Patti Murin, Kim Zimmer and Cliffton Hall are set to join the touring cast of Wicked, beginning in Salt Lake City.

Patti Murin, who played the title role in the Broadway production of Lysistrata Jones, will join the company of the first North American tour of Wicked as Glinda on August 21.

Patti Murin Will Join Wicked as Glinda

Kim Zimmer and Cliffton Hall will begin performances as Madame Morrible and Fiyero, respectively, August 14 in Salt Lake City, UT.

Kim Zimmer and Cliffton Hall Will Join Wicked

Zimmer is an Emmy Award winner for her work as Reva Shayne on “Guiding Light.” Her regional and Off-Broadway credits include Four Dogs And A Bone; Love, Loss, And What I Wore; Blood Brothers; Gypsy; Sunset Boulevard; Dirty Blonde; Curtains; and Shirley Valentine, among others.

Hall, who has played Fiyero in the San Francisco production of Wicked, has been seen on Broadway in Miss Saigon and Les Miserables.

Patti Murin appeared on Broadway in Lysistrata Jones and Xanadu. Her film and TV credits include Royal Pains.

Murin, Zimmer and Hall join a cast that includes Nicole Parker as Elphaba and PJ Benjamin as The Wizard.

With music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman, Wicked is based on the 1995 best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire, and tells the untold story of the witches of Oz. The musical is currently playing the Capitol Theatre through August 26, 2012. Buy Wicked Salt Lake City UT Tickets, Get $10 OFF on any Ticket orders of $250 or more, use code SUMMERFUNTN at checkout.

The greatest musical Wicked is currently playing on 2nd National tour in Durham, North Carolina. Check out the interview by Adesewa Faletibelow {Via Urban Life & Style LLC} with Catherine Charlebois who plays the character Nessarose.

Adesewa Faleti: Tell me about your character Nessarose?

Catherine Charlebois: Nessarose is Elphaba’s younger sister who has been in a wheelchair all her life. She begins the show on her first day of school at Shiz University, hoping to start a new and exciting time in her life, not in the shadow of her sister.

Adesewa Faleti: How long have you been with show?

Catherine Charlebois: I have been with Wicked for two years in April.

Adesewa Faleti: What was the audition process like for this show?

Catherine Charlebois: I began with Wicked as a Universal Swing-my audition consisted of me singing a few songs of my own first, followed by a few pieces of songs from Wicked. After making it through that round, I danced some choreography from the show as well. I eventually added a Nessarose understudy to the tracks that I covered, and to become Nessarose every night, I had to perform a scene and a song from the show for some of our creative team.

Adesewa Faleti: How do you prepare for your role each night?

Catherine Charlebois: As performers, we have to do a lot to keep our bodies and voices healthy and strong to do eight shows a week. Specifically for Nessarose, I have to get my body and voice warmed up and take a few minutes to think about the journey she has to take in the show every night.

Adesewa Faleti: Why do you feel that Wicked is such a loved show?

Catherine Charlebois: I feel that the story is so universal to everyone. The music and the visuals of the show are beautiful, but everyone-male, female, older and younger-can connect to the story and the relationships that develop between the characters.

Adesewa Faleti: What is it like behind the scenes and in between acts?

Catherine Charlebois: It depends on the day! There is almost always excitement and sometimes nerves if someone new is going into the show or doing a new track, but there is always unbelievable support and teamwork between the whole cast and crew.

Adesewa Faleti: Doing the show almost daily, how do you make your performance fresh every night?

Catherine Charlebois: I really just focus on the story that we are trying to tell. I try to keep myself open and see what the other actors are doing on stage with me and react to that.

Adesewa Faleti: What are some of the comments and feedback that you get about the show?

Catherine Charlebois: Everyone loves it! Everyone seems to leave finding a character that they really relate to and follow their story, and I think that is totally unique to our show.

Adesewa Faleti: What show the audience take with them when the play is over?

Catherine Charlebois: Never judge a book by its cover.

Adesewa Faleti: What do you enjoy most about being involved with this show?

Catherine Charlebois: That every day I get to go to work and play with an unbelievably fun and supportive group of people. We tell a story that really moves people and entertains them too!

Adesewa Faleti: Thank you!

Wicked play will be in Durham NC until May 27, 2012 at Durham Performing Arts Center. Get $10 OFF on Wicked Durham Performing Arts Center Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout.

Wicked Musical is currently playing at the Durham Performing Arts Center and continue through May 27. The cast of Wicked visited Durham School of the Arts to teach a class on acting and movement on Tuesday.

Catherine Charlebois, who plays Nessarose, and fellow cast member Dan Pacheco, who plays Boq, on Tuesday visited Durham School of the Arts to teach a class on acting and movement.

