Wicked Musical Broadway grossed $1,980,214 and had an attendance rate of 97.3%, about 1.7% more than that of the previous week. The 28 shows on the boards grossed $23,438,088, improving around 7.38% from the previous week’s totals.

Below are the Top 12 Grosses from BroadwayWorld.com for the week ending 07/15/2012.

1. The Lion King – (MINSKOFF) $2,002,353
2. Wicked – (GERSHWIN) $1,980,214
3. Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark – (FOXWOODS) $1,738,983
4. The Book Of Mormon – (EUGENE O’NEILL) $1,637,543
5. Evita – (MARQUIS) $1,212,448
6. Newsies – (NEDERLANDER) $1,055,178
7. Mary Poppins – (NEW AMSTERDAM) $1,021,205
8. Once – (JACOBS) $1,015,977
9. Jersey Boys – (AUGUST WILSON) $955,638
10. The Phantom Of The Opera – (MAJESTIC) $914,957
11. Mamma Mia! – (WINTER GARDEN) $863,782
12. Nice Work If You Can Get It – (IMPERIAL) $814,142

{Via BroadwayWorld.com}

Sets for most popular Broadway musical Wicked arrived at downtown Salt Lake City’s Capitol Theatre in a handful of semi-trucks. “We’ve got three semi-trucks coming July 16, with 11 more July 17,” said Tom Bryce, technical director at Capitol Theatre. “Then there’s two more driving up for July 18. That should finish it off.”

Still, only “Wicked” has the unique distinction of leaving a permanent mark on Capitol Theatre. When it first played Salt Lake City in 2009, the show’s additional proscenium was so heavy it required additional I-beams on stage. Structural engineers were brought in, steel was purchased, and all was welded into place for the show’s massive Victorian sets and flying characters, seen through the scenic framework of a giant clock. Eugene Lee, the show’s scenic designer, rightly won a 2004 Emmy for his work.

“We had to beef up our steel just to hang their proscenium,” Bryce said. “In terms of sheer weight, it’s one of the heaviest hanging shows there is. It was a big improvement to the theater actually. This time around, we’re ready for them.”

Bryce, technical theater at Capitol since 1995, said a show’s size doesn’t necessarily mean more complications. Touring Broadway productions are designed for quick efficient set-ups and break-downs.

At 100 years old, he said Capitol Theatre’s biggest challenge is maintaining air-conditioning through the current, blistering summer, based on a system designed in the 1970s.

Salt Lake County, which owns and operates the facility, is planning in a $33.4 million project to renovate the theater next year, with expanded lobby and upgraded bathrooms, along with constructing the adjacent Jessie Eccles Quinney Center for Dance.

Read the complete story {Via SLTrib.com}

Wicked musical national tour is scheduled to play in Salt Lake City Utah from July 18 to August 26, 2012. Buy Wicked Capitol Theatre Tickets online today for best seat locations at the best prices, Save $15 by using the Code SUMMERTIXTN on Orders of $350 or more!

Tony winner Stephen Daldry, director of Billy Elliot: The Musical, is now the frontrunner to direct Universal’s big screen adaptation of the blockbuster musical Wicked, according to Deadline.com. Directors previously rumored to helm the project include Ryan Murphy, Rob Marshall, J.J. Abrams and James Mangold. No casting or start date for the project have been announced.

Stephen Daldry in Talks to Direct Wicked Film

Wicked musical opened on October 30, 2003 and won three Tony Awards. A reimagining of the classic The Wizard of Oz, Wicked spotlights the untold stories of two of Oz’s most famous characters, the Wicked Witch of the West and her unlikely friend, Glinda the Good.

The Broadway production of Wicked currently stars Jackie Burns as Elphaba, Chandra Lee Schwartz as Glinda, Richard H. Blake as Fiyero, Randy Danson as Madame Morrible and Adam Grupper as The Wizard. Wicked is currently touring in San Diego, CA and Ottawa, ON Canada.

Wicked Broadway musical coming to Salt Lake City for the second time. Wicked will be performing at Capitol Theatre – UT from July 18 to August 26, 2012.

“There’s something unique about Salt Lake that we haven’t yet understood,” said Broadway producer David Stone. “Cast album sales in Salt Lake, from almost the beginning, are always sixth or seventh in the number of copies sold,” he said. “It’s only behind cities like New York or Chicago and L.A. where the show ran for years.

