A spokesperson for the musical confirmed that Chenoweth, who won her Tony for her performance in You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, will leave the new Stephen Schwartz musical when her contract expires July 18, less than a year after its official opening on Broadway. After a successful tryout in San Francisco, Wicked began previews at the Gershwin Theatre Oct. 8 and opened to the critics Oct. 30. No final date has been announced for Chenoweth's co-star, Idina Menzel.
In addition to her upcoming Candide concerts with the New York Philarhmonic (she will be on leave from Wicked for the May 5-8 performances), Chenoweth has a full plate of post-Wicked activities. The singer-actress will make her solo Carnegie Hall concert debut Sept. 10, followed by a role in the movie musical "Asphalt Beach" helmed by Peter Spears. On Jan. 25, 2005, Chenoweth will join the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra at Carnegie Hall for an evening devoted to the Great American Song, and in 2006 she will star in the title role of a new opera based on Lewis Carroll's classic fairy tale "Alice in Wonderland" for the Los Angeles Opera.
Kristin Chenoweth made her New York theatrical debut opposite Bill Irwin in a production of Molière's Scapin and followed that with a role in Kander and Ebb's Steel Pier. Roles in Off-Broadway's A New Brain and the City Center Encores! productions of Strike Up the Band and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever ensued. Chenoweth also starred in her own, short-lived TV series "Kristin," and her other TV appearances include roles in "Frasier" and ABC's television adaptation of the musical Annie. She was also featured in the TV production of Meredith Willson's The Music Man.
Directed by Joe Mantello — a 2003 Tony Award winner for Take Me Out — Wicked boasts a score by Stephen Schwartz, a book by Winnie Holzman and choreography by Wayne Cilento. The creative team includes Eugene Lee (set design), Susan Hilferty (costume design), Kenneth Posner (lighting design), Tony Meola (sound design), Stephen Oremus (musical director), William David Brohn (orchestrations) and Jim Abbott (dance arrangements).
The Gershwin Theatre is located in Manhattan at 222 West 51st Street. Tickets are available by calling (212) 307-4100 or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com.
