'Wicked' Welcomes Back Kassebaum and Houdyshell

The Broadway musical WICKED will welcome two former cast members back to the blockbuster hit this spring.  Beginning Wednesday, May 14, Kendra Kassebaum will return to the role of Glinda the Good Witch and beginning Tuesday, June 17, Jayne Houdyshell will return to the role of Madame Morrible.

Kendra Kassebaum has portrayed Glinda on Broadway and on National Tour (Helen Hayes Award nomination).  She recently appeared in Adam Bock's off-Broadway comedy The Receptionist (opposite Ms. Houdyshell) and in the Tony Award-winning production of Assassins, both directed by Joe Mantello. Ms. Kassebaum was also seen in the Broadway production of Rent. Tours include A Chorus Line and Grease.  Regionally, Kendra starred as Amy in Company at the 5th Avenue Theatre. Other regional credits include Actors Theatre of Louisville, ACT, Ordway, Florida Stage and the St. Louis MUNY. Recordings include the Grammy-nominated cast album of Assassins. www.kendrakassebaum.com.

Jayne Houdyshell is currently co-starring in the Paul Rudnick comedy The New Century at Lincoln Center Theatre and was recently seen in Adam Bock's off-Broadway comedy The Receptionist (opposite Ms. Kassebaum).  She appeared on Broadway in Well, for which she received a 2006 Tony nomination, Theatre World Award, and AEA Richard Seff Award.  Off-Broadway credits include Well, Public Theater (2004 Obie Award and Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Lucille Lortel Award nominations); The Pain and the Itch at Playwrights Horizons; Much Ado About Nothing at NYSF; Fighting Words with Underwood; True Love at Zipper Theatre; Attempts on Her Life at SoHo Rep. Regional: The Pain and the Itch, Steppenwolf Theatre (2005 Jefferson Award); The Clean House, Wilma Theater (2005 Barrymore Award); McCarter Theatre, American Conservatory Theater, Yale Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Missouri Repertory Theatre, Geva, Syracuse Stage and many others. Film: Garden State, Changing Lanes, Trust the Man, Things That Hang From Trees. Television: "Conviction," "Law & Order," "Third Watch."

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 Witch.

Called "Broadway's biggest blockbuster" by The New York Times and "a phenomenon that keeps growing" by the Los Angeles Times, WICKED has been sold out at virtually every performance since opening on Broadway.  Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, WICKED has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, book by Winnie Holzman, and musical staging by Wayne Cilento.  The production is directed by Joe Mantello.  The Grammy Award-winning original cast recording of WICKED, produced by Stephen Schwartz for Decca Broadway,
has been one of the fastest selling Broadway recordings of recent years and has been certified 'Platinum' by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Tickets are available through Ticketmaster www.ticketmaster.com.  For more information, visit www.wickedthemusical.com.  WICKED is performed at the Gershwin Theatre, 222 West 51st Street, between Broadway and 8th Avenue.