SO MUCH HAPPENED BEFORE DOROTHY DROPPED IN
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THE SMITH CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS KICKS OFF 2012/2013 BROADWAY LAS VEGAS SEASON WITH
BROADWAY’S BIGGEST BLOCKBUSTER COMES TO LAS VEGAS
GROUP TICKETS ON SALE NOW
BY STEPHEN SCHWARTZ AND WINNIE HOLZMAN
BASED ON THE NOVEL BY GREGORY MAGUIRE
MUSICAL STAGING BY WAYNE CILENTO DIRECTED BY JOE MANTELLO
WICKED, the smash blockbuster hit, kicks off The Smith Center for the Performing Arts’ 2012-2013 Broadway-subscription series with a limited six-week engagement with performances scheduled from August 29 – October 7.
Groups of 20 or more can purchase tickets to WICKED now by visiting www.thesmithcenter.com/wickedgroups or by calling (702) 749-2348.
Current Broadway Las Vegas season ticket holders will have guaranteed seats to this smash-hit musical when renewing their subscription for the 2012-2013 season. Renewals for Broadway Las Vegas will begin in early April.
Individual tickets for WICKED will go on sale May 19 and will be exclusively available at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts box office at 361 Symphony Park Avenue beginning at 7:00 a.m. At 10:00 a.m., any remaining tickets will be available for purchase online at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts by calling (702) 982-7805 or by visiting www.thesmithcenter.com. There is an 8-ticket limit per guest.
Additional details surrounding the WICKED on-sale event will be announced at a later date.
Due to pre-existing sales to subscribers and groups, there is a limited inventory of WICKED tickets to start with. Patrons are urged to purchase their tickets to WICKED early.
“The world-wide phenomenon WICKED has been a fan favorite and it is only fitting that it will open our Broadway Las Vegas series,” said Myron Martin, president and CEO of The Smith Center. “WICKED truly offers guests world-class entertainment and we are thrilled to bring a successful Broadway production to the residents of Southern Nevada.”
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 best-selling 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire. WICKED is set to make its Las Vegas premiere starting August 29.
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, winner of 35 major awards, including a Grammy® Award and 3 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, 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.
Called “a cultural phenomenon” by Variety, WICKED continues to thrill audiences around the world. There are currently seven productions of WICKED worldwide: New York; London; Japan; Holland; Australian/Asian Tour; and two concurrent North American National Tours.
Grammy® Award-Winning Cast recording available on Decca Broadway. For more information about WICKED log on to www.wickedthemusical.com.
About The Smith Center for the Performing Arts:
Located in downtown’s 61-acre urban development, Symphony Park, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts is a public/private partnership that is the new centerpiece of cultural life in Las Vegas, offering a blend of performances by resident companies, as well as first-run touring attractions. The 5-acre cultural campus features three performance spaces, the 2,050-seat main performance area in Reynolds Hall and Boman Pavilion’s 258-seat Cabaret Jazz and 250-seat Troesh Studio Theater, and is home to a 1.7 acre park, which can be used for outdoor concerts. Additionally, the campus will be the new location of the Discovery Children’s Museum. The Smith Center is the cultural center for Las Vegas – a place that educates, entertains and excites the citizens of the Las Vegas community. For more information about The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, please visit www.thesmithcenter.com. Keep up with news and events on Facebook.