WICKED Begins Tonight At SD's Civic Theatre, Plays Through August 30

WICKED, the smash-hit musical, returned to SAN DIEGO CIVIC THEATRE on July 29 as a Broadway/San Diego - A Nederlander Presentation, once again breaking box office records and receiving rave reviews. San Marcos native Chandra Lee Schwartz will step into the role of Glinda tonight, Friday, August 21; as Broadway's biggest blockbuster continues at San Diego Civic Theatre through Sunday, August 30.

Chandra Lee Schwartz was last seen locally in 2007 as Sharpay in the National Tour of High School Musical; she played Penny in Hairspray (Las Vegas and 1st National Tour). Broadway credits include Gypsy with Bernadette Peters (Agnes, cast album), Hairspray (LouAnn); Off-Broadway: What's That Smell: The Music of Jacob Sterling; Damn Yankees (Encores!); NY Musical Theatre Festival: Go-Go Beach and But I'm A Cheerleader (Awarded Best Actress in a Musical). Philadelphia Theatre Co.: Nerds (Barrymore nom, Best Actress in a Musical). Chandra is a graduate of AMDA NYC and a member of Actors Equity. A San Marcos HS grad, her family still lives there; local credits include starring in The Little Mermaid at Theatre West in North County and lead singer in the ska band The Fabulous Rudies; she received her dance training at Louis McKay's Dance Arts studio in Del Mar.

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"), WICKED, the untold story of the witches of Oz, is directed by two-time Tony Award® winner Joe Mantello (Take Me Out, Love! Valour! Compassion!, The Vagina Monologues, 9 to 5) 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, winner of 20 major awards, including a Grammy® and three Tony® Awards, is the untold story of the witches of Oz. It 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, and how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch.

The role of Elphaba will be played by Donna Vivino . The role of Glinda will be played by Chandra Lee Schwartz. Playing the role of Madame Morrible will be Myra Lucretia Taylor and The Wizard will be played by Lenny Wolpe.

The company includes Richard H. Blake (Fiyero), Ben Liebert (Boq), Amanda Rose (Nessarose), Paul Slade Smith (Dr. Dillamond) and Merideth Kaye Clark (Standby for Elphaba). Rounding out the cast are Todd Anderson, Terra Lynn Arrington, Kevin Aubin, Luis Avila, Antonette Balestreri, Stefanie Brown, Dominic Giudici, Brenda Hamilton, Courtney D. Jones, Spencer Jones, Ryan PatRick Kelly, Renee Lawless-Orsini, Philip Dean Lightstone, Marissa Lupp, RJ Marshall, Lauren Masiello, Lesley McKinnell, Kevin McMahon, Robert Pendilla, Christopher Russo, Adam Sanford, Robert Spaniolo, Stephanie Torns, Shanna VanDerwerker, Jessica Walker, Betsy Werbel, BRyan West, Blake Whyte, and Samantha Zack.

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. Called "one of the most successful shows in Broadway history" by The New York Times and "a phenomenon that keeps growing" by the Los Angeles Times, WICKED continues to thrill audiences around the world. There are currently eight productions of WICKED worldwide, including two North American tours, a Broadway production, San Francisco production, London production, a Japanese-language production, a German-language production and Australian production. A Dutch-language production of WICKED will open in 2011.

WICKED features set design by Tony® Award winning EuGene Lee, costume design by Tony® winner Susan Hilferty, lighting design by Tony nominee® Kenneth Posner and sound design by Tony Meola. 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.

WHEN: July 29 - August 30, 2009

WHERE: San Diego Civic Theatre, 3rd and B Street, downtown San Diego

PERFORMANCE Tuesday and Wednesday at 7PM note: schedule changes

TIMES:
Thursday at 7:30PM
Friday at 7:30PM
Saturday at 2PM & 7:30PM
Sunday at 1PM & 6:30PM; Sunday evening performance added August 30

TICKETS: $25--$128 Tickets On Sale Now

Recommended for children age eight and older; children under four will not be admitted; no one admitted without a ticket

LOTTERY: A day-of-performance lottery for a limited number of seats will be held daily. Each day, 2½ hours prior to show time, people who present themselves at the Civic Theatre Ticket Office will have their names placed in a lottery drum and then thirty minutes later, names will be drawn for a limited number of seats at $25 each, cash only. This lottery is available only in-person at the box office, with a limit of two tickets per person.

TICKET PURCHASE: Civic Theatre Ticket Office, (619) 570-1100; Monday - Friday, 10AM - 6PM

Ticketmaster (800) 982-2787

THEATRE ADDRESS: 3rd and B Street, 1100 Third Ave.

PARKING: Paid parking available in the San Diego Concourse Parking structure.

For more information about WICKED, visit www.wickedthemusical.com.

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