WICKED- To Brew at Broward Center

                         
SO MUCH HAPPENED BEFORE DOROTHY DROPPED IN
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BROADWAY'S BIGGEST BLOCKBUSTER
COMES TO BROADWAY IN FORT LAUDERDALE
PRESENTED BY FLORIDA THEATRICAL ASSOCIATION

BY STEPHEN SCHWARTZ AND WINNIE HOLZMAN
BASED ON THE NOVEL BY GREGORY MAGUIRE
MUSICAL STAGING BY WAYNE CILENTO       DIRECTED BY JOE MANTELLO
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WICKED is a new musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin, Academy Award winner for Pocahontas and The Prince of Egypt) and book by Winnie Holzman ("My So Called Life," "Once And Again" and "thirtysomething") based on the best-selling 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire. WICKED is set to make its South Florida premiere starting Wednesday, February 8.

Tickets ranging from $30.25 - $73.25 can be purchased in person at the Broward Center AutoNation Box Office and by phone and internet at 954-462-0222 or www.browardcenter.org, and TicketMaster phones at 954-523-3309 in Broward, 305-358-5885 in Dade, and 561-966-3309 in Palm Beach or at www.ticketmaster.com Tickets are also available through TicketMaster outlets.

WICKED, the untold story of the witches of Oz, is directed by 2003 and 2004 Tony® Award winner Joe Mantello (Take Me Out, Assassins, Love! Valour! Compassion!, The Vagina Monologues, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune) and features musical staging by Tony® Award winner Wayne Cilento (Aida, The Who's Tommy, How To Succeed…).

The national tour of WICKED opened at Toronto's Canon Theatre on Tuesday, March 8, 2005 and sold out a seven-week run.  WICKED has continued to break box office records and sell out multiple-week engagements in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver and Dallas.

WICKED, "Broadway's biggest blockbuster" (The New York Times) began performances on Broadway on Wednesday, October 8, 2003 at The Gershwin Theatre and continues to be the top-grossing show on Broadway.  WICKED is "good enough to run for a decade or two," proclaims The Wall Street Journal.  It's "a cultural phenomenon," exclaims Variety.  "If every musical had the brain, the heart and the courage of WICKED, Broadway really would be a magical place," states Time Magazine.

The role of Elphaba (the Wicked Witch) will be played by Stephanie J. Block (Liza Minnelli in Broadway's smash-hit The Boy From Oz) and Glinda will be played by Kendra Kassebaum (Broadway's Rent and the recent Tony Award-winning Assassins).

Playing the role of Madame Morrible will be Carole Shelley (Tony® Award winner for The Elephant Man and most recently Aunt Clara in last summer's Bewitched), and the The Wizard will be played by David Garrison (TV's "Married With Children," Broadway's Titanic and A Day in Hollywood/A Night in The Ukraine, for which he received a Tony® Award nomination).

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.

Block is no stranger to WICKED, as she played the role of Elphaba during its developmental readings and stood by for the role during its pre-Broadway run in San Francisco.  She then went to Broadway to appear in a different Oz, The Boy From Oz, in which she played Liza Minnelli opposite Hugh Jackman for a year. Other regional credits include Funny Girl, Crazy For You, Oliver! and James Joyce's The Dead.

Kassebaum was most recently seen in Rent and Assassins (directed by Joe Mantello.)   She has been on tour with Grease and A Chorus Line and has been in regional productions of A Little Night Music, Secret Garden and Tommy.

Shelley, Broadway's original Madame Morrible, created the role of Mrs. Kendal in The Elephant Man, for which she won a Tony® Award. She has also been seen in Stepping Out (Tony® Award nomination), Absurd Person Singular (Tony® Award nomination), Cabaret, Show Boat, The Odd Couple and The Last Night of Ballyhoo, to name a few.  She most recently starred as Aunt Clara in Nora Ephron's Bewitched, starring Nicole Kidman.

Garrison was nominated for a Tony® Award (A Day in Hollywood/A Night in The Ukraine) and has won numerous other theater awards. He has performed on Broadway in Titanic and Bells Are Ringing and was in the national tour of Guys and Dolls.  His most recognized TV role was that of Steve Rhoades in "Married With Children."

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

WICKED is the winner of 15 major awards, including a Grammy® Award and 3 Tony® Awards. The Grammy Award-Winning Cast recording is available on Decca Broadway.

For more information about WICKED log on to www.wickedthemusical.com.

The Fort Lauderdale engagement of WICKED is presented by arrangement with Florida Theatrical Association, a non-profit civic organization with a volunteer board of trustees established to ensure the continued presentation of quality national touring Broadway productions in the state of Florida and is a  season offering of Broadway In Fort Lauderdale.

Broadway Across America (BAA) is the country's most prolific presenting network of 50 North American cities offering first-rate touring Broadway productions and theatrical entertainment. Cities in the BAA network ensure their patrons that they are seeing touring productions of the highest quality in many of the country's top theatrical venues often direct from Broadway or on pre-Broadway tours. Over 300,000 season ticket holders enjoy BAA benefits to over 500 productions each season that include no-fee intercity ticket exchanges privileges, split city season tickets and priority purchase opportunities for additional entertainment events across the country.  Among others, Broadway Across America cities include Chicago, Boston, Houston, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Costa Mesa, Atlanta, Portland, Fort Lauderdale, Baltimore and Tempe.  Recent presentations include WICKED, Disney's THE LION KING, SWEET CHARITY, MOVIN OUT, HAIRSPRAY, BLUE MAN GROUP, RADIO CITY CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR and DORA THE EXPLORER LIVE!  For information or to purchase tickets for touring Broadway shows throughout the network go to www.BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com.

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