Wicked Elphaba being painted green

Onstage, actress Vicki Noon casts a spell on the audience as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. It’s not just fancy stage lighting giving her a unique hue–she’s actually painted green!

Makeup supervisor Joyce McGilberry talks to us as she applies the paint. She explains, “I want to get the green on as quickly as possible, so I’m using a sea sponge to apply it on her hands.”

The makeup magic happens backstage, about an hour before the show. The process requires Joyce to re-apply paint and powder several times. It’s not as easy as it looks. Vicki jokes about the time she tried to do it herself, “You know, the first time I ever tried to do it by myself, for fun, it turned out horrible!!”

For the Seattle native, the chance to be a lead in ‘Wicked’ is like a real-life fairy-tale. “I feel really lucky, I’m extremely grateful to be given this opportunity,” Vicki says.

The 25-year-old admits she misses home though, and it helps to have a confidante. She says, “Sometimes I’ll talk to Joyce about that, how I’m missing home, feeling homesick.”

The final touches include eye makeup, hair, and costuming. Then the wicked witch comes to life! “It doesn’t get old… I get to go out and have fun with my friends for 3 hours, so it’s pretty cool,” Vicki exclaims.

‘Wicked’ runs through August 8 at the Marcus Center For The Performing Arts. You can still get tickets, but you better buy them soon. Click here to Buy Wicked Milwaukee WI Tickets. Buy now and save $20 on your next order over $250.

{Via Today’s TMJ4}

The Madame Alexander Doll Company has announced the upcoming release of two new dolls in its Wicked collection, based on the hit Broadway musical. One is a Citizen of Oz doll; the other is a Citizen of the Emerald City.

Both dolls can be pre-ordered at www.madamealexander.com. The Citizen of Oz is expected to ship in October, while the Citizen of the Emerald City is expected to ship in November. Each doll is ten inches tall and costs $124.95. The dolls are recommended for ages fourteen and up.

Madame Alexander’s Wicked collection also includes Town Crier, First Day at Shiz Elphaba, First Day at Shiz Glinda, and Elphaba. In addition, Madame Alexander has produced a ‘The Wizard of Oz’ collection which includes various characters from the story that inspired Wicked.

Winner of 26 major awards including the Grammy Award and three Tony Awards, Wicked is the untold story of the witches of Oz. Long before Dorothy drops in, two other girls meet in the land of Oz. One, born with emerald-green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. Wicked tells the story of their remarkable odyssey, how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.

Declared “The Best Musical of the Decade” by Entertainment Weekly and “A Cultural Phenomenon” by Variety, Wicked is based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and a book by Winnie Holzman. The production is directed by Joe Mantello with musical staging by Wayne Cilento. Wicked is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone.

Wicked is performed at the Gershwin Theatre, 222 West 51st Street, between Broadway and 8th Avenue. Also currently playing on Tour in Milwaukee, WI and Columbus, OH. Buy Wicked The Musical Tickets Online.

{Via Broadwayworld.com}

Wicked musical coming to Ohio Theatre on July 28 and perform through August 29, 2010.

Even with millions in backing from Universal Pictures, the original Broadway opening of “Wicked” suffered from mediocre reviews. It was considered a “‘Wicked’ waste of talent” by the New York Daily News and a “lavish, ambitious and problematic” show by the Associated Press. The New York Times was even harsher, saying “‘Wicked’ does not, alas, speak hopefully for the future of the Broadway musical.”

Some say the middling reviews were the reason “Wicked” was beaten out by underdog “Avenue Q” for Best Musical at the 2004 Tony Awards.

However, the Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman collaboration did take home three other wins out of 10 nominations.

But even if the critics didn’t like the show at first, audiences had a much different take. Eight years later, the musical still sells out theaters across the country.

The traveling production returns to Columbus on July 28 for one-month stay at the Ohio Theatre.

Based on the Gregory Maguire’s 1995 bestselling novel of the same name, “Wicked” tells the back story of the witches from the “Wizard of Oz” — Elphaba, who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda, the Good Witch of the East. Wicked is one of Broadway’s highest grossing musicals to date.

Buy Wicked Columbus OH Tickets. Buy now and save $20 on your next order over $250.