“But Salt Lake is much further ahead of Houston, Boston and other cities that are much larger. It’s the second time ‘Wicked’ has been to Salt Lake, and it sells out instantly. ”

The New York Times called “Wicked” “Broadway’s biggest blockbuster” and “the defining musical of the decade.”

Wicked Capitol Theatre Performance Schedule:
Tuesday to Thursday – 7:30 PM
Fridays – 8:00 PM
Saturdays – 2:00 PM and 6:30 PM
Sundays – 1:00 PM and 6:30 PM

The Broadway production of “Wicked” has broken the house record at the Gershwin Theatre 20 times during the course of its run – regularly grossing in excess of $1.7 million each week. “Wicked” has grossed a combined total of $1.8 billion for its North American companies. Over nine years, the musical has grossed an estimated $2.5 billion from its cumulative productions, breaking national and international box-office records. Since it began in March 2005, the national tour of “Wicked” has broken the house record in every city in which it has played.

“At its most basic, ‘Wicked’ is just really great storytelling,” said Nicole Parker, who plays Elphaba, the Wicked Witch, in the national tour. “I think that’s when something can last for a long time if it tells a great story about characters you care about. It just gets into people’s hearts.” Parker, who first played the green witch on Broadway, often receives letters from fans who really connected with the show or the character — a well-intentioned young lady who doesn’t quite fit in and is judged because she looks different. “Until the end of time, people will identify with both of these girls,” Parker said.

“I remember seeing a news story on the first time ‘Wicked’ played in Salt Lake City with a line around the door, and I thought, ‘That would be a fun city to do this show,'” she said.

Almost three years later, Parker will get her chance. “I’m already starting to train running on stairs so I can belt those notes at your high elevations.

With 35 major awards to its credit, including a Grammy and three Tony Awards, “Wicked” seems to be running a marathon of its own.

Lottery: To enter a nightly drawing for a pair of $25 orchestra-seat tickets, present yourself in person at the theater box office (Capitol Theatre, 50 W. 200 South, Salt Lake City) 2 1/2 hours before the show. Winners should be prepared to pay cash.

Wicked national tour will be at Capitol Theatre from July 18 to August 26, 2012. Buy Wicked Salt Lake City Utah Tickets online today for best seat locations at the best prices, Save $15 by using the Code SUMMERTIXTN on Orders of $350 or more!

Wicked is currently playing at National Arts Centre – Southam Hall and continue through July 29, 2012. The returning engagement of Wicked musical in Ottawa, ON Canada is going to be a big hit.

The Wizard of Oz, know that the Wicked Witch of the West was a piece of nasty, and that the Good Witch of the South, Glinda, was as nice as nice gets. “Wicked” tells the story of Elphaba and Glinda before Dorothy and before they became their more famous alter egos — the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good. Wicked is the winner of three Tony Awards, a Grammy, and a slew of other major awards.

Wicked will continue at Ottawa, ON Canada through July 29, 2012. From here it will move to Montreal, Quebec Canada for the performances to start in Salle Wilfrid Pelletier – Place Des Arts from August 01, 2012. Buy Wicked National Arts Centre – Southam Hall Tickets online today for best seat locations at the best prices, Save $15 by using the Code SUMMERTIXTN on Orders of $350 or more!

Wicked topped the box office with $2 million ($2,033,004) mark for the second consecutive week.

Wicked Broadway musical grossed $2,033,004 and had an attendance rate of 97.3%, about 0.1% less than that of the previous week. The 30 shows on the boards grossed $23,877,257, slipping around 0.33% from the previous week’s totals.

Below are the Top 12 Grosses from BroadwayWorld.com for the week ending 07/01/2012.

1. Wicked – (GERSHWIN) $2,033,004
2. The Lion King – (MINSKOFF) $1,944,704
3. The Book Of Mormon – (EUGENE O’NEILL) $1,615,956
4. Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark – (FOXWOODS) $1,608,683
5. Evita – (MARQUIS) $1,191,200
6. Newsies – (NEDERLANDER) $1,048,090
7. Once – (JACOBS) $1,039,207
8. Mary Poppins – (NEW AMSTERDAM) $929,166
9. The Phantom Of The Opera – (MAJESTIC) $889,043
10. Jersey Boys – (AUGUST WILSON) $887,165
11. Nice Work If You Can Get It – (IMPERIAL) $804,816
12. Mamma Mia! – (WINTER GARDEN) $750,421

{Via BroadwayWorld.com}

Video of the dressing room at the San Diego Civic Theatre, where the star of the musical “Wicked” transforms into the green witch before each performance by CBS8.

