Louise Dearman will return to the London production of Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre from October 29 as Elphaba but not in her previous role as Glinda. Louise Derman becomes 1st to Play Both Starring Roles in Wicked.

Louise Dearman Will Return to Wicked

Ms Dearman played Glinda, the good witch Until December 2011. But from 29 October 2012 she is set to make the unprecedented switcheroo to the eponymously wicked witch of the west, Elphaba.

The producers say this is the first time the same leading lady has played both star roles in Wicked, which all of you in Wicked-land know imagines the origins of the witches from The Wizard Of Oz.

In response to the rumours, the Apollo Victoria Theatre has taken to Twitter, saying “We cannot confirm or deny the rumour”, but adding “we love Louise Dearman at the AV and she is always welcome, in whatever form it may be!”

Read the complete news {Via Daily Mail}.

Buy Wicked London GL Tickets Online now. Get $10 OFF on any Wicked Apollo Victoria Theatre Ticket orders of $250 or more, use code SUMMERFUNTN at checkout.

Wicked is a standing production in London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre. Wicked tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz. Wicked welcomed Keith Bartlett to the role of “The Wizard”. Here are the photos of Barlett on stage as Wizard – {Via BroadwayWorld.com}.

Keith Bartlett as The Wizard

Keith Bartlett as The Wizard in Wicked

Keith Bartlett as The Wizard in Wicked London

Wicked has already been seen by over 4.5 million people since its London premiere in 2006 at the Apollo Victoria Theatre. It is now one of the Top 20 longest-running musicals in West End history.

Wicked tells the incredible untold story of an unlikely but profound friendship between two girls who first meet as sorcery students. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfil their destinies as Glinda The Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

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As a part of its North American Tour, Wicked is currently in Montreal Quebec Canada playing at Salle Wilfrid Pelletier – Place Des Arts and continue through August 26, 2012. Wicked Canada Tour 2012 also moves to Kitchener Ontario Canada (August 29 to September 09, 2012).

Wicked musical is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (1995), a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Wicked tells the story in which these two unlikely friends Elphaba and Glinda grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch of the South while struggling through opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love-interest, reactions to the Wizard’s corrupt government, and, ultimately, Elphaba’s public fall from grace.

Wicked will continue at Montreal, Canada through August 26, 2012. Buy Wicked Place Des Arts Tickets online today for best seat locations at the best prices, Save $10 by using the Code SUMMERFUNTN on Orders of $250 or more!

Wicked Broadway Musical grossed $2,055,433 and had an attendance rate of 98.3%, about 4.3% more than that of the previous week. The 27 shows on the boards grossed $23,423,051, improving around 0.96% from the previous week’s totals.

Below are the Top 12 Grosses from BroadwayWorld.com for the week ending 07/29/2012.

1. Wicked – (GERSHWIN) $2,055,433
2. The Lion King – (MINSKOFF) $2,039,698
3. Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark – (FOXWOODS) $1,768,619
4. The Book Of Mormon – (EUGENE O’NEILL) $1,629,488
5. Evita – (MARQUIS) $1,253,587
6. Once – (JACOBS) $1,088,263
7. Newsies – (NEDERLANDER) $1,044,016
8. The Phantom Of The Opera – (MAJESTIC) $1,016,697
9. Mary Poppins – (NEW AMSTERDAM) $1,007,287
10. Jersey Boys – (AUGUST WILSON) $924,710
11. Mamma Mia! – (WINTER GARDEN) $898,564
12. Nice Work If You Can Get It – (IMPERIAL) $799,077

{Via BroadwayWorld.com}

The massive stage and sets for the Broadway touring production of Wicked are loaded in to Salt Lake City’s Capitol Theater on 17 July for the Utah run of the show – July 18 to August 26, 2012.

Watch the Video Below:

Buy Wicked Capitol Theatre – UT 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 Broadway musical tour returns to Salt Lake City for the second time and currently performing at Capitol Theatre – UT from July 18 to August 26, 2012. Here is the Wicked musical review by Ben Fulton.

The greatest pleasure of this touring production of “Wicked,” playing through Aug. 26 at Capitol Theatre, is watching the interplay blossom, falter and mature between Alli Mauzey, who is a sheer delight as Glinda, and Nicole Parker, who delivers a passionate, brooding Elphaba.

If there’s no shortage of gushing when it comes to Stephen Schwartz’s and Winnie Holzman’s “Wicked”— and the day the hype runs out ain’t coming anytime soon — it’s because the musical hits the mercurial sweet-spot of both powerful story and the glory of what’s possible on the live theater stage.

This would all feel inflated and ponderous if the story itself were even slightly subpar. Buttressing all the marvelous stage architecture on display, thankfully, is a powerful interplay of peer pressure, prejudice and even hints of racism in an immediately recognizable story.

What happens when the ebullient but good-hearted bad girl, enamored of her own beauty and status, makes friends with the geek girl, the outsider ridiculed for her looks but imbued with a sense of principle and justice that looks beyond society’s norms? “Wicked” takes that premise then complicates it with all of real life’s sticky situations of jealousy, hard choices, and experiments gone horribly wrong.

The genius of “Wicked” is that, in the fashion all great fairy tales, it’s carried along by magical events, sights and metaphors to create an allegory that never feels like an allegory.

When Glinda attempts to transform Elphaba’s wardrobe by magic wand, the scene says more about the early challenges of friendship than mere magic. When Elphaba takes to the sky to announce her revolt against the Wizard, a sight stupendous enough by itself, we’re granted a vision of what it means to — irony excused — stand on principle.

Genius though it was for Schwartz to build a musical on the dual foundation of Gregory Maquire’s novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, and by extension L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard Oz, the key to “Wicked” is the Glinda-Elphaba match.

Parker was also impressive as the brooding, green-skinned Elphaba with a heart for animals and their suffering, a keen eye for the abuse of power, and a cynic’s despair. About the only fault one might find with the story is that the crux of Elphaba’s principled stand relies too much on a pre-packaged, PETA-approved message of animal rights.

No matter. “Wicked” is its own species of theater animal. A true blockbuster, it’s better loved than overly analyzed; more fun to adore than nitpick. If all goes well the night you see it — if you’re fortunate enough to have tickets, that is — you may well walk out of the theater feeling that, even at the price of your $195 ticket, you still got the entertainment bargain of a lifetime.

Read the complete review {Via SLTrib.com}

Wicked touring production will be playing through August 26, 2012 at Capitol Theatre – UT. Experience the Spell of Wicked. Wicked Musical Salt Lake City UT Tickets are in full Demand! Avail $15 OFF on Wicked Capitol Theatre Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code SUMMERTIXTN at Checkout!

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!