WICKED to Celebrate 10th Anniversary on Broadway with 10th Anniversary Event on 10/30, Deluxe CD & More

On Wednesday, October 30th, the blockbuster musical, WICKED, will celebrate its 10th Anniversary on Broadway, a milestone achieved by only ten other Broadway productions in history. The creative team and many of the musical's previous cast members will celebrate Wicked's first decade with a special performance, followed by a company party, on October 30th at 7:00pm. In addition, special promotions and appearances will be scheduled throughout the month of October, in celebration of the show's enduring worldwide popularity.

WICKED currently has nine productions around the world, in New York, London, Japan (Tokyo), Australia/New Zealand (Auckland), South Korea (Seoul), Latin America (Mexico City), a U.K. Tour (Manchester), and two concurrent North American National Tours. Since its New York premiere a decade ago, the WICKED has grossed over $3.1 billion worldwide and has been seen by over 38 million across the globe. By the end of 2013, the global phenomenon will have been performed in over 100 cities in 13 countries around the world (U.S., Canada, England, Ireland, Japan, Germany, Holland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, The Philippines, and Mexico) and has thus far been translated into five languages: Japanese, German, Dutch, Spanish, and Korean.

WICKED is currently represented in North America with two concurrent national tours as well as the open-ended Broadway production. In its 10-year history, the musical has also enjoyed extended, record-breaking sit-down engagements in Chicago, where it ran for 3 ½ years; Los Angeles, where it ran for 2 years; and San Francisco, where it ran for 1 ½ years. WICKED has grossed a combined total of nearly $2.3 billion for its North American companies alone.

In honor of its 10th Anniversary, WICKED will be celebrated throughout October and beyond with several promotions and fan opportunities.

- On November 19th, VerveUMe will release a special WICKED Deluxe Edition CD, featuring the 19-track Original Broadway Cast Recording plus bonus tracks, including the brand-new hit, "Popular Song" by MIKA (featuring Ariana Grande). The album will be available digitally on October 29th.

The 2-CD set will also include new deluxe packaging featuring the show's 10th Anniversary artwork, and a bonus booklet with new, updated essays by composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz, and Gregory Maguire, the author of Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, the novel on which the musical is based.

Additionally, a special 10th Anniversary Collector's Edition Vinyl of the Original Broadway Cast Recording will be released and available for purchase at the Gershwin Theatre and online at www.wickedthemusicalstore.com.

- The NBC Experience Store in Rockefeller Plaza will become a destination for all WICKED fans from October 20th - November 1st with a special display of WICKED costumes, memorabilia and merchandise.

- The American Airlines Terminal at JFK Airport will look a lot like Oz between October 15th and November 30th when the"World of Wicked" will be installed in the terminal, featuring a replica of Glinda's bubble and a special "Behind the Emerald Curtain" museum display.

- A special initiative for WICKED's over 1 million Facebook fans and social media followers is "30 DAYS OF FLIGHT," an opportunity for WICKED to give back to the legions of fans that have helped make the musical a global phenomenon. Each day for the first 30 days of October, one WICKED fan will be chosen and celebrated by members of the Broadway company via video, email, or social media. Plus, a handful will be selected to receive special prizes from the company, including autographed memorabilia and items from the show. Like WICKED on Facebook or follow WICKED on Twitter @WICKED_musical to see which fan is chosen each day to become part of our month-long celebration.

- A long-time fan of WICKED, celebrity and fashion manicurist Deborah Lippmann has created a nail polish collection based on the magic of Oz. This limited-edition collection celebrates the show's 10th Anniversary with a trio of shades, each named after one of the show's songs (Defying Gravity, Popular, and One Short Day). The collection is available for a limited time only and sold exclusively at Sephora stores, Sephora.com and deborahlippmann.com.

- Magnolia Bakery's five New York City locations (401 Bleecker Street, 1000 Third Avenue in Bloomingdale's, 200 Columbus Avenue at 69th Street, Grand Central Terminal, and 1240 Avenue of the Americas at 49th Street) will host "WICKED Weekends" Friday - Sunday throughout October with a special Emerald City Cupcake, specially created for WICKED's 10th Anniversary.

- Eleni's is also honoring WICKED with a special gift box of cookies in celebration of WICKED's 10th Anniversary. The two-layer cookie gift box, which includes cookies in the forms of Elphaba, Glinda, and other iconic imagery from the show, will be available in store (Chelsea Market Store, 75 Ninth Avenue, NYC) and online at elenis.com through December 31, 2013.

To kick off the next decade, WICKED's artwork is receiving a makeover, adding visual depth and detail to the iconic image of Glinda whispering in Elphaba's ear. In addition, WICKED is redesigning and revamping its website, wickedthemusical.com, with information on all three of its North America companies, plus exclusive videos, games, and glimpses of the backstage world for WICKED fans of all ages.

And just in time for the 10th Anniversary celebration on October 30th, the Gershwin Theatre is undergoing extensive renovations, with all new seats, carpeting, and bathroom facilities, as well as a photogenic revamp of its front-of-house.

In its 10-year history, WICKED has made it a priority to give back to its fans and the community, with several high-profile philanthropic endeavors and partnerships.

Most notably, the production helped launch the Broadway Green Alliance (BGA), partnering with Mayor Bloomberg to affect change within the theatre industry to adopt greener practices. The BGA grew out of a town hall, hosted by WICKED in 2008, which invited all members of the Broadway community - from actors, ushers and stagehands to producers and theatre owners - to discuss what, as an industry, Broadway can do to be more environmentally responsible. The BGA has since gone on to significantly alter backstage and front of house practices at all Broadway houses, helping to make the Great White Way a much greener community.

In 2007, WICKED joined forces with Bette Midler's NY Restoration Project to transform a neglected garden in Harlem into the"Friendship Garden," which continues to be a public green space in this under-served neighborhood.

Since 2009, WICKED has also successfully partnered with the not-for-profit group, National School Climate Center, on theirBULLYBUST campaign, a nationwide movement that helps students and adults prevent bullying and create positive communities of upstanders. Together, WICKED and BULLYBUST created "Stand Up to Bullying" toolkits that draw inspiration from the story ofWICKED, and have been used in thousands of classrooms across the country to educate youth on identifying and preventing bullying - for good. Through ongoing workshops and events with members of the Broadway and National Touring productions, this partnership continues to raise awareness and prevent bullying using the universal themes in WICKED.

Additionally in 2009, WICKED's acting companies - on Broadway, in Chicago, and on two national tours - hosted simultaneous fundraisers in support of Marriage Equality, with proceeds going directly to four not-for-profit organizations that were instrumental in battleground states: Equality California, Empire State Pride Agenda, Mass Equality, and Garden State Equality.

In the show's 10-year history, the Broadway and North American productions of WICKED have raised over $12 million for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

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.

Winner of over 50 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.

On Broadway, WICKED currently stars Lindsay Mendez as Elphaba, Alli Mauzey as Glinda, Carol Kane as Madame Morrible,Tom McGowan as The Wizard, Derek Klena as Fiyero, Catherine Charlebois as Nessarose, John Schiappa as Dr. Dillamond, and Michael Wartella as Boq.

Tickets are available through Ticketmaster www.ticketmaster.com/wicked. For more information, visit www.wickedthemusical.com. WICKED is performed at the Gershwin Theatre, 222 West 51st Street, between Broadway and 8th Avenue.

Pictured: Lindsay Mendez. Photo Credit: Joan Marcus.