Chandra Lee Schwartz and Etai BenShlomo Join WICKED National Tour Today

The company of the first North American tour of Wicked welcomes Chandra Lee Schwartz as Glinda and Etai BenShlomo today, July 29 in Salt Lake City, UT.

Schwartz returns to Wicked after playing the role of Glinda on Broadway and on tour. She most recently played the role of Annie in the world premiere of Sleepless In Seattle, The Musical at The Pasadena Playhouse. Broadway/National Tour credits include Disney's High School Musical (Sharpay), Hairspray (Penny) and Gypsy, Bernadette Peters revival (Agnes).

BenShlomo joins the tour after previously playing the role of Boq in Wicked on Broadway. Other recent credits include:The Fortress of Solitude (Dallas Theater Center), My Name is Asher Lev (GableStage), Next to Normal (Weston Playhouse), She Loves Me (Caramoor) and A Room with a View (Old Globe).

Schwartz and BenShlomo join a cast that includes Emma Hunton as Elphaba, Alison Fraser as Madame Morrible and Tim Kazurinsky as The Wizard.

The company also features Nick Adams (Fiyero) Jenny Florkowski (Nessarose), Tom Flynn (Dr. Dillamond) and Emmy Raver-Lampman (Standby for Elphaba) with Shayla Beck, Dina Bennett, Nikki Bohne, Lauren Boyd, Kyle Brown, Nirine S. Brown, John Carroll, Rick Desloge, Timothy A. Fitz-Gerald, Dominic Giudici, Brenda Jean Hamilton, Spencer Jones, Sheila Karls, Trevor Ryan Krahl, Rebecca Kritzer, Marina Lazzaretto, Allison Leo, Marissa Lupp, Raymond Joel Matsamura, Jonathan McGill, Kevin McMahon, Shanon Mari Mills, Christopher Russo and Daniel Switzer.

Schwartz and BenShlomo will join the Wicked Company tonight, July 29 in Salt Lake City, UT. Wicked is currently playing the Capitol Theatre through August 24. Tickets are available through ArtTix outlets, online at ArtTix.org, by phone at 801.355.ARTS (2787).

WICKED, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Pippin, Godspell, Disney's Enchanted, Academy Award® winner forPocahontas and The Prince of Egypt) and book by Winnie Holzman ("My So Called Life," "Once And Again" and "thirtysomething"), is based on the 1995 best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire. 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, the untold story of the witches of Oz, is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone.

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, and how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.

WICKED has been declared "A Cultural Phenomenon" by Variety and "The Best Musical of the Decade" by Entertainment Weekly. Wicked currently has nine productions around the world, in New York, London, Japan, Australasian Tour, South Korea, Latin America, a U.K. Tour, and two concurrent North American National Tours. Since its New York premiere a decade ago,WICKED has grossed over $3.4 billion worldwide and has been seen by over 40 million across the globe. Wicked has 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.

Grammy Award-Winning Cast recording available on Decca Broadway. For more information about Wicked log on to www.wickedthemusical.com.