Feature: WICKED Touring Cast Visits Local High School in Columbus, Ohio

Today, theatre students of Gahanna Lincoln High School in Columbus, Ohio (with Director Cynthia Macioce) had a rare treat when members of the touring company of WICKED visited them to offer an informative talkback on the makings of a touring production. The talkback was open to members of Gahanna Lincoln High School's International Thespian Society, whose Vice President, Camille Mancuso, orchestrated the event based on her previous professional experience on tour and on Broadway.

The cast and crew of WICKED were made up of principles, understudies, swing members, musicians, and company managers, who all actively participated in answering questions, offering advice to budding thespians, and describing various aspects of tour life, including load-in, hotel living, social elements and more. They each provided a background of their life, college education, job description, audition process, and how they landed a coveted role in the worldwide sensation known as WICKED.

It's not always an easy path down the yellow brick road, so each member also discussed various hurdles, how they deal with rejection, and offered advice on how to break into the business. The crew revealed technical aspects of the production, and the musicians answered questions on how to get involved as a pit orchestra member.

Thanks to all the cast and crew for inspiring young thespians to follow their dreams and believe that their future is truly 'unlimited.'

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WICKED is currently playing at the Ohio Theatre through September 4, 2016. Tickets for the Columbus engagement start at $33 and can be purchased at the CAPA Ticket Center (39 E. State St.), all Ticketmaster outlets, and online at www.ticketmaster.com. To purchase by phone, please call (800) 745-3000. Orders for groups of 20 or more may be placed by calling (614) 719-6900.

With music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Pippin, Godspell, Academy Award-winner for Pocahontas and The Prince of Egypt) and book by Winnie Holzman ("My So Called Life," "Once And Again," and "thirtysomething"), WICKED 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...).

Based on the best-selling 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire, WICKED is the winner of more than 100 international major awards including a Grammy and three Tony Awards.

The surprising tale of an unlikely friendship between two women in the Land of Oz, WICKED tells the untold story of the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good, long before Dorothy drops in. Elphaba, born with emerald-green skin, is smart, fiery, and misunderstood. Glinda is beautiful, ambitious, and very popular. The remarkable odyssey of how these unexpected friends changed each other's lives for good has made WICKED one of the world's most popular musicals.

WICKED has been declared "A Cultural Phenomenon" by Variety and "The Best Musical of the Decade" by Entertainment Weekly. WICKED has been performed in more than 100 cities in 14 countries around the world (US, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan, Germany, Holland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, The Philippines, Mexico, and Brazil) and has thus far been translated into six languages-Japanese, German, Dutch, Spanish, Korean, and Portuguese.

Grammy Award-winning cast recording available on Decca Broadway. For more information about WICKED, log on to www.wickedthemusical.com.

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