Tim Tebow, the former Denver Broncos quarterback who was recently traded to the New York Jets, paid a visit to Broadway this weekend, attending a performance of the hit musical “Wicked” at the George Gershwin Theatre.

The football player attended Saturday night’s performance of the show, according to a report in the New York Daily News. He slipped into the theater about five minutes before curtain and was escorted out of the theater’s back door.

“Wicked,” a prequel to “The Wizard of Oz,” opened in 2003 and has played more than 3,400 performances on Broadway. The show has also toured the U.S. and internationally.

Tebow, 24, has become famous for his habit of praying on one knee during football games, an act nicknamed “Tebowing.” The athlete has become the talk of New York since he was traded last week. The Associated Press reports that the famous Carnegie Deli is naming a sandwich after him.

Tebow pulled off a nifty QB sneak on his way into the theater, slipping inside five minutes before the 8 p.m. show time. Then, he headed straight for his seats in row L in the orchestra. His arrival went largely unnoticed by the audience. Afterward, Tebow went backstage to congratulate the stars. He told them it was his first ever Broadway show.

“He liked my performance,” said P.J. Benjamin, who plays Oz. “I hope I like his performance.”

Chandra Lee Schwartz, who has a leading role as Glinda the Good Witch, said Tebow was “very sweet.” “He seemed to enjoy it,” she said.

Wicked, the smash hit musical flies back into the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall on March 28, 2012 and continues through April 15, 2012.

Wicked musical broke sales records for the Fort Myers performing arts hall in March 2009 and sold out nearly all of its three-week run. The first week, alone, grossed about $1.2 million – a record that wouldn’t be broken until “Jersey Boys” came to town in 2010 and grossed $1.3 million.

Set in Oz before the arrival of Dorothy and Toto, “Wicked” tells the story of Glinda, the so-called “good witch,” and her green-skinned friend Elphaba, who will one day grow up to become the notorious “Wicked Witch of the West.” The show features hummable songs such as “Defying Gravity” and plenty of Big Broadway spectacle, including a giant wizard’s head, flying monkeys and soaring witches on brooms. The story explores female friendship as well as themes such as conformity, morality and hypocrisy. Glinda – who begins “Wicked” as a fashion snob with a high opinion of herself – gradually learns how to be a better person from her nemesis-turned-best friend, Elphaba.

Marilyn Caskey plays Madame Morrible, the eccentric and ambitious headmistress of Shiz University. She’s been with the tour for most of the past three years since it opened in Fort Myers in March 2009. Madame Morrible, the “Head Shizstress,” as Caskey calls her, tosses the witches together as roommates, an action that changes the course of history in Oz. She’s also a mover and shaker in the country’s power structure.

Audiences love “Wicked” in part for the show’s extravagant set and gorgeous costumes. Caskey gets to wear some of these herself. She spends 45 minutes each night doing her own hair and makeup, then requires a dresser to help her into the elaborate gowns.

“It’s really been a phenomenon,” says actress Anne Brummel, who plays the bullied, green-skinned witch Elphaba in the touring show. “Everywhere we go, we seem to be breaking some record somewhere.” Brummel laughs. “I think we’re doing OK. I think we’re a hit.”

Brummel says the iconic Elphaba is a blast to play. “She’s a really cool girl, and I get to go on this great journey with her. It’s really great to see her grow. She’s bullied, but she comes out on top.

Producer Marc Platt says he and the rest of the “Wicked” team knew they had something special early on with “Wicked.” They just didn’t know how special. Platt imagined the show would last maybe five years on Broadway and then go on one national tour. Now it’s nine years running and on its second national tour, and there’s also a movie in the works.

“Nobody can predict a phenomenon,” he says. “We thought it would do well. But I don’t think any of us could have imagined the enormity of it.”

Wicked will be playing at Barbara B Mann Performing Arts Hall through April 15, 2012 and Tickets are now on sale online. Buy Wicked Fort Myers FL Tickets today. Get $10 OFF on Wicked Barbara B Mann Performing Arts Hall Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout!

Wicked will be coming to Honolulu Hawaii in November 2012. Wicked musical performances open at Neal S. Blaisdell Center Concert Hall on November 24, 2012 and running through January 16, 2013.