The company of the very first North American tour of the popular musical Wicked welcomes Jackie Burns in the role of Elphaba on 8th of July. The show is in progress at the venue of Houston in TX. Burns has recently starred in the original cast of the well-liked Tony Award-winner musical that is titled as “Hair.” Here she had been a part of the ‘Black Boys’ trio and had also understudied and given a performance as the character named Sheila. Off-Broadway she has been a part of a lot of things including the original company of the Rock of Ages and also the award-winner Unlock’d for the NYMF.

The current visit of Wicked musical is its third visit to the city of Houston, Performances in Sarofim Hall Hobby Center continued till July 25, 2010. It had made its debut Broadway premiere back in the year 2003. If you want to watch the musical stage performances so you can buy the really cheap wicked Houston TX tickets and enjoy the incredible performances of wicked.

Wicked is no doubt at its best when it portrays the unlikely friendship that exists between the socially conscious outcast named Elphaba and the privileged and the famous character named Glinda. They initially meet as reluctant roommates at the Shiz University and then end up being rivals for the very same prince.

Buy Wicked Sarofim Hall Hobby Center Tickets Now and enjoy your WICKED experience here in Houston, Texas.

Wicked, the highly successful musical play based on Gregory Maguire’s novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, looks like it will be the latest in a long line of hit shows to make the transition to the big screen. According to the entertainment website Deadline, the show’s producer, Marc Platt, alongside the book writer Winnie Holzman and the songwriter Stephen Schwartz, have already begun talks with potential directors.

Names cropping up for the director’s job on the sure-fire hit include the mastermind behind Lost, J.J. Abrams, Rob Marshall (Chicago and Nine), James Mangold (Walk the Line) and Ryan Murphy of Glee fame. No one has been confirmed for a role in the movie, but there are rumours that the original stars of the Broadway show – Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth – will reprise their roles as Elphaba and Glinda respectively.

since its first run in 2003 (at San Francisco’s Curran Theatre) the show has gone on to break box-office records the world over. Wicked has won over 35 major international awards (the most recent being the 2010 Laurence Olivier Award for Most Popular Show) and to this day, seven years after hitting the Big Apple, it is still the top-selling musical on Broadway.

When seats for the show first went on sale in London, in 2006, more than £100,000 worth were purchased within the first hour. More than 1,500 performances later, the UK production has played to almost three million people, recently reaching a box-office milestone by hitting ticket sales of over £100 million (Dh349m) – making Wicked’s worldwide gross a whopping £1.2 billion and further cementing its status as one of the most popular musical shows of all time.

And the story is nothing if not right-on. The novel on which the show is loosely based was written by the American author Gregory Maguire in 1995 and was itself based on the Frank L Baum classic The Wizard of Oz. Maguire was introduced to the idea behind his novel after being heavily influenced by two major events that took place while he was living in London in the early 90s – the infamous James Bulger murder (in which two young boys brutally murdered the two-year-old toddler, James) and the first Gulf War – which saw the Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, being referred to by the British press as “the next Hitler”. Fascinated by the media’s demonisation of the two young boys and Hussein, Maguire began thinking about the labels that go along with social judgement – bad, evil, wicked.

Check out the current Wicked Tour Dates and Tickets Details.

On Monday, August 2, the National Touring Company of ‘Wicked’ will host ‘Witches’ Night Off’, an evening of adult cabaret performances featuring cast and crew members of the company. Net proceeds of the event will benefit the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin.

The performance will be the cast’s gift to ARCW, which this year is marking its 25th anniversary in the fight against AIDS. ARCW is home to the ARCW Medical Center, Wisconsin’s largest provider of HIV medical, dental and mental health care.

Produced by the company members themselves, the show is an opportunity for them to step out of their ‘Wicked’ roles and perform in vignettes of music, dance and comedy. The performance will be held at the Nancy Kendall Theater on the campus of Cardinal Stritch University beginning at 7:00 p.m.

In addition, there will be live and silent auctions where guests can bid on autographed ‘WICKED’ memorabilia as well as opportunities to view ‘WICKED’ make-up artists turning Elphaba green prior to a performance. The cast will also offer the chance to be the qualifi ed highest bidder for a walk-on role in a ‘WICKED’ performance during the last week of its run at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts.

‘Witches’ Night Off ‘is suitable for mature audiences and is part of an ongoing effort by the cast members of ‘WICKED’ to support charitable causes that advance ‘WICKED’s’ theme of acceptance and illuminate the musical’s message that people should not be judged on first impressions. In its five years on the road, the casts and crews of ‘WICKED’ have raised more than $1 million in donations for Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS, which has provided fi nancial support to the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin since 1996.

