In March, an extensive cast change in the West End production at the Apollo Victoria Theatre found Belfast-born Rachel Tucker taking on the vocally and physically demanding role of Elphaba, the green witch who turns out to be less wicked than she is simply misunderstood. For Tucker, 29, the part fulfils a dream she has nursed for years, well before appearing on the West End in We Will Rock You or making it to the semifinals of I’d Do Anything, the BBC reality TV program to find a new Nancy for Oliver! The chatty, likable Tucker, who is contracted to Wicked through February 2011, took time to speak to Broadway.com one recent evening before preparing herself, once more, to defy gravity. She is been London’s Elphaba for four months since March, Matt Wolf Interviewed Rachel Tuckeron about Her Role in Wicked. Here you Go:

You’ve been London’s Elphaba for four months now. How is everything going?
I’ve settled in really nicely. The magic has not gone away; every night when I fly, it feels like the first time. I’d had a passion in me for this role from when I first saw it on Broadway fairly early in the run. Kristin Chenoweth was still in it [as Glinda] but we actually saw Idina Menzel’s understudy. I was 20 or so, and I had bribed my sister and my mom to go on a girlie shopping holiday to New York—but it was actually to see Wicked, and our tickets were dearer than our flight.

That’s not surprising for Wicked!
It was so amazing to be in a city with all these musicals. I grew up in Northern Ireland on musicals. Instead of cartoons, my family would watch Singin’ in the Rain and anything with Gene Kelly. My dad’s a singer and my sister’s a singer. They have day jobs, but they also have their own family band.

How much flexibility and freedom do you feel you have with this role, given the many Elphabas that have come before?
My feeling about Elphaba is that the performance will only come truthfully if I believe what I sing, so for me, it was important to go back to the base, which is Gregory Maguire’s novel, and to research the role as much as I could. I read the book inside out, back to front, and knew the script before I came to rehearsals. It was all about wanting to bring it back to what I felt was the most fundamental part of Elphaba –—that she is an extremely intricate, intelligent young lady who knows herself well enough but is nonetheless forced to learn about herself. I love the beauty of being able to stand on stage and tell this story.

So it’s about more than just hitting those money notes.
My husband [Guy Retallack] is a theater director, and he’s been very helpful about reminding me that if you get the meaning right, the sound will happen: The lyrics behind the music are the first port of call, and the reason why we sing in a musical is because we can no longer speak. On “So, if you care to find me” [an excerpt from the lyrics to “Defying Gravity”], I could listen to myself hitting those belty notes, but then I would know I have not delivered because the words mean more than just the sounds. It’s about being truthful enough with myself.

Did you meet your husband while doing a musical?
Yes, it was Tommy on tour, which was his first musical, and I auditioned literally the day before I went to New York [to see Wicked]. I was the first cover Acid Queen—they couldn’t give me the role because I wasn’t black—and played Sally Simpson. Lee [Mead, Tucker’s Fiyero in Wicked] was the first cover for Tommy.

So, when you were competing for the role of Nancy in Oliver! on TV, you could trade notes with Lee about his experience landing the title role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
It was because of Lee that I decided to do the TV program. I was playing Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz just as Lee was winning the part of Joseph on TV, and I thought to myself, “If Lee can do it, I can do it.” Because I knew someone who had gone through that whole experience, it didn’t seem impossible. I called him up and said, “What’s that whole thing like?” and he was like, “Tucker, just do it.”

Obviously the reality show was a good move for you.
The whole reason for me to do the TV show was to get a bit more of a profile. I had been pipped to the post so many times at auditions by people who had a higher profile than me, which is just the way of the world; it’s about putting bums on seats, So I was like, “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” Nothing had been coming up for me, so I thought, “Why am I turning my nose up at this opportunity? And if this gives me a little bit of a profile, why not?”

You must have a double set of stage-door fans: the Elphaba/Wicked devotees and those who were rooting for you to win the part of Nancy, which went to Jodie Prenger.
There are people who come to the show because they voted for me and then they fall in love with Wicked and then there are others at the stage door who say, “I was devastated to hear you were doing the role, but now I can’t picture anyone else.” There were a few, “Oh no, not Rachel Tucker!” comments [laughs].

I’m sure it’s not long into your performance before you win them over.
Again, it’s the show. I get letters from people saying, “I’m a lesbian, and by watching Elphaba grow, I realize it’s OK to be me.” I’ve found that this show works for everyone. That’s great for me, because it means I am doing my job properly. I’m delivering, and that comes back to Elphaba being truthful.

And, I would assume, to the fact that you have no fear of flying.
None at all, no. I love it.

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After breaking box office records and selling out in record time when the show last played Boston, Wicked, the smash-hit musical, will return to the Boston Opera House for a limited engagement September 1 – October 17. 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.

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. 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 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 is part of the Lexus Boston Area Dealers Broadway Across America – Boston Series.

PERFORMANCES ARE: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30pm
(Please note: additional matinee on Thursday 9/2 at 1pm)
Friday at 8pm
Saturday at 2pm and 8pm
Sunday at 2pm and 7:30pm
Ticket Prices: $38.00 – $103.00

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{Via BroadwayWorld.com}

Some actors will do anything for their art. In the case of the smash hit Broadway musical ‘Wicked,’ that means 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

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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