Keith Bartlett Will Join Wicked at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre

Desmond Barrit will play his final performance as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz on Saturday 7 July. From Monday 9 July until Saturday 28 July, Christopher Howell will play the role.

An acclaimed classical actor, Keith Bartlett will make his West End musical debut in Wicked. He previously starred in Stephen Schwartz’s musical Godspell, as John The Baptist, in Basingstoke in 1998. His many celebrated appearances with the RSC include Henry VI Parts 1, 2 & 3 and Richard III, as part of ‘The Histories’ season at Stratford-upon-Avon and The Roundhouse, The Winter’s Tale, The Tempest and Pericles. His numerous other theatre credits include, for Headlong: Romeo & Juliet; for Shakespeare’s Globe: King James Bible recital and A New World: A Life of Thomas Paine; for the Donmar Warehouse: A Lie of the Mind, The Front Page and Glengarry Glen Ross; for The National Theatre: Mary Stuart, The Crucible, Piano and Murmuring Judges, and, for Cheek by Jowl: Macbeth, Philoctetes, Twelfth Night, The Tempest and The Cid. His television and film appearances include: Silent Witness, New Tricks, The Bill and Truly Madly Deeply.

Based on the novel by Gregory Maquire, Wicked has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, a book by Winnie Holzman and is directed by Joe Mantello.

Wicked, the smash hit West End musical now in its sixth spellbinding year at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre, is selling tickets until Saturday 27 April 2013. Buy Wicked London GL Tickets Online.

Two and one-half hours prior to each performance, people who present themselves at the Ticket Center Stage Box Office, located in the Wintergarden of the Schuster Center, will have their names placed in a lottery drum; thirty minutes later, names will be drawn for a limited number of orchestra seats at $25 each, cash only. This lottery is available only in-person at the box office, with a limit of two tickets per person. Lottery participants must have a valid photo ID when submitting their entry form, if chosen, when purchasing tickets.

Wicked Dayton Ohio Schedule:
Tuesday to Friday – 8:00 PM
Saturday – 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM
Sundays – 1:00 PM and 6:30 PM
Additional matinee on Thursday, May 31 at 2:00 PM
The last sunday Sunday, June 24 evening show is at 7:30 PM

With music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman, Wicked is based on the 1995 best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire, and tells the story of the two girls who grow up to be the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good, will be in Dayton, Ohio from May 30 to June 24, 2012.

Buy Wicked Schuster Performing Arts Center Tickets online today for best prices. Get $10 OFF on Wicked Dayton OH Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout!

Locals Line Up for Wicked Tickets at Smith Center

Mary Ellen Heise Selling Wicked Las Vegas Tickets

Wicked fans for Smith Center Tickets

Fans buying Wicked Las Vegas Tickets

More than 60 people lined up near the building’s front door shortly before 7 a.m., each anxiously awaiting the chance to buy tickets for the smash-hit Broadway musical “Wicked,” which begins its six-week tour at the Smith Center on August 29 and continue through October 07, 2012

“When I heard it was coming to town, I knew I had to see it,” said Las Vegas resident Katherine Muniz, who was first in line Saturday morning. “I heard it was going to sell out, so I figured I’d get here at 4 a.m. just in case.” Muniz said she planned to buy a ticket for herself and one for her mother as a birthday gift. “I’m super excited. I’m glad that there’s more culture coming into town and more things for locals to do,” she said.

Wicked’s arrival is a major moment for the nascent Smith Center, which opened in March, said president Myron Martin, who was busy snapping pictures Saturday morning while wearing a “Wicked”-inspired green tie.

Because of the show’s popularity, tickets are expected to sell out and the Smith Center decided to hold an on-site sale Saturday morning for die-hard fans before releasing the remaining tickets for sale online at 10 a.m.

After purchasing her ticket and seeing the inside of the Smith Center for the first time, Sandy Mullally said she can’t wait for “Wicked” to arrive later this year. “It’s past time we’ve had something like this,” she said.

Read the complete news {Via LasVegasSun.com}

Buy Wicked The Smith Center Tickets online today for best prices. Get $10 OFF on Wicked Las Vegas NV Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout!

Nicole Parker was last seen as Elphaba on Broadway. Mauzey starred as Glinda in both the Broadway and final San Francisco companies. McCartney’s Broadway credits include The Phantom Of The Opera, South Pacific, Mamma Mia!, Thoroughly Modern Millie. Benjamin comes to the Wicked tour directly from the Broadway company after playing The Wizard for 5 years.

