Mauzey and Dodd Lead WICKED in San Francisco; Opens 6/29

WICKED veterans Marcie Dodd and Alli Mauzey will be San Francisco's new witches in the hit musical beginning June 29, 2010. This will be a reunion for Dodd and Mauzey in their roles as Elphaba and Glinda respectively, and will mark the first time the two actresses are back on stage opposite each other since they played the roles on Broadway from November 2008 - February 2009. The actresses will take a final bow with WICKED when it closes on September 5, 2010.

Marcie Dodd recently launched WICKED's acclaimed Second National Tour in the role of Elphaba, having previously performed the role on Broadway, with the Los Angeles company, and with the First National Tour. Dodd's other credits include HAIRSPRAY, WE WILL ROCK YOU, GREASE, and multiple performing and recording projects with Universal Studios and Disney Entertainment.

Alli Mauzey recently returned to the Broadway company of WICKED as Glinda, and then played the title role in CINDERELLA alongside the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. She also starred as the love-crazed Lenora in the musical CRY-BABY on Broadway, for which she won the Theatre World Award and was nominated for a Drama League Award. Mauzey also originated the role of Lenora at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, where she won the Theatre Critics Circle Award. She played Brenda in HAIRSPRAY on Broadway and the first national tour.

Marcie Dodd replaces Eden Espinosa and Alli Mauzey replaces Kendra Kassebaum in the San Francisco company of WICKED.

The other principal roles in WICKED are performed by Bay Area actress Jody Gelb, who plays Madame Morrible, and Tom McGowan, who plays the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. WICKED also features Cliffton Hall as Fiyero, Paul Slade Smith as Doctor Dillamond, DeeDee Magno Hall as Nessarose, and Etai BenShlomo as Boq.

WICKED, "the San Francisco-born musical that has conquered the world" (San Francisco Chronicle) , and which was recently called "the defining musical of the decade" by The New York Times, has been seen by over 24 million people worldwide. The show's enormous popularity was instantly apparent in San Francisco--immediately after it opened, WICKED broke the one-week San Francisco box office record, surpassing the record previously held by THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Over one million patrons have seen WICKED in San Francisco. Upon closing, WICKED will have played 660 performances and 12 previews.

WICKED made its world premiere in San Francisco on May 28, 2003. From these Bay Area roots WICKED went on to become a world-wide phenomenon, winning 35 major awards including the Grammy Award and three Tony Awards.  Now in its seventh year on Broadway, WICKED currently has eight productions across the globe: in New York, San Francisco, London, Germany, Japan, Australia and two North American Tours.

Declared "The Best Musical of the Decade" by Entertainment Weekly and "A Cultural Phenomenon" by Variety, WICKED is based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and a book by Winnie Holzman. The production is directed by Joe Mantello with musical staging by Wayne Cilento. WICKED is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone.

WICKED features set design by Tony Award winner Eugene Lee, costume design by Tony Award winner Susan Hilferty, lighting design by Kenneth Posner and sound design by Tony Meola. The orchestrations are by William David Brohn, with dance arrangements by James Lynn Abbott.

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.

Tickets for WICKED are on sale for all performances through September 5 and range in price from $30 to $99. Tickets can be purchased online at shnsf.com and ticketmaster.com/wicked, through Ticketmaster Charge-By-Phone 415- 512-7770 and 800-982-2787, at all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers and at the Orpheum Theatre Box Office (1192 Market at 8th St., Mon-Sat 10AM- 6PM). Premium packages are also available for all performances. Groups of 20 or more may order by calling Group Sales at (415) 551-2020.

Performances of WICKED are held Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8 PM, with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 PM. There are select Wednesday matinees at 2 PM and select Sunday evening performances at 7:30 PM.

For more information about WICKED at the Orpheum Theatre, please visit wickedthemusical.com/sf or shnsf.com. For information about WICKED world-wide, please visit wickedthemusical.com.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.