Wicked Neal S. Blaisdell Center Concert Hall Schedule:
Tuesdays to Thursdays – 7:30 PM
Fridays – 8:00 PM
Saturdays – 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM
Sundays – 1:00 PM & 6:30 PM
Special Matinees on Thursday, Dec 27 and Tuesday, Jan 15 – 2:00 PM

Wicked, Called “a cultural phenomenon” by Variety and named “the defining musical of the decade” by The New York Times, Wicked continues to thrill audiences around the world. Wicked is expected to be a Big hit as the show makes its Hawaii debut.

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, and how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.

Based on the best-selling 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked, winner of 35 major awards, including a Grammy® and three Tony® Awards, is the untold story of the witches of Oz. It is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (“Godspell,” “Pippin,” Academy Award-winner for “Pocahontas” and “The Prince of Egypt”) and book by Winnie Holzman (“My So Called Life,” “Once And Again” and “thirtysomething”). Wicked, the untold story of the witches of Oz, is directed by two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello (“Take Me Out,” “Love! Valour! Compassion!”, “The Vagina Monologues”) and features musical staging by Tony® Award winner Wayne Cilento (“Aida,” The Who’s “Tommy,” “How To Succeed…”).

Wicked will be playing at Neal S. Blaisdell Center Concert Hall through January 16, 2013 and Tickets are now on sale online. Buy Wicked Honolulu HI Tickets today. Get $10 OFF on Wicked Blaisdell Concert Hall Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout!

Wicked Broadway grossed $1,942,288 and had a 100.0% attendance rate, about 1.6% more than the previous week. The 29 shows on the boards grossed $22,236,274, about 16.42% more that of the previous week’s totals.

Below are the Top 12 Grosses from BroadwayWorld.com for the week ending March 18, 2012.

1. Wicked – (GERSHWIN) $1,942,288
2. The Lion King – (MINSKOFF) $1,760,703
3. Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark – (FOXWOODS) $1,578,215
4. The Book Of Mormon – (EUGENE O’NEILL) $1,494,024
5. Evita – (MARQUIS) $1,167,685
6. The Phantom Of The Opera – (MAJESTIC) $1,012,149
7. Jersey Boys – (AUGUST WILSON) $913,217
8. War Horse – (VIVIAN BEAUMONT) $886,640
9. Mary Poppins – (NEW AMSTERDAM) $881,144
10. How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying – (AL HIRSCHFELD) $812,618
11. Newsies – (NEDERLANDER) $735,991
12. Mamma Mia! – (WINTER GARDEN) $685,129

{Via BroadwayWorld.com}

The Broadway musical wicked will run at Dayton’s Schuster Performing Arts Center June 01 to June 24, 2012. Tickets for the popular Broadway musical, Wicked, go on sale at 8 a.m. Monday morning at Ticket Center Stage in the Wintergarden of the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center, Second and Main streets, in downtown Dayton.

Wicked Schuster Performing Arts Center Schedule:
Tuesdays to Fridays – 8:00 PM
Saturdays – 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM
Sundays – 1:00 PM & 6:30 PM

The show, based on a novel that tells the story of the two girls who grow up to be the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good, will be in town from June 01 to June 24.

More than 53,000 people from throughout the region attended the premiere performances of “Wicked” when it premiered in Dayton in February/March 2010. According to Ken Neufeld, president and CEO of the Victoria Theatre Association and the Arts Center Foundation, that three-week run generated an estimated economic impact of $5,285,770.

There are currently seven productions of “Wicked” worldwide. The show features music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman. The musical is directed by two-time Tony winner Joe Mantello and has won 35 major awards, including a Grammy and three Tony awards.

Wicked Musical Tour will be performing in Schuster Performing Arts Center for four weeks from June 01 to June 24, 2012. Wicked Dayton OH Tickets Online, Use Code #SpringSavings at Checkout to Get $10 OFF on Orders of $350 or more.

During October 2011, actress and singer Mamie Parris joined Wicked national touring company taking the role of Elphaba, the green-skinned and highly sympathetic witch first brought to Tony-winning life by Idina Menzel and later played by, among others, the Beaverton-bred Shoshana Bean.

It doesn’t have any effect, she said, on how she approaches her part in “Wicked,” which comes to Portland on Tuesday to begin a lengthy run at Keller Auditorium through April 08, 2012.

Joining Parris will be even newer cast members Alli Mauzey as Galinda and Andy Kelso as Fiyero, who’ve been with the tour just a few weeks. What stays consistent, though, is the dazzling spectacle and blockbuster appeal of this 21st-century twist on “The Wizard of Oz,” by way of Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.”

