WICKED Returns To Nashville 10/19-11/6

After breaking box office records and selling out in record time in 2009, WICKED, Broadway's biggest blockbuster will return to Nashville's Tennessee Performing Arts Center,
October 19 through November 6. Tickets for the return engagement go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, June 17 and are available at the TPAC box office at 505 Deaderick Street (downtown) or the new Satellite box office in the Mall at Green Hills, located at the mall's concierge desk, near J. Crew and Express. Order online by visiting tpac.org or by calling 615-782-4040.

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) 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 35 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.

WICKED will play October 19-November 6, 2011 at TPAC's Andrew Jackson Hall. Performance times are as follows: Tuesday through Thursday evenings at 7:30 p.m. (with the inclusion of one Thursday matinee performance at 2:00 p.m. on October 20); Friday evenings at 8:00 p.m.; Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.; and Sundays at 1:00 p.m and 6:30 p.m. Ticket prices range from $40-$145

"We are delighted to bring back Wicked as a special this season," said Kathleen O'Brien, President and Chief Executive Officer. "When Wicked was here just two years ago the mega-hit was our biggest box office success of all time. Audiences were completely enchanted by this production and since then we have so many requests for a return engagement. And Wicked has such a far reach that not only draws from the local area but also from the surrounding states, so its impact on Nashville and Tennessee is huge. Folks just love its spectacular look and feel, Stephen Schwartz's music, and the fascinating story about the journey of characters re-imagined in Gregory Maguire's novel. We do expect to sell out again and urge anyone who wants to see the show to purchase their tickets right away."

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.

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 and named "the defining musical of the decade" by The New York Times, WICKED continues to thrill audiences around the world. There are currently seven productions of WICKED worldwide, including two North American tours, a Broadway 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 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 (The Coast of Utopia, Hairspray) and sound design by Tony Meola (The Lion King). Stephen Oremus is the show's musical director. Orchestrations are by William David Brohn, with dance arrangements by James Lynn Abbott.

Grammy Award-Winning Cast recording available on Decca Broadway. For more information about WICKED, log on to www.wickedthemusical.com.

*As a note to all calendar listing editors, the title of the show is WICKED (not WICKED: A New Musical or WICKED, the untold story of the witches of Oz).