe to say that audiences will miss seeing the actor on stage every night. Buy wait ladies and gentlemen, our favorite boy from Oz is not only a good-looker with a great set of chops, he also writes music!
His debut album includes songs written by Cusick himself, as well as works by two promising up-and-coming songwriters by the name of Dan and David Hickle. On the album, theater-lovers will get another treat, as Cusick has recorded some duet numbers with singers JennLee Shallow and Heather Mitchell.
To catch Cusick’s last performances or to check out his replacement, make sure you check in with StubHub.com to catch Wicked and all Broadway shows or their respective tours! We keep you updated on all things theater!
Cusick Traded for Williams
Upon Wicked Chicago’s Kristoffer Cusick leaving the production for his album debut, his character Fiyero has been filled by Broadway’s original, Derrick Williams. Let us take a closer look. The 28-year-old from Norfolk, Virginia spent his childhood afternoons at the Performing Arts Repertory although he exhibited a skill for sports too. “My Repertory teacher allowed me to take part of the semester off to go play baseball,” William remembers fondly.
His first audition was for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat which he drove seven hours to get to in Ohio. It was worth his effort because he got the part, which helped get him a part in Jesus Christ Superstar as well. In 2000 he landed his first Broadway roll in Swing! followed by a very demanding role in Aida. Williams recalls, “They were putting me in all this makeup, trying to make me look old, and when I got onstage I’d forgotten my microphone. I was out there yelling. It was pretty bad.”
He has had a few years to hone his talent and has dedicated a lot of time to Wicked, being in the original cast and then touring with the production. Williams feels strongly that, “the difference between being on the road and being on Broadway is — you’re on Broadway! That’s the only difference. You walk out that stage door and you’re on 51st Street and Broadway’s to your right. That’s an amazing feeling.” See Williams and the amazing cast of Wicked Chicago by getting your tickets through StubHub.com.
Fiyero Gets Lost
The Los Angeles production of Wicked’s character Fiyero is played by Kristoffer Cusick who has been spending his time off the stage in the studio. Cusick announced his debut album will be released this May and is titled Lost. It is said to have a very contemporary sound that could be a contender in the pop-culture radio play market.
Cusick collaborated with new promising songwriters Dan and David Hickle, and singers Heather Mitchell, and Australian actress, and JennLee Shallow who have been heard as the voice of Nala in Disney’s The Lion King. They have given the album a pop feel influenced by jazz that is defiantly appropriate for adult contemporary radio. Cusick is proud to have written much of the album’s original pieces himself and continues to perform in stage productions.
Cusick has also been in Saturday Night Fever, Rent’s regional tour, A Chorus Line presented by AMT, Bare’s Los Angeles premier, and the understudy of Fiyero on Broadway. Wicked is scheduled to play through this year at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, California and you can find the best seat in the house at StubHub.com.
Wicked Star Goes In-Depth
Fans of Wicked have long admired the quality of the story, the musical interludes and the top-notch production. Fans have also fallen in love with the stars of the show, and perhaps most notably among them is Kristin Chenoweth, who plays Glinda the Good in this wildly-successful musical.
Chenoweth recently gave an in-depth, soul-searching interview, and in it she discusses the intricacies of her character, the thrill she gets from being part of this production and where she thinks both she and the show are headed in the long-term. If you’d like to see Wicked for yourself, all you need to do is log onto StubHub.com and choose from available Wicked tickets.
Test your Elphaba knowledge!
So: Which Witch is Which? www.wickedthemusical.com, the Wicked Musical’s official website, has posted a cute Delta-sponsored quiz on Elphaba in her various incarnations through the different actresses who have put on the sunlight-allergic witch’s pointy hat through the years. Find the original here, or scroll below for a scaled-down version of the printout.
The quiz, “Defying Gravity,” is scanned online here, though it is, unfortunately, outdated, and it’s a great test of one’s own Wicked accument. Are you fan enough?
And if you’re looking to brush up on your knowledge, tickets in the new year for 2007 performances of Wicked all across the US are available online at StubHub.com even for those hard-to-find and sold-out shows–no need to get green with envy, just check out StubHub’s Wicked Tickets fan-based page for more info.
Wicked by the Numbers
Found this great compilation of interesting facts and stats on The Wizard of Oz and all its subsequent interpretations, including Wicked the Musical, on an indielondon.co.uk post by writer Jack Foley. Some highlights follow, and you can find his full article here.