Catherine Charlebois Plays Nessarose in Wicked

Dan Pacheco Plays Boq in Wicked

Charlebois and Pacheco spent the last several minutes of the hour-long class answering students’ questions, ranging from their educational backgrounds and paths to “Wicked” to whether actresses do their own makeup (the answer is, for the most part, yes).

“When you’re acting, specificity is key,” Pacheco advised the group of about 60 high school theater and dance students.

The professionals led the combined class through a series of exercises aimed at fostering specificity, including one in which students were randomly assigned playing cards denoting social class. Kings were the richest of the rich, turning their noses up at most anyone who approached them, while the lowly aces begged for spare change. Participants couldn’t come right out and tell one another the face on their cards – rather, they had to indicate their social class by their behavior.

Waltzing around the room with an air of egotism, junior Anna Acha was clearly a king. A rock musician who aspires to one day work in musical theater, she said after the class that she enjoyed the lesson, particularly since several of the exercises allowed all students to interact with one another.

Most of all, their visit offered students “one-on-one time with someone who is doing what it is that so many of them love to do,” explained DSA theater instructor Tom Nevels. “Our students are here at an arts high school, but I think a lot of times they still have messages coming to them about performance not being a career or needing to always have a backup plan.”

Charlebois and Pacheco said they often visit schools – from the elementary level up to performing arts universities – on tour stops.

“I know when I was their age, it would have been huge for me to see people – not too much older than they are – making it happen and loving their work,” Charlebois said.

And arts programs have become an endangered commodity, Pacheco said.

“Arts are really being cut back in so many communities right now,” he said. “I really like to try to bring some of that into the schools and show the students that you can do things with the arts in your life, and that the arts are important and that being creative is important.”

Read the complete news {Via HeraldSun.com}

Wicked 2nd US National Tour Cast Update:
Lisa Livesay (Glinda), Anne Brummell (Elphaba), Catherine Charlebois (Nessarose), Dan Pacheco (Boq), Marilyn Caskey (Madame Morrible), David Nathan Perlow (Fiyero), Don Amendolla (Wizard).

Wicked Tour will close at Durham Performing Arts Center on May 27, 2012. From here it will move to Dayton, OH for the performances at Schuster Performing Arts Center start on May 30 and continue through June 24, 2012. Get $10 OFF on Wicked Durham NC Tickets Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout.

First North American tour of Wicked is currently in Denver, CO. PJ Benjamin will join the tour of Wicked in the role of The Wizard on Tuesday, May 8, while Nicole Parker will take over the lead role of Elphaba on Friday, May 18 during the tour’s stop a the Buell Theatre in Denver, Colorado.

They join a cast that features Alli Mauzey (Glinda), Liz McCartney (Madame Morrible), Justin Brill (Boq), Emily Ferranti (Nessarose), Andy Kelso (Fiyero), Paul Slade Smith (Dr. Dillamond) and Carla Stickler (Standby for Elphaba).

The company also includes Lauren Boyd, Antonette Cohen, Rick Desloge, Luis Augusto Figueroa, Timothy A. Fitz-Gerald, Dominic Giudici, Napoleon W. Gladney, Brenda Hamilton, Courtney Iventosch, Spencer Jones, Trevor Ryan Krahl, Renee Lawless-Orsini, Philip Dean Lightstone, Marissa Lupp, Michael Mahany, Kevin McMahon, Ashley Dawn Mortensen, Cassie Okenka, Christopher Russo, Adea Michelle Sessoms, Sarah Schenkkan, Pamela Shandrow, Shanna VanDerwerker, Nicky Venditti and Mikey Winslow.

Benjamin has played the Wizard on Broadway for five years, with other Main Stem credits including Torch Song Trilogy, Sophisticated Ladies, Pippin, Charlie and Algernon, Sarava, The Pajama Game, The Wind in the Willows, and Damn Yankees.

Parker has played her role on Broadway, with other Broadway credits including The People in The Picture and Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me. She may be best known for her work on MADtv.

With music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman, Wicked is based on the 1995 best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire, and tells the untold story of the witches of Oz. The musical is directed by two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello and features musical staging by Tony Award winner Wayne Cilento.

Read the complete news {Via TheaterMania.com}

Wicked Tour will close at The Buell Theatre on May 20, 2012. From here it will move to Sacramento, California for the performances at California Musical Theatre start on May 23 and continue through June 17, 2012.

Wicked is currently performing on tour in Denver, CO and continue through Sunday May 20, 2012. One of the Wicked Cast is a Colorado native and happy to be back home. Andy Kelso plays Fiyero, one of the lead male characters in the musical. He is a graduate of Eaglecrest High School in Aurora and also attended CSU and UNC.