“It is so thoughtful of these cast members to donate their time and talents to the fight against AIDS on an evening that would normally give them a much-deserved break,” said Dan Mueller, Chief Development Officer of the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin. “Their efforts along with the generous participation of all those attending will help people with HIV get the care they need to live longer, healthier lives. ‘Witches’ Night Off’ will be a fantastic anniversary gift to the patients of ARCW. Buy your tickets now!”

{Via abc}

HollywoodNews.com: LOST creator J.J. Abrams is one of several possible directors to have been meeting with Stephen Schwartz, creator of the hit Broadway show “Wicked”, about an upcoming movie adaptation, Collider reports.

While the other potential candidates, among them Rob Marshall, James Mangold, and “Glee”’s Ryan Murphy, are already known for their musical direction, Abrams has never before directed a musical himself. A “Wicked” film has been in the works for a long time, but Universal is only recently actively beginning to work toward production in light of Disney’s upcoming Oz remake and Sam Raimi’s “The Great and Powerful Oz.”

What do you think about an Abrams-directed “Wicked”, musical theatre (and book!) lovers? Personally, I find the possibility fantastic and would love to see the kind of darker, more complex touch he would give to the family-friendly show, already adapted for the stage from Gregory Maguire’s best-selling and undeniably adult novel.

Hope to see the movie start early…

4 major Hollywood directors fight for Wicked, including J.J. Abrams

Wicked The Musical Movie

Deadline is reporting that the contenders include Abrams (Star Trek), James Mangold (Knight and Day, Walk The Line), Ryan Murphy (Eat Pray Love, Glee), and Rob Marshall (Chicago). We’re biased in favor of Abrams, for obvious reasons. But we would also love to see his take on the strong women in Wicked, a character type he loves to play around with, and isn’t it time Abrams made a musical? As for Marshall, if he gets the project, we just hope he’s learned from his mistakes on Nine.

Wicked is based on a novel of the same name, that tells the “true” story of the Wicked Witch of the West, and her roommate in magic school, Glenda. Basically, everything you know is a lie. And the scarecrow is really hot.

Buy Wicked Musical Tickets Online for Discounted Price.

Wicked Musical

The creative minds behind the hit stage musical “Wicked” have begun meeting with Hollywood directors in search of the right person to direct the project on the big screen. Universal is in charge of the feature film project after producing the stage musical with producer Marc Platt.

The musical’s producer, Platt, along with book writer Winnie Holzman and songwriter Stephen Schwartz have begun holding meetings with film directors as the first step towards getting the project to the big screen. JJ Abrams, James Mangold, Ryan Murphy, and Rob Marshall are rumored to be among the directors who held meetings with “Wicked” project members or thrown their hat in the ring.

“Wicked” made $2 billion worldwide on the stage, mimicking the success of stage hit “Mamma Mia!” whose film adaptation grossed $600 million. “Wicked,” which began as a feature project but went to the stage first, is a prequel to “The Wizard of Oz” and is based upon the novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” by Gregory Maguire.

The Broadway hit “Wicked” opens today at The Uihlein Hall Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, Milwaukee WI, but crews spent all day Tuesday setting up for its glitzy four-week run.

The musical, an expansion on “The Wizard of Oz,” follows the Wicked Witch of the West through her childhood, explaining just how she got her name. The show is known for its dazzling production, catchy music, and heartfelt storyline of growing up different, according to show’s production stage manager, Bryan Landrine.

“It’s got great music. We’ve got flying witches, flying monkeys. The set’s fantastic. There’s a lot of artistic things in the show that really pique people’s interest,” Landrine said.

It takes a lot of help to set up for a show as logistically challenging as Wicked. In all, the production company hired 90 temporary workers from Milwaukee, and it plans to retain 40 of them for the run of the show. But all the work is worth it, Landrine said, to bring top-notch Broadway entertainment to Milwaukee.

“We bring the big experience here, that’s the whole thing with wicked, we bring a ton of stuff. It really looks like the Broadway show,” said head carpenter Justin Klynsma.

Tickets are still available for most performances, ranging from $32 to $149. The production company is also offering day-of-performance tickets to patrons aged 8 and up in a lottery. Winners will be able to purchase a limited number orchestra seats for $25 each day of the show.

“Wicked” runs through Aug. 8. Buy Wicked Milwaukee WI Tickets, Save $10 on Wicked Ticket Orders over $350! Code AFF$10