BroadwayWorld's cameras captured the red carpet arrivals last night for the YELLOW BRICK ROAD NOT TAKEN, a one-night-only benefit performance celebrating the 5th anniversary of the smash hit musical WICKED. Grammy Award-winner and actress Ashanti, The View's Joy Behar, Sex and the City's Mario Cantone, Academy Award-nominated actor/writer/director Buck Henry, Ugly Betty's Mark Indelicato, Jersey Boys' Daniel Reichard, Gossip Girl's Matthew Settle, and Cheers' George Wendt were among the cast. Also performing were former cast members of the hit musical, including Shoshana Bean and Stephanie J. Block, both of whom played Elphaba; Kate Reinders and Jennifer Laura Thompson who both played the role of Glinda; Michelle Federer, who originated the role of Nessarose; and current cast members P.J. Benjamin, Cristy Candler, Ben Liebert, and Timothy Britten Parker.
Additional performers for the evening included current cast members Sonshine Allen, Jerad Bortz, Adam Fleming, Anthony Galde, Kristen Leigh Gorski, Reed Kelly, Kenway Hon Wai K. Kua, Kyle Dean Massey, Lindsay K. Northen, Robert Pendilla, Amanda Rose, Heather Spore, CJ Tyson, Brian Wanee, Jonathan Warren, Katie Webber, Robin Wilner, and Samantha Zack.
THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD NOT TAKEN was directed by Matt Lenz with musical direction by Ben Cohn.
In THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD NOT TAKEN, WICKED composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz and book writer Winnie Holzman shared scenes and songs from early drafts of the hit show. The evening featured never-before-seen material, as well as songs cut during the show's development and pre-Broadway engagement.
Winner of 20 major awards including the Grammy Award and three Tony Awards, WICKED is the untold story of the witches of Oz. Long before Dorothy drops in, two other girls meet in the Land of Oz. One, born with emerald-green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. WICKED tells the story of their remarkable odyssey, how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch.
Declared "A Cultural Phenomenon" by Variety, WICKED currently has productions in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Tokyo, Stuttgart, Melbourne and on a North American tour. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, WICKED has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and a book by Winnie Holzman. The production is directed by Joe Mantello with musical staging by Wayne Cilento. WICKED is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone.
For more information on WICKED, please visit www.wickedthemusical.com.
Photos by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.
Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre
Theatre Marquee for Wicked
Theatre Marquee for Wicked
Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre
Jennifer Laura Thompson, Michelle Federer and Kate Reinders
Stephanie J. Block, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Kate Reinders and Shoshana Bean
Michelle Federer
Kate Reinders
Jennifer Laura Thompson
Shoshana Bean
Shoshana Bean
Shoshana Bean and Stephanie J. Block
Stephanie J. Block
Stephanie J. Block
Stephanie J. Block
Joy Behar and Stephanie J. Block
Joy Behar
Joy Behar
Joy Behar
Jennifer Laura Thompson, Shoshana Bean, Michelle Federer, Kate Reinders, Joy Behar and Stephanie J. Block
Joy Behar
Mark Indelicato
Mark Indelicato
Mark Indelicato
Timothy Britten Parker
Ben Liebert
Ben Liebert and Timothy Britten Parker
PJ Benjamin
Ben Liebert, PJ Benjamin and Timothy Britten Parker
George Wendt
George Wendt
PJ Benjamin and George Wendt
Ashanti
Ashanti
Ashanti
Ashanti
Ashanti and Nelly
Ashanti and Nelly
Nelly
Nelly
Nelly
Nelly
Ashanti and her mom, Tina Douglas
Ashanti's mom, Tina Douglas
Ashanti
Ashanti
Ashanti
Ashanti
Mario Cantone
Matthew Settle
Matthew Settle
Matthew Settle
Matthew Settle and Kate Reinders
Matthew Settle and Shoshana Bean
Matthew Settle and Shoshana Bean
Matthew Settle
Matthew Settle
Mario Cantone
Mario Cantone and Ashanti
Mario Cantone and Ashanti
The Empire State Building glows 'Wicked Green'
The Empire State Building glows 'Wicked Green'