Parris spoke to The Oregonian about stepping into the well-known role:

What has it been like taking over such a famous role?
When you take over any role there’s some pressure there. But to be honest, I’ve been so supported since I came in here. Everyone in the company has been really lovely and great to work with.

Do you have any little ways you’ve used to make Elphaba your own?
There’s not a grocery list of things I do, like saying this or that line in a particular way every time. To me, that’s not how acting works. It’s just bringing what I have to the character and making a real connection with the story.

What’s the biggest challenge?
This is one of the hardest jobs I’ve ever had in my life. Yes, the singing is a challenge, but if you’re a healthy vocalist, it’s something you can do. What’s difficult is how physically and mentally exhausting a role like this can be. Elphaba hardly ever leaves the stage. And in those few times she’s not in a scene, there’s something I have to be doing backstage, like a costume change. It takes everything out of you.

Among the stronger threads in Gregory Maguire’s novel, and still present in the musical, is the question of who really is good or evil and how they come to be viewed one way or the other. What’s Elphaba’s good-to-wicked ratio?
I don’t know if that’s something that can be put in a mathematical way. Maybe it’s different for someone at different points in their life. It really is a long journey to self-discovery, and we make so many changes to what we think and feel and believe all through the process. So for Elphaba, too, it’s about the journey. And I think that’s why the show continues to connect with so many people so strongly.

The show of course has been a big phenomenon with young audiences. What kind of responses do you get from those fans when you interact with them?
I meet a lot of fans when I leave through the stage door. It’s amazing how much people walk away affected by it emotionally. Here it is this story set in a big, fantasy world, but people see it as something really personal.

The thing that’s surprised me most is that it’s not just young fans. I meet older people, couples on dates, guys who bought tickets because of their wives and didn’t think they’d enjoy it themselves. It’s always thrilling to me to meet people who are completely new to the show and see how much they get into it.

What haven’t I asked you about that I should have?
The No. 1 thing people ask me about is the makeup. It takes about 25 minutes. I have a makeup artist who helps me put it on before the shows. It’s water-based, actual makeup, not a body paint, so that’s good.

But even so, I can be away from the show for four days and still find a little green behind my ears. I forever carry a bit of Elphaba with me wherever I go.

Read the complete interview {Via OregonLive.com}

Wicked will be performing at Keller Auditorium through April 08, 2012. Get $10 OFF on Wicked Portland OR Tickets Orders of $350 or more! Use Code #SpringSavings at Checkout!

Wicked all set for for Paramount Theater‘s 2012-2013 Season – The Paramount Theater has announced the touring productions set for its 2012-2013 season, according to The Seattle Times. The Seattle WA season’s first offering will be Stephen Schwartz’s hit musical about the witches of Oz Wicked starting from October 10, 2012 and continue thropugh November 17, 2012.

Wicked is one of the most successful Broadway musicals of all time. Wicked musical has grossed nearly $2.5 billion and has been seen by 30 million people worldwide. Wicked, the untold story of the witches of Oz and how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.

Wicked will be playing Paramount Theater through Nov 17, 2012 and Tickets are now on sale online. Buy Wicked Seattle WA Tickets today. Get $10 OFF on Wicked Paramount Theater Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout!

Broadway in Tucson yet to announce its 2012-13 season, but the presenter could not wait for the announcement and just posted on his next season slip on Facebook.

In a posting, Tucson Broadway announced the following:

***WICKED Returns to Tucson Next Year!!!***

Broadway’s biggest blockbuster musical, Wicked is set to return to Tucson March 20-April 7, 2013 at the Tucson Music Hall. We just couldn’t hold this information in any longer. We’ll announce the rest of the 2012/2013 season in the coming weeks. Season ticket holders will receive more information on how to renew their tickets at the end of March/early April.

That’s a quick turnaround for the production, which played nearly soldout performances at Centennial Hall for three weeks in January 2011. Read more about the 2012-13 arts seasons coming Sunday.

Wicked Musical Tour will be performing in Tucson Music Hall from March 20, 2013 through April 7, 2013. Once the tickets on sale online, Use Code #SpringSavings at Checkout to Get $10 OFF on Wicked Tucson AZ Tickets Orders over $350! .

