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Cleveland is about to get “greenified!” The much-anticipated production of WICKED is blowing into town like a Kansas tornado and will definitely take northeast Ohio by storm, just as it’s done from New York to Chicago, from Atlanta to Toronto, from Tampa to Houston, from—well, just about every point in between! WICKED is, of course, the 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 Playhouse Square Center run at the State Theatre from June 21 through July 9, 2006, as part of the McDonald Financial Group Broadway Series. 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, Glengarry Glen Ross) and features musical staging by Tony Award winner Wayne Cilento (Aida, The Who’s Tommy, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying). The national tour of WICKED has “cast quite a spell” (Washington Post) throughout North America. It 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, Washington DC, Philadelphia and Boston—just to name a few. WICKED, “Broadway’s biggest blockbuster” (The New York Times), began performances in New York 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 Chicago company of WICKED took the stage exactly a year ago in late June, 2005 at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre, following the National Tour engagement. It continues to play to capacity audiences. The eagerly-awaited West End production of WICKED will begin previews on September 7, 2006 at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in London; its official opening is on September 27. In the touring company, the role of Elphaba (the Wicked Witch) will be played by Julia Murney (from Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party) and Glinda will be played by Kendra Kassebaum (Broadway’s Rent and the recent Tony Award-winning Assassins). 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 journey, how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch. Murney received a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Musical for Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party and was also seen in New York in A Class Act, Lennon, and Time and Again. 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. Playing the role of Madame Morrible will be Alma
Cuervo (from Broadway’s Beauty and the Beast, Cabaret,
and the original Titanic), and the Wizard will be played by
P.J. Benjamin (six years as “Mr. Cellophane”
on Broadway in Chicago). The national tour is nothing short of phenomenal: the reviews from city after city are nothing short of glowing. In The Toronto Star: “Ding, dong, we’ve got a hit! Like a Christmas stocking packed with goodies, this show has so many delights to offer, it’s hard to know where to begin…WICKED explodes onto the stage with all the glitz, colour, pizzazz—the sheer ebullient confidence—that makes a show a hit.” The Dallas Morning News called it “The biggest touring hit among American musicals in years.” And from the Baltimore Sun: “A megahit, WICKED has been painting towns green wherever it plays.” WICKED is a true spectacle for the eyes and ears. It has worked its magic on critics and audiences alike. And now it flies into Cleveland: Prepare to get “greenified!” WICKED – Synopsis Act One The citizens of Oz are celebrating the death of the Wicked Witch of the West (No One Mourns the Wicked). Glinda the Good appears to reassure the people that goodness has indeed prevailed over evil. One of the citizens asks if it is true that Glinda was a friend of the Wicked Witch. She admits that she was, and tells the story of how they met. Glinda then takes us back in time. Elphaba (later known as the Wicked Witch) was the daughter of the governor of Munchkinland, and was born a rather unnatural shade of green. Her father despised her and showered his affection on her younger sister, Nessarose, who was confined to a wheelchair. The two girls go together to Shiz University, where the pretty and popular Galinda (as she was then known) is also in their class (Dear Old Shiz). The headmistress, Madame Morrible, decides to take Nessarose under her protection, despite Elphaba’s objections. Elphaba is now without a roommate, and ends up with Galinda—to the delight of neither. When Elphaba’s protectiveness of her sister manifests itself physically, Madame Morrible discovers that Elphaba has an amazing natural talent for magic and tells her that she has the potential to work alongside the Wonderful Wizard of Oz if she buckles down and makes something of herself (The Wizard and I). Galinda – whose only reason for attending Shiz was to attend Morrible’s renowned sorcery program – is not accepted into the course, and she’s shattered. All of this does little to endear Elphaba to Galinda, and the feeling is more than mutual (What Is This Feeling?). Their dislike of each other is evident even in their classes, like their history class with Dr. Dillamond. The professor is the only Animal (with a capital “A”) professor at Shiz, and he is beginning to suffer from discrimination, even from the students. He tells Elphaba that there is a conspiracy to stop the Animals from speaking, and she wants to let the Wizard know, for he would surely stop it (Something Bad). Meanwhile, a young partying prince, Fiyero, has arrived at Shiz. Galinda is charmed when Fiyero shares his life philosophy (Dancing Through Life). They all decide to have a party that evening. Boq, a Munchkin who has developed a crush on Galinda, tries to invite her to the party; she convinces him instead to ask Nessarose, leaving her free to go with Fiyero. Nessarose is delighted, and she tells her sister how she and Boq are meant to be together, and how Galinda helped make it happen. As a cruel joke, Galinda gives Elphaba a really unfashionable hat to wear to the party. Elphaba accepts the hat, thinking it’s a gift, and in return, secures Galinda a place in Morrible’s sorcery program. At the party that evening, Boq tries to tell Nessarose the real reason he invited her, but is unable to hurt her feelings. She is becoming infatuated with him. Madame Morrible arrives to tell Galinda that she can join her sorcery class—because Elphaba requested it. Elphaba herself arrives wearing the hat Galinda gave her; all the other students make fun, laugh and stare while Elphaba dances on her own. Galinda feels terrible and goes to dance with Elphaba. Soon everyone is dancing, and the two girls look at each other in a new light. After the dance