Idina Menzel to Star in London WICKED

IDINA MENZEL, star of the original Broadway production of WICKED, will recreate her award-winning role in London in September for a limited season.

Winner of the 2004 Tony Award for 'Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical', Idina Menzel will make her West End debut as 'Elphaba', the green girl whose destiny is to become the Wicked Witch of the West. She will perform the role until the New Year.

WICKED, Broadway's smash-hit musical that tells the incredible untold story of the legendary Witches from L. Frank Baum's classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, will open at London's Apollo Victoria Theatre on Wednesday 27 September with previews from Thursday 7 September. Tickets are now on sale.

Photo by Joan Marcus

Two girls meet in the land of Oz. One, born with emerald-green skin, is smart, feisty and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very, very popular. WICKED is the story of these two unlikely friends and how they end up as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch.

Based on the novel 'Wicked' by Gregory Maguire, WICKED has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, book by Winnie Holzman, scenic design by Eugene Lee, costumes by Susan Hilferty, lighting by Kenneth Posner, sound by Tony Meola, projections by Elaine J. McCarthy, wig and hair designs by Tom Watson, music supervision and arrangements by Stephen Oremus, orchestrations by William David Brohn, dance arrangements by James Lynn Abbott, musical staging by Wayne Cilento and is directed by Joe Mantello.

WICKED is presented in London by Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone. UK General Management: Act Productions / Nick Salmon, Executive Producer: Michael McCabe.

Dates:

PERFORMANCES BEGIN THURSDAY 7 SEPTEMBER 2006
LONDON PREMIERE WEDNESDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2006 at 7.00pm
First booking period to Saturday 24 February 2007

Tickets now on sale

Box Office and 24 Hour Credit Card Bookings:

Ticketmaster 0870 4000 751 (up to £1.75 per ticket service charge and £2.25 processing fee per transaction). No booking fee or processing charge for tickets booked in person at the Box Office. Group Sales (discounts for groups of 12+ and 40+): Ticketmaster 0870 594 9494 Theatre & Corporate Hospitality Packages: 020 7834 6318

Venue:

Apollo Victoria Theatre
Wilton Road, London, SW1V 1LG

Performance Times:

Monday-Saturday 7.30pm*
Matinees Wednesday & Saturday 2.30pm
*27 September at 7pm / no Wednesday matinee.
Running time (approximately): 2 hours and 50 minutes including a 20 minute interval.

Ticket prices

Stalls £55, £45, £35, Circle £55, £45, £35, £25, £15
£10 off all prices in previews from 7-26 September.

Official UK website: WickedTheMusical.co.uk">www.WickedTheMusical.co.uk