As if the award winning musical based on Gregory Maguire's novel of the same name couldn't get any better, Wicked is adding an Academy award winner to its San Francisco show. Patty Duke, who earned the small golden statute in 1962 for her role in the Helen Keller tale The Miracle Worker, is adopting the role of Madame Morrible in the production at Orpheum Theatre.
Duke, who is replacing Carol Kane, begins her limited engagement role March 24th, just two days after Kane's last performance. San Francisco's Wicked also stars Teal Wicks as Elphaba, the green faced, misunderstood witch, Kendra Kassebaum as the bubblegum pop princess Glinda and David Garrison as the all-mighty and powerful wizard; the rest of the company also includes Nicolas Dromard as Fiyero, Tom Flynn as Dr. Dillamond, Deedee Magno Hall as Nessarose and Eddy Rioseco as Boq. Kane's return to the stage was always openly limited as the San Francisco show just opened eight weeks ago, but as Wicked tickets continue to be a hot item, it's clear that the Bay Area remains fond of him no matter the process it takes to get there.
San Francisco saw Wicked's world premiere at the Curran Theatre, May 28, 2003, with critical and commercial acclaim. With it's return, the city is hailing it as "perfectly entertaining and perfectly thrilling," according to the San Francisco Chronicle; "This is one beautiful homecoming! This astonishingly beautiful musical is welcomed home with a real, deserved and sincere standing ovation," the Contra Costa Times noted upon its return. Even San Francisco's Mayor Gavin Newsom announced September 26 "Wicked Day in San Francisco" as the show returned home.
Since 2003 the show has become a worldwide phenomenon, making its way to the stage's of Broadway and beyond with a tallied gross of over $1.3 billion and a viewership of over 16 million people worldwide. Currently there are eight companies performing the Stephen Schwartz score and Winnie Holzman book, four in North American (Broadway's Gershwin Theatre, San Francisco's Orpheum, and two touring productions) and four international events, in London, a Japanese produced show in Tokyo, a German language production in Stuttgart and an Australian one in Melbourne.
The company, which also includes in its ensemble Kehau Ahu, Keith A. Bearden, Angela Ara Brown, Marcus Choi, Laura Dysarczyk, Fiama Fricano, Alexa Green, D.J. Gregory, Celisse Henderson, Zach Hensler, Holly Hyman, Jeremy Kocal, Allison Leo, Everth Lopez, Kyle McDaniel, Kristen Faith Oei, Laura Pugliese, Angel Reda, Jonathan Ritter, Phillip Spaeth, Terrance Spencer, Eric Stretch, Tim Talman and Neka Zang, openly welcome that latest "morrible" on stage. Duke, who has been on stage for nearly six decades, starred in her own television show ("The Patty Duke Show") after she reprised her role of Helen Keller in the '60s film followed by her stage portrayal.
Duke has won three Emmys over her years on the small screen as well as two Golden Globes and a People's Choice Award. The critically acclaimed actress is also a celebrated author, with two bestselling books on the shelves, Call Me Anna and A Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic Depression Illness.
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This article is sponsored by StubHub. StubHub.com is a leader in the business of selling Wicked tickets, as well as sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.
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