the bonding continues, and Galinda shows a new affection for “Elphie.” Galinda decides that she will help Elphaba become Popular. The next day, the prince Fiyero starts falling for “Elphie”—as Galinda has dubbed her. Things take a turn for the worse, however, when Dr. Dillamond explains that he is no longer permitted to teach and must leave. Elphaba wants to help, but no one will stand up with her. The students are introduced to the new technological advancement of the cage, which will keep animals controlled so that they never learn to speak. Outraged, Elphaba stops the lesson using magic. With Fiyero—who was not affected by her spell—she runs into the woods to let the caged lion cub free. Fiyero is confused about what he’s just seen and what he’s doing, but he is caught up in Elphaba’s passion. She thanks him for helping her, and they share a little moment before he awkwardly leaves. Elphaba reminds herself that it’s pointless to wish for something to happen between them (I’m Not That Girl). Madame Morrible comes and tells her that she has been officially invited to meet the Wizard in Emerald City. Nessarose and Galinda come to see her off, and Fiyero arrives too. Galinda is saddened by Fiyero’s emotional distance from her, and she tries to win his respect by changing her name to “Glinda” in honor of Dr. Dillamond, who never could pronounce it properly. Fiyero barely notices, and as he is saying goodbye to Elphaba. Elphaba invites Glinda to go to the Emerald City with her (One Short Day). There they meet the Wizard of Oz, who says he wants to make Elphaba his assistant. To prove herself, she needs to give a monkey named Chistery the ability to fly (Sentimental Man). She opens up an ancient and immensely powerful sorcery book called The Grimmery and proceeds to chant out a spell. To their amazement, Chistery grows wings. The Wizard then shows Elphaba her power by opening a curtain and showing her a cage full of monkeys with wings. She has created a perfect set of spies for him! Elphaba now realizes that she’s been duped into helping the Wizard exploit and harm animals, including Dr. Dillamond. She also understands that he has no real power at all and needs someone with power--like her--to do things for him, using The Grimmery. She steals The Grimmery and escapes; in order to keep the truth from getting out, Madame Morrible spreads reports that Elphaba is “wicked” and not to be trusted. Elphaba says goodbye to Glinda, vowing that she will fulfill her destiny—to fight the Wizard with every last ounce of strength (Defying Gravity). Act Two The rumors and speculation about the “Wicked Witch” grow. Glinda, Madame Morrible and Fiyero (the new captain of the guards) are holding a press conference (Thank Goodness) to reassure the people that everything is being done to ensure the capture of the witch, and to celebrate Glinda and Fiyero’s engagement. Fiyero, however, can’t believe that Glinda would go along with these lies about Elphaba. He is determined to find her for himself. Elphaba pays a visit to Nessarose, who is now the governor of Munchkinland following the death of their father. Desperate to keep Boq with her, even though he doesn’t love her, Nessarose has taken away the rights of the Munchkins. Elphaba tries to convince her sister to side with her against the Wizard, but Nessarose is more concerned with her own problems. Elphaba tries to help by giving Nessarose the power to walk. Convinced that Boq must love her now, Nessarose calls for him, but he only sees this as proof that she doesn’t need him any more. Furious, Nessarose takes Elphaba’s Grimmery and tries to cast a spell to make Boq fall in love with her. However, the spell backfires, and Elphaba must work another spell to save his life, if in a slightly metallic, heartless condition (The Wicked Witch of the East). When Boq awakens, horrified at his new state, Nessarose tells him it was Elphaba who did it to him. Elphaba decides to return to the Emerald City so she can free the flying monkeys. The Wizard stops her and tempts her into giving up her cause and to work with him, telling her that he is not so bad – just a mediocre man who found himself revered as Wonderful. She almost gives in, but notices a shrouded figure in the background. It is Dr. Dillamond, who has been completely reverted into a dumb animal. She then vows to fight the Wizard to the end. Fiyero and the guards enter, followed by Glinda. Fiyero helps Elphaba to escape and decides to go with her, leaving Glinda behind. Broken-hearted, Glinda tells the Wizard and Madame Morrible that the way to capture Elphaba is to make her think that her sister Nessarose is in trouble, and she will surely come to her rescue (I’m Not That Girl – reprise). Hidden away in Fiyero’s castle, Elphaba and Fiyero confirm their newfound love (As Long As You’re Mine). Their happiness is interrupted, though, by a sudden change in the weather, and Elphaba sees a strange vision of a flying house in the sky. She flies off to Munchkinland to discover the death of her sister and the arrival of Dorothy, a young girl from Kansas. Glinda and Elphaba meet again at the site of Nessarose’s unfortunate demise, and fueled by the rivalry over Fiyero, the two have a heated argument. Fiyero arrives just in time, and holds Glinda hostage until Elphaba can escape. Glinda realizes that Fiyero truly does love Elphaba and tells the guards not to hurt him, but they don’t listen to her. Fiyero will not betray Elphaba and is taken to a field where he is placed on a stick and left to die. Elphaba tries to cast a spell to save his life, but she is frustrated by the limitations of her power. Thinking that she has failed once more, she realizes it is time to embrace the full implications of her powers (No Good Deed). The citizens of Oz, spurred on by Madame Morrible
and Boq’s testimony, set out to capture Elphaba (March
of the Witch Hunters). Glinda beats them to Elphaba’s
hideout, and tries to convince her to stop before it’s too late.
They realize that even after all that’s happened, they are still
friends (For Good). Elphaba tells Glinda to
hide so that no one will know she was there, and makes her promise that
she won’t try to clear her name. After Elphaba’s “liquification”
death, Glinda forces the Wizard to resign and has Madame Morrible thrown
into prison. She will be the new leader of Oz, and she will try to make
the changes that Elphaba was working toward.
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