Tickets Go On Sale 3/9 for WICKED in Milwaukee

After breaking box office records and selling out in record time in 2010, WICKED, Broadway's biggest blockbuster, will return to Milwaukee's Marcus Center for the Performing Arts on June 12 - July 7. Tickets for the return engagement go on sale Saturday, March 9 at 10:00 am; tickets will be exclusively available at the Marcus Center Box Office at 929 North Water Street, Downtown Milwaukee. Beginning on Sunday, March 10 at 10:00 am, any remaining tickets will be available for purchase by phone at 414-273-7206, online at Ticketmaster.com/wicked or MarcusCenter.org and all Ticketmaster outlets.

Tickets are currently available for groups of 15 or more by calling the Marcus Center Group Sales team at 414-273-2171 ext. 210 or 213.

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.

WICKED will play June 12 - July 7 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. Performances are:

Wednesday, June 12 -7:30 pm
Thursday, June 13 - 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm
Friday, June 14 - 8:00 pm
Saturday, June 15 - 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm
Sunday, June 16 - 1:00 pm and 6:30 pm
Tuesday, June 18 - Thursday, June 20 - 7:30 pm
Friday, June 21 - 8:00 pm
Saturday, June 22 - 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm
Sunday, June 23 - 1:00 pm and 6:30 pm
Tuesday, June 25 - Thursday, June 27 - 7:30 pm
Friday, June 28 - 8:00 pm
Saturday, June 29 - 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm
Sunday, June 30 - 1:00 pm and 6:30 pm
Monday, July 1 - Wednesday, July 3 - 7:30 pm
No Performance on July 4
Friday, July 5 - 8:00 pm
Saturday, July 6 - 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm
Sunday, July 7 - 1:00 pm and 6:30 pm

"We are very pleased that we have secured a return of WICKED for Milwaukee. The 2010 engagement was a huge success not only for the venue, but for the city of Milwaukee as well," said Marcus Center for the Performing Arts President and Chief Executive Officer, Paul Mathews. "We sold nearly every available ticket for the four weeks and over 71,000 patrons experienced the magic of WICKED in Uihlein Hall. We anticipate the demand for tickets will be even stronger for this return engagement."

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.

WICKED has "cast quite a spell" (Washington Post) throughout North America, breaking box office records in every city that it has played, including Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Philadelphia and Boston to name a few.

WICKED has been declared "A Cultural Phenomenon" by Variety and "The Best Musical of the Decade" by Entertainment Weekly. There are currently 7 productions worldwide: New York, London, Holland, Japan, Australia/New Zealand, and two concurrent North American Tours. Globally, WICKED has amassed nearly $2.9 billion in ticket sales and has been seen by 36 million people worldwide in its 9-year history.

WICKED features set design by Tony Award winner Eugene Lee (Ragtime, Show Boat, Candide, Sweeney Todd), costume design by Tony winner Susan Hilferty (Into the Woods, Assassins), lighting design by Tony nominee Kenneth Posner (The Coast of Utopia, Hairspray) and sound design by Tony Meola (The Lion King). Stephen Oremus is the show's musical director. Orchestrations are by William David Brohn, with dance arrangements by James Lynn Abbott.