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. 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 delves into the background mysteries of Oz, and is directed by 2003 and 2004 Tony Award winner Joe Mantello (Take Me Out, Assassins, Love! Valour! Compassion!, The Vagina Monologues, Glengarry Glen Ross) featuring musical staging by Tony Award winner Wayne Cilento (Aida, The Who’s Tommy, How To Succeed…). It is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone.

“Wicked was a major success when it played before in the Hennepin Theatre District—fans have been eagerly asking me over and over when it will return. Few shows generate such repeat and fervent enthusiasm,” commented Tom Hoch, Hennepin Theatre Trust’s President and CEO, “so we are obviously thrilled to welcome back Wicked and expect the excitement to keep building until the show swoops into town! ”

Minneapolis is not the only city which has enjoyed such a demand for the production. The national tour of Wicked has “cast quite a spell” (Washington Post) throughout North America. It opened at Toronto’s Canon Theatre in March 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, D.C., Philadelphia and Boston, among others.

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. The Chicago company of Wicked took the stage in June 2005 at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre, and London’s West End production opened at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in September 2006. The Los Angeles production of Wicked started performances at the Pantages Theatre in February 2007.

There are currently three international productions of Wicked—a London production which opened in September 2006 at the Apollo Victoria Theatre; a Japanese-language production which opened in June 2007 in Tokyo, Japan; and a German-language production which opened in Stuttgart in November 2007. An Australian production will open in Melbourne, Australia in July 2008.

Wicked features set design by Tony Award winner 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 musical director. Orchestrations are by William David Brohn, with dance arrangements by James Lynn Abbott. The Grammy Award-winning cast recording is available on Decca Broadway. For more information about Wicked log on to www.wickedthemusical.com. Casting for the Minneapolis run at Hennepin Theatre Trust’s Orpheum Theatre will be announced at a later date.

TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for the five-week Wicked return engagement will go on sale for groups on Friday, April 11 at 10 a.m. Groups of 20 or more should call 612-373-5665 for information and reservations. Group discounts are available for selected performances. Subscription renewals begin in early May and single ticket sales start mid-June. Wicked is presented locally by Hennepin Theatre Trust as part of its 08/09 M&I Bank Broadway Across America–Minneapolis season. Additional productions for 08/09 Broadway season will be announced in early May. Further information will be posted as it becomes available at HennepinTheatreDistrict.org, or visit our web site and join our email list to be notified.

Performance dates forWicked are Wednesday, Nov. 5 through Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008 at the Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Avenue, Mpls., MN 55403. Show times are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. There are also performances on Thursday, Nov. 6 at 2 p.m. and Monday, Nov. 24 at 7:30 p.m. There is no performance on Thursday, Nov. 27 (Thanksgiving Day).