Wicked Sacramento Community Center Theater Performances:
Tuesday to Friday – 8:00 PM
Saturday – 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM
Sunday – 2:00 PM
Special performance on Sunday, May 27, at 7:30 p.m.

Buy Wicked Sacramento Community Center Theater Tickets Online. Tickets are available for Wicked Sacramento CA performances, however availability is limited and varies by the performance date. Weekend tickets are selling out quickly. Get $10 OFF on Wicked Sacramento CA Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout.

Watch the video – {Via WRAL.com}

Buy Wicked Durham Performing Arts Center Tickets Online. Get $10 OFF on Wicked Durham NC Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout.

Nicole Parker Joins Wicked Tour

Nicole Parker as Elphaba in Wicked

Nicole Parker in Wicked

Nicole Parker Joins Wicked Tour

Nicole Parker with Alli Nauzey in Wicked

The cast is also headed by Alli Mauzey as Glinda and Liz McCartney as Madame Morrible with Justin Brill (Boq), Emily Ferranti (Nessarose), Andy Kelso (Fiyero), Paul Slade Smith (Dr. Dillamond) and Carla Stickler (Standby for Elphaba). PJ Benjamin joined the cast as The Wizard May 8.

Parker was seen as Elphaba on Broadway.

Wicked is currently playing the Buell Theatre through Sunday, May 20. From here it will move to Sacramento, California for the performances at California Musical Theatre start on May 23 and continue through June 17, 2012. Get $10 OFF on Wicked California Musical Theatre Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout.

Ticket buyers are invited to an exclusive box office event at The Smith Center from 7 to 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 19 to be among the first to purchase Wicked tickets. As part of the on-sale celebration, Sunny 106.5 KSNE will be broadcasting live on location at The Smith Center from 7 to 9 a.m., followed by a live broadcast by 96.3 KKLZ from 9 to 11 a.m. Both stations will be entertaining guests with music, fun games, and drawings to win exclusive Wicked prizes. Additionally, the first 100 people in line to make a purchase at The Smith Center will receive a gift from Wicked.

Wicked at The Smith Center – Performance Schedule:
Wicked will play August 29 to October 7 in Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center.
Tuesday to Friday – 7:30 PM
Saturday and Sunday – 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM

Wicked, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin, Disney’s Enchanted, Academy Award® winner for Pocahontas and The Prince of Egypt) and book by Winnie Holzman (“My So Called Life,” “Once And Again” and “thirtysomething”), is based on the best-selling 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire. Wicked is set to make its Las Vegas debut on August 29.

The musical is directed by two-time Tony® Award winner Joe Mantello (Take Me Out, Love! Valour! Compassion!, The Vagina Monologues) and features musical staging by Tony® Award winner Wayne Cilento (Aida, The Who’s Tommy, How To Succeed…). Wicked, winner of 35 major awards, including a Grammy® Award and 3 Tony® Awards, is the untold story of the witches of Oz. It is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone.

Wicked tour will continue playing at The Smith Center through October 7, 2012 and Tickets are now on sale online. Buy Wicked Las Vegas NV Tickets today, Get $10 OFF on Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout!

Adesewa Faleti: Tell me about your character Nessarose?

Catherine Charlebois: Nessarose is Elphaba’s younger sister who has been in a wheelchair all her life. She begins the show on her first day of school at Shiz University, hoping to start a new and exciting time in her life, not in the shadow of her sister.

Adesewa Faleti: How long have you been with show?

Catherine Charlebois: I have been with Wicked for two years in April.

Adesewa Faleti: What was the audition process like for this show?

Catherine Charlebois: I began with Wicked as a Universal Swing-my audition consisted of me singing a few songs of my own first, followed by a few pieces of songs from Wicked. After making it through that round, I danced some choreography from the show as well. I eventually added a Nessarose understudy to the tracks that I covered, and to become Nessarose every night, I had to perform a scene and a song from the show for some of our creative team.

Adesewa Faleti: How do you prepare for your role each night?

Catherine Charlebois: As performers, we have to do a lot to keep our bodies and voices healthy and strong to do eight shows a week. Specifically for Nessarose, I have to get my body and voice warmed up and take a few minutes to think about the journey she has to take in the show every night.

Adesewa Faleti: Why do you feel that Wicked is such a loved show?

Catherine Charlebois: I feel that the story is so universal to everyone. The music and the visuals of the show are beautiful, but everyone-male, female, older and younger-can connect to the story and the relationships that develop between the characters.

