P.J. Benjamin Takes Over As The Wizard In 'Wicked'

 Beginning performances Tuesday, July 29, P.J. Benjamin will play The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the Broadway musical Wicked.  He joins a cast which currently includes Kerry Ellis as Elphaba, Kendra Kassebaum as Glinda, Jayne Houdyshell as Madame Morrible, Aaron Tveit as Fiyero, Cristy Candler as Nessarose, Ben Liebert as Boq, and Steven Skybell as Dr. Dillamond.    

P.J. Benjamin (The Wizard). Before joining the Broadway company of Wicked, Mr. Benjamin toured as the Wizard in the national company for almost 2 years.  Just recently he appeared as Joe Boyd in the Encores production of Damn Yankees. For over 6 years, he played the lovable "Mr. Cellophane" in Chicago, playing opposite 22 murderous wives including Melanie Griffith, Brooke Shields and Sandy Duncan. Also on Broadway: Torch Song Trilogy, Sophisticated Ladies, Charlie and Algernon (L.A. Critics' award), Fosse's Pippin, The Pajama Game (George Abbott, dir), and Sarava, among others. He can be seen in "Law and Order" and "Law and Order SVU" and is the voice of Sgt. Dodo Bird in Ice Age.

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.  
   
Called "Broadway's biggest blockbuster" by The New York Times and "a phenomenon that keeps growing" by the Los Angeles Times, Wicked has been sold out at virtually every performance since opening on Broadway.  Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, book by Winnie Holzman, and musical staging by Wayne Cilento.  The production is directed by Joe Mantello. The Grammy Award-winning original cast recording of Wicked, produced by Stephen Schwartz for Decca Broadway, has been one of the fastest selling Broadway recordings of recent years and has been certified 'Platinum' by the Recording Industry Association of America.  

Tickets are available through Ticketmaster www.ticketmaster.com.  For more information, visit www.wickedthemusical.com. Wicked is performed at the Gershwin Theatre, 222 West 51st Street, between Broadway and 8th Avenue

Photo Credit Linda Lenzi