Universal CitiWalk Hosts 'Wannabe Wicked' On 7/30 and 8/6

 As part of its free "Summer Block Party" entertainment series, Universal CityWalk is partnering with the blockbuster musical WICKED to present "Wannabe Wicked," a competitive performance series that will award an aspiring performer with a walk-on appearance in the Los Angeles production.

Each "Wannabe Wicked" Wednesday performance will showcase ten selected performers who have been invited to sing before a live Universal CityWalk audience, with competition dates on Wednesdays July 30 and August 6 at 7 pm.

On Wednesday, August 20, the finalists will perform again, and a winner will be selected and will win a walk-on appearance in WICKED.  The public is invited and admission is free to all of these events.

Performers who wish to take part in the "Wannabe Wicked" competition can still participate and are encouraged to visit www.CityWalkHollywood.com/Wicked.  They'll be directed to upload and submit their online video performance entry, selecting one song to perform from a list of five suggested songs:  "Popular," "Defying Gravity," "Dancing Through Life," "For Good" or "The Wizard and I."

The online performances of WICKED's most memorable songs will be judged weekly by theater industry professionals on the basis of vocal quality, performance delivery, vocal accuracy and overall performance.

There is a $10 processing fee to submit the online audition.  Deadline for submission is 5pm PST has been extended to July 31.  Additional information, including dates, rules and regulations and audition video requirements, is located at www.CityWalkHollywood.com/Wicked.

"Wannabe Wicked" Wednesdays are part of CityWalk's "Summer Block Party" featuring free entertainment seven nights a week including live bands, the popular free movie night and talent competitions from June 20 through August 31.

WICKED, the smash hit musical that the New York Times called, "one of the most successful shows in Broadway history" continues its long engagement at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood through January 11, 2009.  Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, WICKED's music and lyrics is composed by Stephen Schwartz and includes a  book written by Winnie Holzman.  The production is directed by Joe Mantello, with musical staging by Wayne Cilento.  WICKED is a production of Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone.

Winner of 20 major awards including the Grammy® Award and three Tony Awards®, WICKED is the untold story of the witches of Oz. 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.

WICKED tickets are on sale at www.ticketmaster.com/wicked, by phone at 213-365-3500 or 714-740-7878, in person at the Pantages Theatre Box Office, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., or at any Ticketmaster outlet.  Groups of fifteen (15) or more can call 866-755-3075 or online at www.nedgroups.com.

Universal Studios Hollywood, The Entertainment Capital of L.A., includes a full-day, movie-based theme park and Studio Tour; the CityWalk entertainment, shopping and dining complex; the Universal CityWalk Cinemas; and the Gibson Amphitheatre concert and special event venue.  The theme park features such groundbreaking attractions as "Revenge of the Mummy™ - The Ride," "Shrek 4-D™," "Jurassic Park® - The Ride," the world-renowned Studio Tour, which takes guests behind-the-scenes of such landmark TV and movie locations and sets as Steven Spielberg's "War of the Worlds," and the new mega-attraction, "The Simpsons Ride."

Universal Studios Hollywood (www.UniversalStudiosHollywood.com) is a unit of Universal Parks & Resorts, a division of Universal Studios, a part of NBC Universal.  NBC Universal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.  Formed in May of 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks.  NBC Universal is 80% owned by General Electric, with 20% controlled by Vivendi.

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