Adesewa Faleti: What is it like behind the scenes and in between acts?

Catherine Charlebois: It depends on the day! There is almost always excitement and sometimes nerves if someone new is going into the show or doing a new track, but there is always unbelievable support and teamwork between the whole cast and crew.

Adesewa Faleti: Doing the show almost daily, how do you make your performance fresh every night?

Catherine Charlebois: I really just focus on the story that we are trying to tell. I try to keep myself open and see what the other actors are doing on stage with me and react to that.

Adesewa Faleti: What are some of the comments and feedback that you get about the show?

Catherine Charlebois: Everyone loves it! Everyone seems to leave finding a character that they really relate to and follow their story, and I think that is totally unique to our show.

Adesewa Faleti: What show the audience take with them when the play is over?

Catherine Charlebois: Never judge a book by its cover.

Adesewa Faleti: What do you enjoy most about being involved with this show?

Catherine Charlebois: That every day I get to go to work and play with an unbelievably fun and supportive group of people. We tell a story that really moves people and entertains them too!

Adesewa Faleti: Thank you!

Wicked play will be in Durham NC until May 27, 2012 at Durham Performing Arts Center. Get $10 OFF on Wicked Durham Performing Arts Center Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout.

Catherine Charlebois, who plays Nessarose, and fellow cast member Dan Pacheco, who plays Boq, on Tuesday visited Durham School of the Arts to teach a class on acting and movement.

Catherine Charlebois Plays Nessarose in Wicked

Dan Pacheco Plays Boq in Wicked

Charlebois and Pacheco spent the last several minutes of the hour-long class answering students’ questions, ranging from their educational backgrounds and paths to “Wicked” to whether actresses do their own makeup (the answer is, for the most part, yes).

“When you’re acting, specificity is key,” Pacheco advised the group of about 60 high school theater and dance students.

The professionals led the combined class through a series of exercises aimed at fostering specificity, including one in which students were randomly assigned playing cards denoting social class. Kings were the richest of the rich, turning their noses up at most anyone who approached them, while the lowly aces begged for spare change. Participants couldn’t come right out and tell one another the face on their cards – rather, they had to indicate their social class by their behavior.

Waltzing around the room with an air of egotism, junior Anna Acha was clearly a king. A rock musician who aspires to one day work in musical theater, she said after the class that she enjoyed the lesson, particularly since several of the exercises allowed all students to interact with one another.

Most of all, their visit offered students “one-on-one time with someone who is doing what it is that so many of them love to do,” explained DSA theater instructor Tom Nevels. “Our students are here at an arts high school, but I think a lot of times they still have messages coming to them about performance not being a career or needing to always have a backup plan.”

Charlebois and Pacheco said they often visit schools – from the elementary level up to performing arts universities – on tour stops.

“I know when I was their age, it would have been huge for me to see people – not too much older than they are – making it happen and loving their work,” Charlebois said.

And arts programs have become an endangered commodity, Pacheco said.

“Arts are really being cut back in so many communities right now,” he said. “I really like to try to bring some of that into the schools and show the students that you can do things with the arts in your life, and that the arts are important and that being creative is important.”

Read the complete news {Via HeraldSun.com}

Wicked 2nd US National Tour Cast Update:
Lisa Livesay (Glinda), Anne Brummell (Elphaba), Catherine Charlebois (Nessarose), Dan Pacheco (Boq), Marilyn Caskey (Madame Morrible), David Nathan Perlow (Fiyero), Don Amendolla (Wizard).

Wicked Tour will close at Durham Performing Arts Center on May 27, 2012. From here it will move to Dayton, OH for the performances at Schuster Performing Arts Center start on May 30 and continue through June 24, 2012. Get $10 OFF on Wicked Durham NC Tickets Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout.

Below are the Top 10 Grosses from BroadwayWorld.com for the week ending May 13, 2012.

1. The Lion King – (MINSKOFF) $1,717,281
2. The Book Of Mormon – (EUGENE O’NEILL) $1,598,593
3. Wicked – (GERSHWIN) $1,579,314
4. Evita – (MARQUIS) $1,529,144
5. Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark – (FOXWOODS) $1,218,638
6. Nice Work If You Can Get It (IMPERIAL) – $1,092,937
7. Jersey Boys – (AUGUST WILSON) $937,635
8. Death Of A Salesman (ETHEL BARRYMORE) – $934,861
9. Newsies – (NEDERLANDER) $931,370
10. The Phantom Of The Opera – (MAJESTIC) – $800,916

{Via BroadwayWorld.com}