Nicole Parker and PJ Benjamin to Join WICKED Tour in Denver

The company of the first North American tour of WICKED welcomes PJ Benjamin as The Wizard on Tuesday, May 8 and Nicole Parker as Elphaba on Friday, May 18 in Denver, CO.

Benjamin comes to the WICKED tour directly from the Broadway company after playing the Wizard for 5 years. He has also appeared as Mr. Cellophane in the national touring company of Chicago. Most recently, he played Joe Keller in All My Sons at Delaware Theater Company. Other Broadway: Torch Song Trilogy, Sophisticated Ladies, Pippin, Charlie and Algernon, Sarava, The Pajama Game, The Wind in the Willows, and Damn Yankees. Benjamin has also been featured in “Law and Order: SVU” and as the voice of Sergeant DoDo Bird in the animated film Ice Age.

Parker was last seen as Elphaba on Broadway. Other Broadway: The People in The Picture, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me. For six years, Parker appeared on MADtv. Films: Meet the Spartans and Disaster Movie. Regional: Juliet in The Second City's Romeo and Juliet Musical (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Rosemary in "How to Succeed....." (Reprise Theater). Nicole performed at Boom Chicago, an all-American sketch theater in Amsterdam. Recently, Nicole performed with Peter Nero and the Philadelphia Pops. Future appearances include Bunk on IFC, and ABC's Trust Us With Your Life.

Parker and Benjamin join a cast that includes Alli Mauzey as Glinda and Liz McCartney as Madame Morrible.

The company also features Justin Brill (Boq), Emily Ferranti (Nessarose), Andy Kelso (Fiyero), Paul Slade Smith (Dr. Dillamond), Carla Stickler (Standby for Elphaba) and with Lauren Boyd, Antonette Cohen, Rick Desloge, Luis Augusto Figueroa, Timothy A. Fitz-Gerald, Dominic Giudici, Napoleon W. Gladney, Brenda Hamilton, Courtney Iventosch, Spencer Jones, Trevor Ryan Krahl, Renee Lawless-Orsini, Philip Dean Lightstone, Marissa Lupp, Michael Mahany, Kevin McMahon, Ashley Dawn Mortensen, Cassie Okenka, Christopher Russo, Adea Michelle Sessoms, Sarah Schenkkan, Pamela Shandrow, Shanna VanDerwerker, Nicky Venditti and Mikey Winslow.

WICKED is currently playing the Buell Theatre through May 20. Good seats are still available and can be purchased online at www.denvercenter.org, by calling 303-893-4100 or by visiting the Denver Center Ticket Office, located in the Helen Bonfils Theatre Complex lobby.

WICKED, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin, Disney’s Enchanted, Academy Award® winner for Pocahontas 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, how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.

WICKED features set design by Tony® Award winning Eugene Lee (Ragtime, Show Boat, Candide, Sweeney Todd), costume design by Tony® winner Susan Hilferty (Spring Awakening, Into the Woods, Assassins), lighting design by Tony nominee Kenneth Posner (Tony® Award winner for The Coast of Utopia, Hairspray) and sound design by Tony Meola (The Lion King). Stephen Oremus is the show’s music director. Orchestrations are by William David Brohn, with dance arrangements by James Lynn Abbott.

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