WICKED Online Auction Offers A Chance To Meet Gregory Maguire & More 5/21

Between 12 midnight on May 10, 2009 and 9:00 pm on May 21, 2009, fans of "WICKED," author Gregory Maguire, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum far and wide can bid on a chance to win an exclusive "WICKED"-filled prize package through the Isabella Stewart Gardner Musuem and CMarket.com. In its first first online auction-available to bid on online at http://gardnermuseum.cmarket.com through May 21st at 9:00 PM-the Gardner's "WICKED" prize package includes an exclusive opportunity to join author Gregory Maguire for a private, gourmet lunch for four alongside the museum's lush interior courtyard garden, and learn more about the Gardner's inspiring effect on his work. In addition, the winning bidder will receive four orchestra seats to any production of the musical Wicked in the world (with eight companies to choose from: in New York, San Francisco, London, Tokyo, Melbourne, Stuttgart, and two American touring companies), as well as autographed copies of all three of the books currently in The Wicked Years series: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West; Son of a Witch; and A Lion Among Men-all of which have been New York Times bestsellers. Also included is a promised autographed volume of the fourth and final volume of The Wicked Years upon its publication in hardcover, several years hence.

Gregory Maguire is the award-winning author of four novels for adults and more than a dozen novels for children. His series The Wicked Years includes international bestseller Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which has been adapted as a Tony-award-winning Broadway musical. Mr. Maguire spent time at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum as an Artist-in-Residence in 1994, during which time he worked with the museum's education program and young children at the museum's neighborhood partnership schools. Maguire remains a close friend of the Gardner, currently serving on the museum's Board of Overseers.

The "WICKED" auction will be open for bidding online at http://gardnermuseum.cmarket.com beginning at midnight on the night of May 9th (officially, 12:00 am on May 10th) through Thursday, May 21st at 9:00 pm. Bidding will start at $2,500, and all proceeds from the auction will help to support arts programming at the Gardner. Additional information about the museum's online auction is available to the public by contacting the museum at 617-391-3939.

The "WICKED" auction will be publicly announced at the museum's annual benefit featuring remarks by Gregory Maguire and a performance by renowned violinist Joshua Bell on the evening of May 9th. The auction is also being promoted through "WICKED" social networking and fan sites including Facebook and Twitter and on the official Wicked (www.wickedthemusical.com) and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (www.gardnermuseum.org) websites.

Prizes must be redeemed within six months of the end of the auction. The Gardner and Mr. Maguire will coordinate the date of the lunch with the winner directly according to their schedules and preference.

Bestselling author Gregory Maguire received his Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Tufts University in 1990. He is the award-winning author of four novels for adults and more than a dozen novels for children. Since 1986, Mr. Maguire has been co-director and founding board member of Children's Literature New England, Inc., a nonprofit that focuses attention on the significance of literature in the lives of children. He has been the subject of a profile in the Sunday New York Times Magazine, has performed original fiction on NPR's All Things Considered, and, with his family, was recently featured on Oprah.

According to the website: www.gregorymaguire.com/books/wicked.html: "When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil? [In this book,] Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability, and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil."

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum extends its sincere gratitude to Gregory Maguire for donating his time and lending his support to the museum through this auction and his ongoing work as a museum Overseer.

ISABELLA Stewart Gardner MUSEUM • 280 The Fenway Boston MA 02115 • Tue.-Sun., 11 am-5 pm • General and "After Hours" admission: Adults $12; Seniors $10; Students $5; Free for members, children under 18 and all named "Isabella" • $2 off admission with a same-day Museum of Fine Arts, Boston • Info Line: 617.566.1401 • Box Office: 617 278 5156 • gardnermuseum.org •

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is a work of art itself. Housed in a Venetian-inspired palace, turned inside-out and surrounding an ever-changing courtyard garden, the museum's collection spans more than 30 centuries and features artworks by Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, Degas and Sargent. Continuing the legacy of its founder, changing contemporary and historic exhibitions, the oldest museum music program in the country, seasonal courtyard garden displays, annual free days, visiting contemporary artists and innovative school and community partnerships enrich the Permanent Collection and provide ongoing inspiration for all.

The museum's Artists-in-Residence program continues Isabella Gardner's legacy of patronage of the arts. Created in 1992 to revitalize creative thinking in the museum's galleries and directed by Curator of Contemporary Art Pieranna Cavalchini, the Artists-in-Residence program supports artists' needs for contemplation and an engaging environment. Visiting artists-ranging from painters, photographers, sculptors, composers, installation and performance artists, storytellers and writers-live and draw inspiration for new thinking and artistic creation amidst thirty centuries of art and inspiration. Visiting artists often return to present new work and/or spend time with young students from the museum's neighboring partnership schools during their residencies. The museum has welcomed more than 60 visiting artists to the museum since the program's creation.
The Artist-in-Residence program is made possible, in part, by the Nimoy Foundation and generous individuals.
The Gardner Museum receives operating support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

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