WICKED Tickets on Sale

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Veronica Corpuz
412-471-6082
corpuz@pgharts.org

PNC Broadway Across America – Pittsburgh

A division of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust





BROADWAY’S BIGGEST BLOCKBUSTER RETURNS TO PITTSBURGH’S BENEDUM CENTER, SEPTEMBER 7 – OCTOBER 2

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SINGLE TICKETS ON SALE, MONDAY, MAY 23

WICKED

BY STEPHEN SCHWARTZ AND WINNIE HOLZMAN

BASED ON THE NOVEL BY GREGORY MAGUIRE

PITTSBURGH, PA – After breaking box office records and selling out in record time in 2008, WICKED, Broadway’s biggest blockbuster, will return to Pittsburgh, with performances at the Benedum Center, from September 7 through October 2. Single tickets will go on sale Monday, May 23, at 7:00 a.m. EST in person at the Box Office at Theater Square, 655 Penn Avenue; and 9:00 a.m. EST by phone (412) 456-4800 and online at wicked.pgharts.org. WICKED is a season special, part of the PNC Broadway Across America-Pittsburgh series, presented by The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Broadway Across America and Pittsburgh Symphony.

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.

Single tickets for WICKED, on sale Monday, May 23, at 7:00 a.m. EST, are $35.25-$138.25. The performance schedule is as follows: Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Friday at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday at 2:00 and 8:00 p.m.; Sunday at 1:00 and 6:30 p.m. On Thursday, September 8, there will be a 2 p.m. matinee.

PNC Broadway Across America – Pittsburgh subscribers may purchase tickets in advance from The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust by calling412-471-1390. Groups of 20 or more may also purchase tickets in advance by calling 412-471-6930. For information, visit wicked.pgharts.org.

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.

Grammy Award-Winning Cast recording is 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).
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Award Winning Next to Normal Coming in April

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TICKETS ON SALE NOW FOR

PULITZER PRIZE AND TONY AWARD-WINNING

NEXT TO NORMAL

PITTSBURGH, PA (Feb. 23, 2011) – PNC Broadway Across America – Pittsburgh is thrilled to announce the smash hit Broadway musical and Tony and Pulitzer Prize-Winning Next to Normal is playing at the Benedum Center for a limited engagement April 5-10, 2011. Individual tickets ($21-$57) for Next to Normal are available at the Box Office at Theater Square, online at pgharts.org and by calling 412-456-6666. Groups of 10+ may purchase tickets by calling 412-471-6930.

Alice Ripley, who received the 2009 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning Next to Normal, reprises her acclaimed performance in the musical’s 36-week multi-city North American tour.

Next to Normal also features Asa Somers (Dan), Curt Hansen (Gabe), Emma Hunton (Natalie), Jeremy Kushnier (Dr. Madden/Dr. Fine) and Preston Sadleir (Henry).

With a thrilling contemporary score, Next to Normal is an emotional powerhouse of a musical about a family trying to take care of themselves and each other.

Winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and three 2009 Tony Awards, Next to Normal features music by Tom Kitt, book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey, musical staging by Sergio Trujillo, and direction by Michael Greif. The creative team also includes Mark Wendland (set design), Jeff Mahshie (costume design), Kevin Adams (lighting design), and Brian Ronan (sound design). Musical direction is by Bryan Perri, orchestrations are by Michael Starobin and Tom Kitt, and vocal arrangements by AnnMarie Milazzo.

In 2009, Next to Normal was chosen as “one of the year’s ten best” by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Time Out New York, New York Daily News, The Bergen Record, and NY1 – more than any other musical from that season.

Next to Normal has had a surprising and highly unlikely route to Broadway. The musical originally opened at Off-Broadway’s Second Stage Theatre on February 13, 2008. The producer, David Stone, who had been guiding the musical since 2005, took the unexpected step of bringing the show to Washington D.C.’s Arena Stage where it was significantly reworked, and then back to New York and to Broadway, where it opened to rave reviews on April 15, 2009. This unusual trajectory from a New York Off-Broadway premiere to an out-of-town regional theatre engagement and then back to New York is unprecedented.

Ben Brantley of The New York Times calls Next to Normal “a brave, breathtaking musical. A work of muscular grace and power. It is something much more than a feel-good musical; it is a feel-everything musical.” Peter Travers of Rolling Stone raves, “Rock is alive and rolling like thunder in Next to Normal. It is the best musical of the season by a mile. Next time you think the Broadway musical is dead, head off to Next to Normal. It’ll pin you to your seat.” And Peter Marks of The Washington Post calls it “a moving, blisteringly honest, and inordinately powerful new musical. It is stocked with beautiful songs that get to the heart of the story – and simply get to the heart. Next to Normal strikes a blow for the American musical’s future each night.”

Next to Normal is produced by David Stone, James L. Nederlander, Barbara Whitman, Patrick Catullo, and Second Stage Theatre.

Individual tickets for Next to Normal range in price from $21 - $57 and are available at the Box Office at Theater Square (655 Penn Avenue), The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Ticket Line at 412-456-6666, and online at www.pghatrts.org. Groups of 10 or more may receive a discount by calling 412-471-6930. Next to Normal is part of PNC Broadway Across America – Pittsburgh series, presented by The Pittsburgh Cultural, Pittsburgh Symphony and PNC Broadway Across America.

The April 5-10 performance schedule for Next to Normal is as follows: Tuesday-Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday at 1 and 6:30 p.m.
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For more information about Next to Normal, please visit http://www.nexttonormal.com/ or www.pgharts.org