Wicked to Play Open-Ended Run in San Francisco

By Andrew Gans
09 Apr 2008

Megan Hilty in the Los Angeles production of Wicked.
Megan Hilty in the Los Angeles production of Wicked.
Photo by Joan Marcus

West Coast Wicked fans, fear not. Although the Los Angeles production of the hit Stephen Schwartz-Winnie Holzman musical will play its final performance at the Pantages Theatre Jan. 11, 2009, the entire production will move that same month to San Francisco for an open-ended engagement.

San Francisco's Orpheum Theatre will be the home of the latest sit-down production of Wicked, which began life in a tryout at San Fran's Curran Theatre before arriving on Broadway.

No casting has been announced for the San Francisco Wicked.

In a statement Wicked producer David Stone said, "This is an exciting homecoming for Wicked, and we are thrilled to present this open-ended engagement in San Francisco, the city where it all began almost five years ago. The enthusiasm generated during the show's world premiere proved that there is an enormous audience for Wicked in the Bay Area. . . . We hope to be here as long as the public’s demand for our show will allow."

Wicked features a score by Stephen Schwartz, a book by Winnie 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.

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 paths.

In the U.S. Wicked plays Broadway's Gershwin Theatre, Los Angeles' Pantages Theatre and Chicago's Ford Center for the Performing Arts' Oriental Theatre as well as a national tour.

For more information, visit www.wickedthemusical.com.