About 45 minutes before each performance, Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, is born backstage. The green makeup goes on wet, but dries within seconds. Makeup artist Christina Tracey, who has done this more than 1,000 times, then uses a translucent powder to keep the green from rubbing off. The process takes about 20 minutes.

Watch the Video below:

San Diego, California News Station – KFMB Channel 8 – cbs8.com

Actress Nicole Parker is now part of the national tour playing at the San Diego Civic Theatre, after starring in the role on Broadway in 2009. You may recognize the Emmy Award-winning actress from the sketch comedy television series MADtv.

Parker tells News 8 she sometimes prefers her green sheen, saying, “You almost get used to being green, almost to the point where I like myself better. It looks more normal to me. It’s like a blank slate. I think it changes my face for the better. I love it, I think it’s really pretty make-up.”

Tracey tells News 8, “A lot of people confuse it with the wicked witch they know and it’s nothing like that in our show. She’s very pretty, she’s designed to be almost the prettiest girl in Oz. It just happens that her skin is green. So she’s very beautiful.”

She’s beautiful, and not really the bad witch she’s portrayed to be in “The Wizard of Oz.” We learn in “Wicked” that Elphaba is shunned and scorned just because she’s different, just because she’s green. Fans tell Parker all the time how much Elphaba has inspired them.

Wicked Play at San Diego Civic Theatre through July 15, 2012. Avail $15 OFF on Wicked San Diego CA Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code SUMMERTIXTN at Checkout!

The Broadway musical Wicked tour returns to East Lansing, MI and currently performing at Wharton Center – Cobb Great Hall through July 08, 2012. Here is the Wicked musical review by Bridgette Redman.

The production currently at Wharton Center is the second national tour, but unlike some shows that cut budgets and special effects for the second tour, this one shows no signs of being second best. Christine Dwyer (Elphaba) and Jeanna De Waal (Glinda) are strong vocalists who command the space with soaring voices that beautifully blend in their duets. They convincingly loathe and love each other and take the audience along their journey of growth and transformation.

It’s hard to believe a show as commercially successful as “Wicked” could be chock full of so much word play, irony, tragedy and political commentary. Yet, that’s exactly what this musical has. The show was inspired by Gregory Maguire’s “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” which was in turn inspired by Frank L. Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” It follows the story of Elphaba, the woman who would become the Wicked Witch of the West and Galinda (later Glinda) the Good Witch.

The story explores dependency, co-dependency, independence and interdependency. It contemplates how deceptive appearances can be and how truly wicked those who “create” truth by ramping up public anxiety are.

One of the more fascinating characters is Catherine Charlebois’ Nessarose, Elphaba’s sister, who eventually becomes governor of Munchkinland and the famous owner of the ruby slippers. Charlebois plays the innocent, embodying the “beautifully tragic” label that others tag on her merely because she uses a wheelchair. Like her sister, she is judged on appearances in dangerous ways and others underestimate her and fail to see who she really is.

There were no weak performances in this production and all of the stage magic, including a rather gratuitous dragon who existed only to create wonder and set the stage for the wizardry that was to come, remained slave to the most important part of this musical: the story.

Read the complete review {Via LansingStateJournal.com}

Wicked Play at Wharton Center – Cobb Great Hall through July 08, 2012. Experience the Spell of Wicked. Wicked Musical East Lansing MI Tickets are in full Demand! Avail $15 OFF on Wicked Wharton Center Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code SUMMERTIXTN at Checkout!

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Broadway across Canada is bringing the musical Wicked to the National Arts Centre – Southam Hall starting July 11, 2012. Wicked will continue at Ottawa, ON Canada through July 29, 2012. From here it will move to Montreal, Quebec Canada for the performances to start in Salle Wilfrid Pelletier – Place Des Arts from August 01, 2012.

Wicked National Arts Centre – Southam Hall Schedule:
Tuesday to Thursday – 8:00 PM
Friday – 8:00 PM
Saturday – 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM
Sunday – 1:00 PM and 7:30 PM
Additional show on Thursday, July 12 – 2:00 PM

Wicked musical is all about the life of the Wicked Witch of the West before Dorothy arrives in Oz is a crowd-pleaser. “Wicked” tells the story of Elphaba and Glinda before Dorothy and before they became their more famous alter egos — the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good. Wicked is the winner of three Tony Awards, a Grammy, and a slew of other major awards.

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