Kelso spoke to 9NEWS at noon about coming back to his home state:

Wicked Musical Tour will stop in Denver CO through Sunday, May 20. Get $10 OFF on Wicked Temple Buell Theatre Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout.

The second North American tour of Wicked will welcome Christine Dwyer as Elphaba and Billy Harrigan Tighe as Fiyero beginning May 2 in Durham, NC. Dwyer and Tighe will join a cast that includes Tiffany Haas as Glinda, Marilyn Caskey as Madame Morrible and Paul Kreppel as The Wizard.

Christine Dwyer and Billy Harrigan Tighe to Join Wicked Musical

Dwyer returns to the hit musical after touring as the understudy and standby for Elphaba on this tour for two years. After graduating with a BFA from the Hartt School of Music, she toured the US, Canada and Japan playing Maureen in Rent. Tighe previously understudied Fiyero on this tour, and comes directly from the First National Tour of La Cage Aux Folles, in which he played Jean-Michel.

Anne Brummel & David Nathan Perlow, currently Elphaba and Fiyero on the tour, play their last performance on April 29, 2012 in North Charleston, South Carolina before Christine Dwyer and Billy Harrigan Tighe take over in Durham, North Carolina.

The company also features Catherine Charlebois (Nessarose), Dan Pacheco (Boq), Timothy Britten Parker (Dr. Dillamond) and Stephanie Torns (Standby for Elphaba) with Kerry Blanchard, Michael Drolet, Jeremy Duvall, Anna Eilinsfeld, Peter C. Ermides, Ryan Patrick Farrell, Samantha Farrow, Natalie Fotopoulos, Linda Griffin, Lauren Haughton, Zach Hensler, KJ Hippensteel, Ryan Jackson, Jillian Kates, Becca Kloha, Sterling Masters, Marissa Miller, Robert Pendilla, Casey Quinn, Michael McCorry Rose, Wayne Schroder, Ben Susak, Erin Wilson and Justin Wirick.

Dwyer and Tighe join Wicked in the tour’s opening in Durham, NC. Wicked musical will play at Durham Performing Arts Center May 2 to May 27, 2012. Get $10 OFF on Wicked Durham NC Tickets Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout.

The company of the first North American tour of Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman’s Wicked will welcome Alli Mauzey as Glinda and Andy Kelso as Fiyero beginning Feb. 24 in Tempe, AZ.

Alli Mauzey and Andy Kelso join Wicked as Glinda and Fiyero

Mauzey already played the “popular” part in both the Broadway and San Francisco productions. Mauzey returns to Wicked having previously starred as Glinda in both the Broadway and final San Francisco productions. She also starred as Lenora in the Broadway production of Cry-Baby (Theatre World Award winner and Drama League Award nomination) and also played Brenda in Hairspray on Broadway. Andy Kelso played Sky in Broadway’s Mamma Mia!

They will join a cast that includes Mamie Parris as Elphaba, Liz McCartney as Madame Morrible and Mark Jacoby as The Wizard.

The company also features Justin Brill (Boq), Emily Ferranti (Nessarose), Paul Slade Smith (Dr. Dillamond), Carla Stickler (Standby for Elphaba) and Natalie Daradich (Standby for Glinda) with Lauren Boyd, Antonette Cohen, Rick Desloge, Luis Augusto Figueroa, Timothy A. Fitz-Gerald, Dominic Giudici, Napoleon W. Gladney, Brenda Hamilton, Courtney Iventosch, Trevor Ryan Krahl, Renee Lawless-Orsini, Philip Dean Lightstone, Marissa Lupp, Michael Mahany, Alli McGinnis, Lesley McKinnell, Kevin McMahon, Ashley Dawn Mortensen, Christopher Russo, Adea Michelle Sessoms, Pamela Shandrow, Shanna VanDerwerker, Nicky Venditti and Mikey Winslow.

Wicked is currently playing ASU Gammage through March 11, 2012. Wicked ASU Gammage tickets are selling like hot cakes. Buy Wicked Tempe AZ Tickets today, Get $10 OFF on Wicked Ticket Orders over $350! Use Code AFF$10.

Wicked is currently performing on tour in Los Angeles, CA and Jacksonville, FL. And the tour is next set to open at Austin’s Bass Concert Hall on January 25.

Below is an interview with Wicked’s Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Don Amendolia, by BroadwayWorld.

Wicked Don Amendolia

You have been with the tour as the Wonderful Wizard of Oz for two years. How has life on the road been treating you?
Life on the road has been terrific. It’s been great fun to see other cities, their museums, restaurants and of course happy audiences all across North America. A rare treat.

Do you feel that your interpretation or insight into the Wizard’s character has changed with your time in the role? How so?
While any actor hopes his insight into a character deepens with time while playing a role, I did my homework early on and I think my interpretation of the Wizard hasn’t changed too much. At least I hope not. There’s a big difference between embellishment and refinement. I hope I’ve refined him more.

