Eden Espinosa Returns to WICKED in San Francisco

Eden Espinosa, who has performed the role of Elphaba to critical acclaim on Broadway, San Francisco, and in Los Angeles, will return to San Francisco to star in the open-ended engagement of WICKED now playing at the Orpheum Theatre. Since it's opening in the Bay Area a year ago, WICKED has been seen by close to a million people. And the show continues to be a cultural phenomenon having just shattered its own record to become the highest grossing show in Broadway history.

Beginning March 2, Eden will be joining the San Francisco cast that currently includes Kendra Kassebaum, starring as Glinda. This will not be the first time that Eden and Kendra will perform these roles opposite each other on the stage of the Orpheum Theatre here in San Francisco. They appeared here together when the first national tour of WICKED played a sold-out limited 6-week engagement at the Orpheum Theatre in the summer of 2005.

A native of Southern California, Eden has also starred as Elphaba on Broadway and in LA. She recently performed the title role in Flora the Red Menace for Reprise! in Los Angeles as well as playing Maureen in the closing company of Rent on Broadway, which was filmed live for Sony and is now available on DVD and BluRay. Last summer, Eden's voice was featured in "Magical" the new fireworks spectacular at The Disneyland Resort. Eden created the title character in Brooklyn the Musical and performed it from the original workshop, on through to its Broadway run. Eden's voice has also been heard her on such recordings as Hair (BCEFA benefit recording), The Maury Yeston Songbook, Bright Lights, Big City, John McDaniel Live at Joe's Pub, and Scott Alan's Dreaming Wide Awake.

Eden made her solo concert debut in Los Angeles with her show "ME" in December 2008. She then went to New York where she performed the show to four sold out audiences at Joe's Pub in March 2009. On July 24, 2009 she brought the show back to Los Angeles and performed "ME" to a sold out audience at The Ford Amphitheatre, which special guest, Grammy Award winning and Decca recording artist Paula Cole. She is currently working on her debut album.

Her co-star, Kendra Kassebaum came to San Francisco's production of WICKED a year ago directly from playing the role in the Broadway production. Kendra received a Helen Hayes Award nomination for her portrayal of Glinda in the North American Tour of WICKED. Kendra has appeared in the film Love and Other Impossible Pursuits directed by Don Roos opposite Natalie Portman and Lisa Kudrow and starred off-Broadway in The Receptionist at Manhattan Theatre Club. She created the role of Sam in the workshop production of Leap of Faith directed by Taylor Hackford. On Broadway, she was seen in the Tony Award-winning production of Assassins directed by Joe Mantello and Rent and on tour in A Chorus Line and Grease.

The other principal roles in WICKED are performed by Bay Area actress Jody Gelb, who plays Madame Morrible and Tom McGowan, who plays the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. WICKED also features Nicolas Dromard as Fiyero, Paul Slade Smith as Doctor Dillamond, DeeDee Magno Hall as Nessarose, and Etai BenShlomo as Boq.

The musical, which was recently called "the defining musical of the decade" by The New York Times, currently has eight productions across the globe: in New York, San Francisco, London, Germany, Japan, Australia and two concurrent North American National Tours. WICKED has amassed over $1.7 billion globally in ticket sales and has been seen by
over 21 million people worldwide as it begins its 7th year.

Declared "The Best Musical of the Decade" by Entertainment Weekly and "A Cultural Phenomenon" by Variety, WICKED is based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, 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.

WICKED features set design by Tony Award winner EuGene Lee, costume design by Tony Award winner Susan Hilferty, lighting design by Kenneth Posner and sound design by Tony Meola. The orchestrations are by William David Brohn, with dance arrangements by James Lynn Abbott.

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.

Tickets for WICKED are on sale for this open-ended engagement and range in price from $30 to $99. Tickets can be purchased online at shnsf.com and ticketmaster.com/wicked, through Ticketmaster Charge-By-Phone 415- 512-7770 and 800-982-2787, at all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers and at the Orpheum Theatre Box Office (1192 Market at 8th St., Mon-Sat 10 AM - 6PM). Premium packages are also available for all performances. Groups of 20 or more may order by calling Group Sales at (415) 551-2020.

WICKED plays Tuesday - Saturday evenings at 8 PM, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 PM, with select Wednesday matinees at 2pm and select Sunday evenings at 7:30pm.

For more information about WICKED at the Orpheum Theatre, please visit wickedthemusical.com/sf or shnsf.com. For information about WICKED world-wide, please visit wickedthemusical.com.