-L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, his first book in the Oz series, had a full thirteen sequels written over a period of twenty years (I only knew about the first two!)
-Over a ton of dry ice is used every week to create the fog in Wicked.
-The American Film Institute voted the Wicked Witch of the West (later to become Gregory McGuire’s Elphaba) as the fourth greatest screen villain of all time, coming in behind Star Wars’s Darth Vader, Psycho’s Norman Bates, and Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs.
-The Broadway production of Wicked has sold out over one thousand performances, and over two million people have seen this production alone.
-It’s been Broadway’s top-selling show every single week for over two years!
Those are just some of the interesting tidbits and numbers that Mr. Foley has pulled together. Check out his site for the full story.
And tickets are always available on StubHub’s Wicked Tickets forum, where fans go to buy and sell tickets to the brand-new hundred-year-old story of the Wicked Witch of the West.
More Wicked Records
Wicked just keeps setting records in several ways. The latest incredible statistic to come out is that the production has broken yet another weekly revenue record by raking in over $1.7 million during Thanksgiving week alone on Broadway. The show’s unbelievalbe success has led to demand for performances all over the world, so if you haven’t yet seen Wicked, head to StubHub.com for Wicked tickets in your area.
Wicked’s Recognitions Keep Rolling In…
Wicked is a theater production that started as a success, but is becoming historical in nature. The latest achievement by this unique musical regards the sales of its cast recordings. Wicked’s cast recording has just been certified Platinum, which means that it has sold over one million copies. This is a truly rare occurrence/achievement for a Broadway production, and just another reason to get your Wicked tickets today to see what all the fuss is about.
Inside Wicked the Musical @ the Apollo Victoria, London
Given the huge amount of interest in the London Apollo Victoria’s production of Wicked the Musical following Kerry Ellis’s ascension to the emerald throne of show lead character Elphaba (replacing Idina Menzel), I’ve done a little digging on the theater itself, and it turns out that they really know how to put on a show, from start to finish.
Aside from the brilliant reviews they’ve received as a whole–”The sets are spectacular, the costumes lavish and the performances, without exception, brilliant,” said Jack Foley of indielondon.co.uk (read his review here)–to Ellis’s bright future as predicted by BroadwayWorld.com’s story on her assumption of the role of Wicked’s Elphaba, the production runs straight out into the lobby and beyond. It’s set its roots in deep at the Apollo Victoria, with trappings in accordance with its size: it’s got… it’s got glitter. One peppy and pink-obsessed Londoner describes the scene so:
“The production has taken over the Apollo Victoria Theatre in London, and when I say taken over I mean it, there are several OZ Dust shops selling everything from fridge magnets to monkey! the programme is truly beautiful, but pricey and there are even special cocktails in the bar, the anticipationbefore the show is incredible.” Check out the the rest of this entry or visit her blog homepage.
And if you’re not quite prepared for a trans-atlantic theatergoing experience, StubHub has tickets to your nearest sold-out show, from other fans with one too many on their hands. Check out StubHub.com’s Wicked tickets fan forum to buy or sell tickets to your local show.
Wicked the Musical the Karaoke Party.
So a few weeks ago, I found a link on Britain’s Amazon.com to lyrics for Wicked the Musical, a wonderful little resource for those enthusiasts who wanted to take the extra step and put on their own production, of whatever size.
But I didn’t take into account that someone might have made a Wicked musical product even more accessible and entertaining than the source code, so to speak, for Wicked the Musical. And again, Amazon.com comes to the rescue.
The site is pushing the full kit, with on-screen lyrics and the show-original music at tempo and in key, and it looks great. However, there are two versions available, one published by Stage Star Records and the other by Pocket Songs. The Pocket Songs version is missing the two songs “Dear Old Shiz” and “I’m Not That Girl,” while the Pocket version lacks “No One Mourns the Wicked,” and “Something Bad.” Each makes up where the other fails, but I wouldn’t be buying two, so if you’re so inclined, be sure you’re choosing the right one based on your favorite songs. The Stage Star Records Karaoke CD for Wicked the Musical can be found here, and the Pocket Songs Karaoke CD for Wicked the Musical can be found here. (price is also a factor, with the Pocket Songs version $10 cheaper than the Stage Star Records version.)
So belt out your lungs, and when your vocal cords can’t take no more, the pros are playing the Wicked Musical in NY, Chicago, LA, and Toronto, and StubHub has tickets to them all on its Wicked Tickets fan forum, where Ozymandian fans buy and sell tickets.
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