The musical, which features a score by Academy Award winner Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman, begins previews at the Gershwin Oct. 7 with an official opening scheduled for Oct. 30. Those who wish to buy tickets before the box office opens may call (212) 307-4100 or visit www.ticketmaster.com. Wicked will play Tuesdays at 8 PM, Wednesday through Saturday evenings at 8 PM with matinees on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2 PM and Sundays at 3 PM; tickets range from $40-$100. (Beginning Nov. 4, Wicked will offer Tuesday evening performances at 7 PM.)
Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, the musical explores the early life of the witches of Oz: Glinda and Elphaba. According to a press statement, the untold story of the witches of Oz takes place "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."
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 Renter Idina Menzel is Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. The cast also includes Tony and Academy Award winner Joel Grey 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 be Ioana Alfonso, Ben Cameron, Cristy Candler, 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 ONeil, 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 will feature choreography by Wayne Cilento. The creative team also comprises 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).
