The postponement is owed to changes in the production since the out-of-town tryout at San Francisco's Curran Theatre. "The producers of Wicked have postponed the first preview of the new Broadway musical by one day to ensure that elements of the production, newly added for New York, will run smoothly and safely," according to a statement.
An added performances will be scheduled for Oct. 14 to accommodate ticket holders who need to exchange seats. No Wednesday Oct. 8 matinee was scheduled; the first performance is to be in the evening. Opening night is still set for Oct. 30.
Wicked is based on the novel with the same title by Gregory Maguire. The musical — with a score by Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman — explores the early life of the witches of Oz: Glinda and Elphaba. "Long before Dorothy drops in...One [witch], born with emerald green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. Wicked tells the story of a remarkable odyssey in which these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch," as a release states.
Wicked marks Schwartz's first new Broadway entry in more than a decade. His last new musical was 1986's short-lived Rags; he also composed the scores for such hit musicals as Godspell, The Magic Show and Pippin, all from the early '70s.
Wicked song titles include "No One Mourns the Wicked," "Dear Old Shiz," "The Wizard and I," "What Is This Feeling?," "Something Bad," "Dancing Through Life," "Popular," "I'm Not That Girl," "One Short Day," "A Sentimental Man," "Defying Gravity," "Thank Goodness," "The Wicked Witch of the East," "Wonderful," "As Long As You're Mine," "No Good Deed," "March of the Witch Hunters" and "For Good." Tony Award winner Kristin Chenoweth, who recently starred as “Marian” in the TV adaptation of The Music Man, plays Glinda, the Good Witch, and former Rent star Idina Menzel is Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. The cast also includes Tony and Academy Award winner Joel Grey (Cabaret) as The Wizard, Carole Shelley as Madame Morrible, Norbert Leo Butz as Fiyero, Michelle Federer as Nessarose, Christopher Fitzgerald as Boq and William Youmans as Doctor Dillamand.
The company features Ioana Alfonso, Ben Cameron, Cristy Candler, Kristy Cates, Melissa Bell Chait, Marcus Choi, Kristoffer Cusick, Kathy Deitch, Melissa Fahn, Rhett G. George, Kristen Lee Gorski, Manuel Herrera, Kisha Howard, LJ Jellison, Sean McCourt, Corinne McFadden, Mark Myars, Jan Neuberger, Walter Winston O'Neil, Andrew Palermo, Andy Pellick, Michael Seelbach, Lorna Ventura and Derrick Williams.
Directed by Joe Mantello — a 2003 Tony Award winner for this season’s Take Me Out — Wicked boasts choreography by Wayne Cilento. The creative team features 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).
Wicked will play at the Gershwin Theatre, located at 222 West 51st Street. Tickets are available by calling (212) 307-4100.
