RISE & SHINE FELLOW BROADWAY FANS!!! We are only 1 more day till Broadway’s biggest night of the year. Can you believe tomorrow is the 72nd Annual Tony Awards?! As promised, we are proud to present the # 1 show on our TOP 40 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN. So here we go?
To wrap up NEW YORK BROADWAY TOURS? TOP 40 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN as the # 1 show, we have one of the most spectacular shows ever in Broadway history that still BEWITCHES audiences everywhere. This show takes you to that beautiful and magical land beyond the Rainbow called Oz and you learn about 2 unique figures (a blonde and a green faced girl) that became friends and went on to become Good and (not so) Evil. This is of course Broadway?s biggest blockbuster?. WICKED The Musical. Based on the book by Gregory Maguire and a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, the show features a score by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman.
From the 2004 telecast, Tony winners Idina Menzel as ?Elphaba?, Kristin Chenoweth as ?Glinda?, and members of the original Broadway cast perform the show?s Act 1 finale and signature anthem DEFYING GRAVITY.
WICKED was first conceived by top Hollywood producer Marc Platt who was adapting Gregory Maguire’s acclaimed novel WICKED: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST Universal Pictures. At the time, composer Stephen Schwartz was reading the novel and knew that the story would be a unique musical. However after finding out the rights were given already, Schwartz thought of an “impassioned plea” to Marc Platt to collaborate together on the production. Fell in love with it being a stage musical adaptation instead, Platt signed on as joint producer of the project with Universal Studios and David Stone. In addition, Schwartz collaborated with book writer Emmy winner Winnie Holzman expanding the flow of the story about the political, social and ethical commentary on the nature of good and evil in the Land of Oz. They took inspiration from both the L. Frank Baum books and the beloved 1939 film version of The Wizard of Oz. With director Joe Mantello and Choreographer Wayne Cilento on board, the show went into many stages of readings and workshops.
The show originally had its world premiere in San Francisco at the Curran Theatre in the Spring of 2003 earning initial mixed reviews (due to technical problems and several moments that confused the audiences). Following the world premiere out of town tryout as the company headed back to New York City, they spent 8 weeks updating the scripts with scenes being cut, new dialogue and songs written, and 4 parts being recast including the role of “The Wizard of Oz” himself.
WICKED officially opened on Broadway in the Fall of 2003 (opening the day before Halloween) at the Gershwin Theatre earning rave reviews and it broke its box office records. The Broadway production continues to run at the Gershwin and sell out every single night. It’s made over $1 billion dollars ever since. The show will be celebrating its 15th Anniversary this October. The original cast consisted of…
Tony winner Idina Menzel as “Elphaba”,
Tony and Emmy winner Kristin Chenoweth as “Glinda”,
Tony and Oscar winner Joel Grey as “The Wizard of Oz”,
Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz as Fiyero,
Tony nominee Carole Shelley as “Madame Morrible”,
Tony nominee Christopher Fitzgerald as “Boq”,
Michelle Federer Butz as “Nessarose”,
and William Youmans as “Dr. Dillamond”.
With the Broadway production still open, there have been a huge lineup of numerous replacements on Broadway.
In addition to its Broadway success, WICKED went on to become a worldwide Blockbuster hit with productions everywhere from Chicago, 2 National Tours, London’s West End, Japan, Germany, Holland, Mexico City, and much more.
WICKED was nominated for 10 Tony Awards in 2004 winning 3 including Best Leading Actress in a Musical (for Idina Menzel). It went to receive many more Awards as well including the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater album.
Isn’t this show so THRILLIFYING?!!
Well, that’s it!! We hope you all enjoyed our selection of Broadway shows on our TOP 40 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN. Tomorrow is going to be a really exciting evening. Be sure to tune in to the 72nd Annual Tony Awards tomorrow night at 8pm eastern standard time / 7pm central time. The ceremony will be coming to you live from Radio City Music Hall hosted by Tony and Grammy nominated superstars Josh Groban and Sara Bareilles. In addition, we will be following along and tweeting throughout the ceremony here on social media.
And of course, be sure to join us on one of our Walking Tours if you are interested in learning about some of the greatest Tony winning and nominated shows from the past years. PLEASE BOOK YOUR TICKETS!!
We cannot wait to do this countdown next year as we countdown 365 days till Tonys 2019!!!
WE <3 BROADWAY!!
#TonyAwards #CountdownToTheTonys #BroadwaysBiggestNight #NYBTTonyAwardsCountdown #NewYorkBroadwayTours #Top40Countdown #ThisIsBroadway
wicked tony awards
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