Some of Wicked’s actors have stated they chose to develop their interpretation of their characters based solely upon the musical’s portrayals, as opposed to reading Gregory Maguire’s novels and drawing additional inspiration there. Have you read the Wicked novels, and if so, did you draw inspiration from them, or perhaps the Wizard of Oz film?
I had read Gregory Maguire’s amazing novel when it was first published, before it became a musical, so by the time I read the show script I was aware of how much my character differed from medium to medium. Over all, I tend to remember who the Wizard was from the movie; more of a snake-oil salesman, carnival shaman who’s trying to hold on to his accidental world. He’s not a bad man, he’s just not a very good Wizard.

How has your experience in Wicked compared to other stage productions?
Honestly, there is no comparison to other shows. Wicked is now a worldwide phenomenon that has touched millions in ways I can only guess at. It’s been a singular experience in every way.

The Wizard, as portrayed in Wicked, is somewhat blinded by power, though a sentimental man who unknowingly wrongs one of his own. If the Wizard knew of this relation from the beginning, how do you think it would have impacted the outcome of Oz’s history?
Power is more seductive than anything else to the Wizard and at its core, absolute power corrupts absolutely. He may be a sentimental man but by the time Elphaba comes to Oz I think the Wizard is hip-deep in the panic that he may lose it all. He may regret it and hindsight is 20-20 but by then it’s too late. He is finally powerless to change anything.

Read the complete interview {Via BroadwayWorld.com}

Gina Beck and Matt Willis are to join the London company of Wicked as Glinda and Fiyero, respectively, and Desmond Barrit is to return as the Wizard, beginning performances Dec. 12.

Gina Beck and Matt Willis to Join Wicked

The pair are joined in the cast by Lillie Flynn as Nessarose, Christopher Howell as Doctor Dillamond and Adam Pettigrew as Boq. Desmond Barrit, who first starred in Wicked in 2008, returns to the role of The Wizard.

Rachel Tucker, who won this year’s Whatsonstage.com Award for Best Take Over in a Role will, as previously reported, remain in the role of Elphaba. Julie Legrand also stays on as Madame Morrible.

Beck, who is currently appearing on the London stage in The Belle’s Stratagem at Southwark Playhouse, recently finished a two-year run starring as Christine Daaé in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera at London’s Her Majesty’s Theatre. She made her debut in 2006 as Cosette in Les Miserables and performed in the show’s 25th anniversary celebrations at The O2 last year.

Matt Willis came to prominence as a member of the BRIT Award-winning band Busted and has subsequently appeared on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!. Trained at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, he made his West End debut in Flashdance and has recently appeared in the UK tour of Footloose.

Barrit previously starred in Wicked in 2008/9. He recently played Falstaff in Henry IV Parts One and Two for peter Hall at the Bath Theatre Royal.

Wicked has now played over 2000 performances and celebrates five years in the West End on 27 September 2011. The Broadway musical, which opened in London on 27 September 2006 (previews from 6 September), tells the “untold story” of the Witches of Oz – popular blonde Glinda, aka the Good Witch of the North, and her spin-victim friend Elphaba – who were both immortalised in the 1939 film classic The Wizard of Oz.

The production is now booking through 27 October 2012 at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, Wilton Road, London, SW1V 1LG. Buy Wicked London, United Kingdom Tickets Online. Use Code AFF$10 to Get $10 OFF on Wicked Apollo Victoria Theatre Ticket Orders over $350!

Broadway Mega Hit Musical, Wicked’s main cast Teal Wicks and Katie Rose Clarke will be replaced by Jackie Burns and Chandra Lee Schwartz. Direct from the show’s first national tour, Burns and Schwartz will join the Broadway company on September 27 for their roles as Elphaba and Glinda respectively.

Jackie Burns and Chandra Lee Schwartz to join Wicked Broadway company

Jackie Burns has appeared on Broadway in Hair as part of the “Black Boys” trio. Off-Broadway, she was in the original company of Rock of Ages and appeared in Unlock’d at New York Musical Theatre Festival. Her regional credits include Grand Night For Singing and more.

Chandra Lee Schwartz appeared on Broadway in Gypsy with Bernadette Peters, and in the Las Vegas production of Hairspray. Other credits include Disney’s High School Musical; Nerds, the Musical; Copacabana and the NYMF production of But I’m a Cheerleader.

Burns and Schwartz will join a company that currently features Richard H. Blake as Fiyero, Kathy Fitzgerald as Madame Morrible, Tom McGowan as The Wizard, Etai BenShlomo as Boq, Cristy Candler as Nessarose and Tom Flynn as Dr. Dillamond.

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