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

The Wicked movie adaptation is picking up steam, with a lot of Hollywood directors in the running. But it makes us wonder: What would a J.J. Abrams musical look like, and how fast would the actors have to sing?

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.

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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

Lee Mead has spoken of his pride about appearing in hit West End musical Wicked, a show he admired as a struggling performer.

The Any Dream Will Do winner told the Sunday Mail that he tried to check Wicked out when it first opened in New York and he was performing there as a rookie, but it was all sold out.

Now, he said he is thrilled to be appearing in it himself.

“I think of myself as really lucky as [Wicked] has taken the whole world by storm,” Mead remarked.

However, given that he now performs in eight shows a week, he added that he does have to take an occasional afternoon nap to keep up with the musical and his baby daughter Betsy.

Mead is sure to be glad of his forthcoming five-week holiday and told the newspaper he may spend some of it in Tuscany with his family.

Wicked broke a box-office record in June 2010 when it was revealed that it has grossed £100 million since opening in September 2006.

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More visitors than ever went to West End Live last week

The free theatre festival West End Live attracted a record number of visitors this year, new figures have revealed.

Some 250,000 people flocked to Leicester Square in order to get a taste of some of theatreland’s hottest shows, including Legally Blonde, Wicked, Love Never Dies and Avenue Q.

It is thought that this could tempt people to purchase an extra £2 million worth of theatre tickets in the coming months.

Westminster councillor Robert Davis said: “Without doubt, this has been our biggest and best West End Live. We’ve seen spectacular performances from some of the nation’s favourite shows.”

According to WhatsonStage.com, the festival was so popular that people were queuing at 04:00 BST on Saturday (June 19th 2010) to make sure they managed to catch their top musicals and plays.

Last month, Legally Blonde star Sheridan Smith told the London Evening Standard she thinks West End Live provides a nice taster for people who are unsure which shows they want to see.

Buy Wicked London Tickets Online.

{Via UK Theatre Tickets}

Jackie Burns to Join Wicked Tour as Elphaba July 8 in Houston Texas

The company of the first North American tour of Wicked welcomes Jackie Burns as Elphaba on Thursday, July 8 in Houston, TX.

Burns was most recently seen in the original cast of the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of Hair, where she was part of the ‘Black Boys’ trio and understudied and performed the role of Sheila. Off-Broadway she was part of the original company of Rock of Ages and the award-winning Unlock’d for NYMF.

Burns joins a cast that includes Chandra Lee Schwartz as Glinda, Randy Danson as Madame Morrible and Richard Kline as The Wizard.

The company also features Richard H. Blake (Fiyero), Justin Brill (Boq), Tom Flynn (Dr. Dillamond), Brynn O’Malley (Nessarose) and Mariand Torres (Standby for Elphaba) with Terra Lynn Arrington, Antonette Balestreri, Al Blackstone, Aaron De Jesus, Emily Ferranti, Dominic Giudici, Courtney D. Jones, Spencer Jones, Renee Lawless-Orsini, Philip Dean Lightstone, Kourtni Lind, Marissa Lupp, Sterling Masters, Kevin McMahon, Jeremy McQueen, Christopher Russo, Adam Sanford, Carla Stickler, Brandon Tyler, Shanna VanDerwerker, Bud Weber, Betsy Werbel, Lauren Ashley Zakrin and Jared Zirilli.

The Houston engagement of Wicked is currently running through July 25 at the Sarofim Hall Hobby Center. Tickets are available online.

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Wicked, running at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts through July 25, boasts incredible production values, some blockbuster songs and two superstar leads in Donna Vivino’s Elphaba and Chandra Lee Schwartz’s Glinda.

The show has now traveled three times to Houston in the seven years since the Broadway debut, and it runs like a well-oiled machine. According to production stage manager Peter Van Dyke, the traveling production regularly earns more than the New York show, which garners more than $1.5 million per week.

From the dragon grumbling menacingly overhead to Glinda’s bubble lift, the wizard’s public face and the chaotic scene in the rain, this is a show with so many moving parts it would be impressive on a purely technical level if the audience wasn’t busy being thoroughly transported inside its world of magic.

Vivino has the jaw-dropping voice and the bone structure to pull off Elphaba’s green, but in pure stage presence she’s surpassed by Schwartz, who plays Glinda with a healthy helping of Elle Woods, practically skipping across the stage and giggling through the first act, most notably pausing to worship her shoe collection during “Popular.”

The only real hiccup in the production on Thursday night was when large portions of the audience seemed unprepared for the beginning of the second act. With Wicked, there are always certain sticking points for critics — the second act doesn’t live up musically to the first, some dance scenes are a bit overwrought, etc.

Whether seeing Wicked for the first or 10th time, this production is a joy to experience. Buy Wicked Sarofim Hall – Hobby Center Tickets.

Wicked will be performing at Sarofim Hall Hobby Center Houston, TX starting Wednesday June 30 till Sunday July 25, 2010. Wicked will be closing at the Music Hall at Fair Park and on the June 30 Wicked will be opening at the Sarofim Hall Hobby Center in Houston, Texas.

Fans of Wicked the musical hate to see it leave thier city, many have seen the musical several times and it will be years before the national tour of Wicked comes back to Dallas, Texas. Tickets for Wicked at the Sarofim Hall Hobby Center have beeen on sale for quite some time.

Most of the the musical Wicked performances at Sarofim Hall are already sold out but you can still buy Wicked tickets on the secondary market where season ticket holders will resell the best seats in the orchestra section and the cheaper upper level balcony seats. Wicked will be performing at the Sarofim Hall through Sunday July 25 and will not be extended so if you have to see Wicked live in a great theatre, buy your Wicked Sarofim Hall tickets today.

Wicked Broadway praised by Entertainment Weekly – “The best musical of the decade.”

Here is the complete cast and creative team details: