Jake Boyd News

If audience appeal is any indication of a show's worth, WICKED casts a spell that has created a multimillion-dollar treasure to the musical theatre world.

The Broadway blockbuster WICKED is easily one of the most popular musicals of the past several decades, and I write that without any pun intended.

With a book by Winnie Holzman and music and lyrics by the great and powerful Wizard of Broadway, Stephen Schwartz, Wicked has won over 50 major awards and, as Variety stated, it truly is 'A Cultural Phenomenon." All the elements of great theater conspire and come together in this gravity defying show. Playing now through April 16, Wicked is guaranteed to thrust you into the stratosphere of sheer artistry and visual delight even if you've seen it before and especially if this is your first time.

When it comes down to it, trying to convince rabid or even casual fans of the hit Broadway blockbuster WICKED into seeing the show again (and again… and again) when it comes to their town really doesn't take much of a struggle. No matter how many times over the years that the Broadway blockbuster has landed in our own backyard, the demand for tickets is still high (hence the often long engagements the show has on our stages). Now finishing up the final week of its national tour's latest return engagement at Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through March 6, the 'popular' musical continues to be a must-see favorite, and shows no signs of slowing down. So, 15 years later... is WICKED still worth seeing at a city near you for the umpteenth time these days? Absolutely! And here are 10 pretty good reasons why...

The WICKED tour is thrilled to welcome Emily Koch as Elphaba, Amanda Jane Cooper as Glinda, Megan Masako Haley as Nessarose and Sam Seferian as Boq at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa tonight, February 17, through March 6, 2016.

The WICKED tour is thrilled to welcome Emily Koch as Elphaba, Amanda Jane Cooper as Glinda, Megan Masako Haley as Nessarose and Sam Seferian as Boq at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa February 17 - March 6, 2016.

The national tour of WICKED continues to break records! The show played its highest grossing week in North American Touring history with a final gross of $3,285,606 for the nine performance week ending January 3, 2016 at St. Louis' Fabulous Fox Theatre.

Ghostlight Records and Two River Theater announce the release of the Original Cast Recording of the new musical BE MORE CHILL, with physical CDs in stores and online today, December 18.

WICKED is pure spectacle, or to quote Glinda the Good Witch herself, it's a 'thrill-ifying' experience that both dazzles and delights, backed by terrific performances and eye-popping scenic design and special effects. It's a prequel of sorts to L. Frank's Baum's Wizard of Oz series of books, that is unexpected, and infused with a positive message about accepting people for who they are and not how they appear. The current touring production playing currently gracing the stage of The Fox Theatre is always a cool show to see, especially if you bring along a youngster who's familiar with the story, but always had questions about why there were good and bad witches

The WICKED tour recently announced that it will welcome Emily Koch as Elphaba, Amanda Jane Cooper as Glinda, Megan Masako Haley as Nessarose and Sam Seferian as Boq beginning tonight, December 9, at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis.

The WICKED Tour has announced that it will welcome Emily Koch as Elphaba, Amanda Jane Cooper as Glinda, Megan Masako Haley as Nessarose and Sam Seferian as Boq beginning Wednesday, December 9 at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis.

Wicked, the winner of over 100 international awards, opened this week at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. I was lucky enough to attend Thursday night's performance which capped off by a standing ovation and thunderous applause.

Ghostlight Records and Two River Theater have released the Original Cast Recording of the new musical BE MORE CHILL in digital formats today, October 30. Check out a special 'Making of the Cast Album' video -- featuring several songs along with exclusive footage of the recording session, the production and interviews with the cast and creative team -- below! The international digital release will be on Friday, November 13; with physical CDs in stores and online Friday, December 18.

Ghostlight Records and Two River Theater announce the release of the Original Cast Recording of the new musical BE MORE CHILL, with a U.S. Digital Release today, October 30; and international digital release on Friday, November 13; with physical CDs in stores and online Friday, December 18.

Ghostlight Records and Two River Theater announce the release of the Original Cast Recording of the new musical BE MORE CHILL, with a U.S. Digital Release on Friday, October 30; and international digital release on Friday, November 13; with physical CDs in stores and online Friday, December 18.

The WICKED Tour will welcome Jake Boyd as Fiyero, Wendy Worthington as Madame Morrible and Stuart Zagnit as The Wizard beginning Wednesday, August 26 at ASU Gammage in Tempe. 

Vassar & New York Stage and Film, whose 31st Powerhouse Season is underway in Poughkeepsie, have announced additional casting for their summer collaboration, running through August 2.

Ghostlight Records will record the Original Cast Album of Be More Chill, the new musical which recently had its world premiere production at Two River Theater, Red Bank, NJ. Be More Chill has music and lyrics by Joe Iconis, book by Joe Tracz and is based on the novel by Ned Vizzini. The show was directed by Stephen Brackett with Chase Brock serving as choreographer. Also available on Ghostlight is the cast recording of Things To Ruin - The Songs of Joe Iconis and The Joe Iconis Rock and Roll Jamboree. To sign up for updates on Be More Chill, visit www.sh-k-boom.com/be-more-chill.

See 'Be More Chill' now at the Two River Theater in Red Bank through June 28th. This is an extraordinary new musical that features a very talented cast.