Walker Jones Joins WICKED's Second North American Tour as 'The Wizard'

The company of the second North American tour of WICKED will welcome Walker Jones as the Wizard on Wednesday, March 13 in Charlotte, NC.

Jones' New York credits include Scapin with Stanley Tucci (CSC), Merry Wives of Windsor directed by Daniel Sullivan and Merchant of Venice and Henry VI at NYSF. He has also performed around the country at ACT (Dramalogue Award), Portland Stage, Yale Rep, NJ Shakespeare Theatre and Tony Award winning Shakespeare Theatre of D.C. Jones has also been seen in The Imposters.

Jones joins a cast that includes Christine Dwyer as Elphaba, Jeanna de Waal as Glinda and Gina Ferrall as Madame Morrible.

The company also features Zarah Mahler (Nessarose), Jay Russell (Dr. Dillamond), Billy Harrigan Tighe (Fiyero), Michael Wartella (Boq) and Alyssa Fox (Standby for Elphaba) with Kerry Blanchard, Jane Brockman, Bridie Carroll, Lilli Cooper, Haley Ann Dorling, Michael Drolet, Peter C. Ermides, Ryan Patrick Farrell, Natalie Fotopoulos, Dominic Giudici, Lauren Haughton, Zach Hensler, Joel Ingram, Ryan Jackson, Jillian Kates, Becca Kloha, Sam Lips, Sterling Masters, Marissa Miller, Dashi' Mitchell, Amy Quanbeck, Jay Reynolds Jr., Wayne Schroder and Justin Wirick.

WICKED is currently playing the Bob Carr Theatre in Orlando, FL through March 10. Good seats are still available and can be purchased at the FAIRWINDS Broadway Across America - Orlando Box Office, Amway Center Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations. Online purchases can be made at www.OrlandoBroadway.com. To charge-by-phone call 1-800-982-2787.
Jones joins WICKED in conjunction with the tour's opening in Charlotte, NC. WICKED will play March 13-31 at Ovens Auditorium. Tickets are available at BlumenthalArts.org and 704-327-1000.

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.

WICKED has "cast quite a spell" (Washington Post) throughout North America, breaking box office records in every city that it has played, including Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Philadelphia and Boston to name a few.

WICKED has been declared "A Cultural Phenomenon" by Variety and "The Best Musical of the Decade" by Entertainment Weekly. There are currently seven productions worldwide: New York, London, Holland, Japan, Australia/New Zealand and two concurrent North American Tours. Globally, WICKED has amassed nearly $2.9 billion in ticket sales and has been seen by 36 million people worldwide in its nine year history.

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