Hanlon joins a cast that includes Jackie Burns as Elphaba, Chandra Lee Schwartz as Glinda, Randy Danson as Madame Morrible and Mark Jacoby as the Wizard.
The company also features Justin Brill (Boq), Stefanie Brown (Nessarose), Paul Slade Smith (Dr. Dillamond) and Mariand Torres (standby for Elphaba) with Rick Desloge, Emily Ferranti, Melanie Field, Luis Augusto Figueroa, Dominic Giudici, Napoleon W. Gladney, Brenda Hamilton, Spencer Jones, Renee Lawless-Orsini, Allison Leo, Philip Dean Lightstone, Marissa Lupp, Corey Mach, Sterling Masters, Kevin McMahon, Christopher Russo, Adam Sanford, Adea Michelle Sessoms, Carla Stickler, Brandon Tyler, Jessica Walker, Bud Weber and Lauren Ashley Zakrin.
Based on Gregory Maguire's novel, which turned every Oz myth inside out, Wicked explores the early life of the witches of Oz: Glinda and Elphaba. The two main characters meet at Shiz, a school where both hope to take up sorcery. Glinda is madly popular and Elphaba is, well, green. By a misunderstanding, they wind up roommates and, after an initial period of mutual loathing, begin to learn something about each other. Their life paths continue to intersect through a shared love, entry into the Emerald City and interaction with the Wizard himself. Eventually, their choices and convictions take them on widely different journeys.
Wicked features a score by Schwartz, a book by Holzman, direction by Joe Mantello and musical staging by Wayne Cilento. The creative team also includes scenic design by Eugene Lee, costume design by Susan Hilferty, lighting design by Kenneth Posner, sound design by Tony Meola, projections by Elaine J. McCarthy, wig and hair design by Tom Watson, music supervision and arrangements by Stephen Oremus, orchestrations by William David Brohn and dance arrangements by James Lynn Abbott.
The Appleton engagement is currently running through Feb. 20 at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center. Tickets can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 982-2787 or the Center’s ticket office at (920) 730-3760. Tickets can also be purchased in person at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center’s ticket office or online at foxcitiespac.com.