Wicked Musical Tour currently stops at Norfolk for the duration March 7-25 in Chrysler Hall. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, “Wicked” tells the story of the rivalry, and eventual friendship, between Glinda and Elphaba, the green-skinned Witch of the West, before Dorothy comes on the scene. Wicked broke box office records in Norfolk when it first played during 2009 tour.

Haas, who grew up in Yorktown, makes a triumphal return to her home turf as Glinda, the Good Witch, in this wild ride of a musical featuring flying monkeys, witches on broomsticks and the sparkling city of Oz. And what an entrance she makes as she floats down from the top of the stage in a large bubble.

Instead of playing the stereotypical good witch that one remembers from the “Wizard of Oz” film, Haas has a chance to bring out the different facets of her role in this complex character adapted from the Gregory Maguire novel. She shows talent for delivering her lines with great comic effect, and her operatic training comes in handy for this demanding vocal role.

Joining her on equally fine footing is Anne Brummel as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch, who belts out the show’s signature tune, “Defying Gravity,” with strength and conviction.

It’s a strong cast overall backed up by stunning special effects and a strong orchestra.

Read the complete review {Via DailyPress.com}

Wicked Musical Tour will be performing in Norfolk Virginia through March 25, 2012. Get $10 OFF on Wicked Chrysler Hall Tickets Orders over $350! Use Code #SpringSavings at Checkout.

Tiffany Haas makes her dramatic entrance as Glinda the Good Witch in “Wicked” onstage March 7-25 in Chrysler Hall. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, “Wicked” tells the story of the rivalry, and eventual friendship, between Glinda and Elphaba, the green-skinned Witch of the West, before Dorothy comes on the scene. This prequel to “The Wizard of Oz” tale opened on Broadway in 2003 and is still running there. It broke box office records when it first played Norfolk in 2009.

The blockbuster musical Wicked opens Wednesday in the Norfolk performing hall for a three-week run. As Glinda the Good Witch, Haas makes a dramatic entrance in a bubble high above the stage where, she says, “I can look down and see everybody in the audience.”

The New York production also is where Haas got her start. Her story mirrors the classic one of the young hopeful who comes to town and lands a big Broadway role.

After graduating from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music in 2005, Haas moved to New York to pursue a musical theater career. She appeared in a showcase there sponsored by the college that was attended by New York agents and others in the theater world. There she met an agent who eventually connected her with the casting director of “Wicked.”

For her first role in “Wicked,” Haas worked as a swing performer, a job that required her to cover all of the female roles in the show.

“Swinging was a phenomenal experience. Every night I played a different part,” she says. “It was a great way to be involved in the show and to learn how it worked.”

During her two years as a swing performer, Haas always felt that the role of Glinda was right for her, but the timing wasn’t right. She left the “Wicked” cast in 2007 to perform in the national tour of”The Drowsy Chaperone,”but let the producers of “Wicked” know of her continued interest in playing the role. That opportunity came when she was first hired as Glinda’s understudy before stepping into the role last September.

Part of what attracted Haas to the role of Glinda is that she saw parallels in her own life.

“Glinda has this constant journey of perseverance and proving herself,” says Haas, who is now 30. “She’s trying to figure out exactly what her purpose is. It’s actually what I’ve gone through since graduating from college.”

In reality, Haas started on that journey much earlier. Beginning at age 3, she took classes and danced and performed in the company directed by her mother, Linda Haas, owner of the Academy of Dance & Gymnastics, which has studios in Hampton and Newport News. Linda Haas says Tiffany became infatuated with musical theater early on.

“From the time she was a little girl, if you came over to our house for dinner, you were bound to see a show,” says her mother. “She worked so hard in the company which is the place we train them to be professionals.”

Haas’ vocal talents also became evident early on. Linda Haas remembers taking her daughter to a voice teacher when she was 9 years old. After hearing the young girl, the teacher sent her to Virginia Opera to audition for the children’s chorus. Haas sang opera for her talent competition after she won the Miss Ohio title and competed in the Miss America pageant.

In addition to her 15 years as a member of the Academy of Dance company, Haas attended the Governor’s School for the Arts in Norfolk during her high school years. During those years she won the Virginia State Bland Music Vocal competition.

Read the complete news {Via DailyPress.com}

Wicked will be performing at Norfolk’s Chrysler Hall through March 25, 2012. Get $10 OFF on Wicked Norfolk VA Tickets Orders over $350! Use Code AFF$10.