Wicked Celebrates Two Years on Bway with a Week of Events, Oct. 24-30

To celebrate the second anniversary of the Broadway blockbuster Wicked, an entire week-long series of events will be held leading up to the anniversary on Sunday, October 30th. The events will include a "Wicked Day" Block Party; the Z100 "Be Wicked" Singing Contest; and signings of the new Wicked coffee table book, The Grimmerie, at Borders Books at the Time Warner Center and at the NBC Experience Store at Rockefeller Plaza.

Throughout the week and in honor of "Wicked Day," the semi-finals for the Z100 "Be Wicked" Singing Contest, hosted by Macy's and sponsored by ELLEgirl, Rocawear, Macy's, Decca Records and the Renaissance Times Square Hotel, will be held at various locations in the tri-state area, including Staten Island, NY; Garden City, NY; Paramus, NJ; White Plains, NY; and in Manhattan. Finalists will be chosen at each event and will then participate at the finals in New York City (on "Wicked Day"). The finals will be judged by Wicked stars Shoshana Bean and Megan Hilty, Miss USA Chelsea Cooley, Wicked casting director Bernie Telsey and other special guests. The Grand Prize will be "The Ultimate Wicked Party Package" in which the winner plus 3 guests will receive free tickets to Wicked, dinner, limo, hotel accommodations, Wicked merchandise and an exclusive backstage tour.

Participants and winner(s) of the contest must be US residents of at least 18-years old. A parent or guardian of any participant who is a minor must sign a release on behalf of the minor to be eligible to receive a prize, but sponsors reserve the right to refuse to award a prize to or on behalf of any minor. Only one (1) entry per person, one (1) prize per household for the contest (visit www.wicked-week.com for more on eligibilty and limitations).

On Monday evening, October 24 at 5 PM at Borders Books at the Time Warner Center, 10 Columbus Circle, there will be a signing of Wicked: The Grimmerie, the new Wicked coffee table book. The hardcover book is written by Time Out New York theatre editor David Cote and offers fans a behind-the-curtains peek at the musical, profiles of the cast and creative team, and inside stories, with full-color photographs by Broadway photographer Joan Marcus. Cote, Marcus, and members of the Wicked cast and creative team will be in attendance at the signing.

There will be an additional signing of Wicked: The Grimmerie on Friday, October 28 at 4 PM at the NBC Experience Store, 49th Street and Rockefeller Plaza. Cote, Marcus and members of the Wicked cast and creative team will be in attendance.

The week's activities all lead up to the "Wicked Day" Block Party, to be held on the actual anniversary, Sunday, October 30th. From 10 AM to 1PM, in front of the Gershwin Theatre (West 51st Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue), the blow-out bash will offer face-painting, games, food and refreshments, and feature the finals of the "Be Wicked" Singing Contest. Sponsored by Z100, ELLEgirl and Rocawear, the Block Party will take place rain or shine.

In addition, every day from October 24 through October 30, free candy from the Sweet Shop at the NBC Experience Store will be offered to patrons that bring in their Wicked ticket stub (dated for performances October 24-30).

Wicked currently breaks house records at the Gershwin Theatre (222 West 51st Street) with box office receipts of over $1.2 million per week. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. Directed by Joe Mantello, with musical staging by Wayne Cilento, Wicked currently stars Shoshana Bean, Megan Hilty, Rue McClanahan, David Ayers and Ben Vereen as the Wizard.

"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," according to press notes.

The performance schedule for Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre (222 W. 51st St.) is Tuesday evenings at 7 PM; Wednesday through Saturday evenings at 8 PM; matinees on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2 PM; Sundays at 3 PM. The scale of prices is $50 - $100. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster, 212-307-4100 (or you may visit www.ticketmaster.com) or at the Gershwin Theatre box office. For more information and for a complete schedule of events (including dates for the Be Wicked singing contest), visit www.wickedthemusical.com.

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