WICKED Tour to Stop at The Smith Center in 2012-2013 Broadway Series

WICKED, the smash hit musical, will kick off The Smith Center for the Performing Arts' 2012-2013 Broadway-subscription series with a limited six-week engagement. After breaking box office records and selling out across the country, WICKED has added The Smith Center to its 2012-2013 tour, with performances scheduled for August 29 - October 7, 2012.

The on-sale date will be announced at a later date.

"This was a long time coming for us and we are elated that the first event we are announcing is such an extraordinary production," says The Smith Center for the Performing Arts President and CEO, MyRon Martin. "It is a great honor to be able to host the national tour of WICKED and introduce the Las Vegas community to this musical phenomenon."

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.

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.

Called "a cultural phenomenon" by Variety and named "the defining musical of the decade" by The New York Times, WICKED continues to thrill audiences around the world. There are currently seven productions of WICKED worldwide, including two North American tours, a Broadway production, London production, a Japanese-language production, a German-language production and Australian production. A Dutch-language production of WICKED will open in 2011.

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.

Grammy Award-Winning Cast recording available on Decca Broadway. For more information about WICKED log on to www.wickedthemusical.com.

Casting for the forthcoming national tour stop will be announced at a later date.

About The Smith Center

The Smith Center for the Performing Arts is a public/private partnership that will become the centerpiece of cultural life in Las Vegas offering a blend of performances by resident companies as well as first-run touring attractions. The 5-acre cultural campus will feature three performance spaces including the 2,050-seat Reynolds Hall with refined acoustics and the Boman Pavilion housing a cabaret jazz space and a studio theater, all complemented by the DISCOVERY Children's Museum. The Smith Center will be a living room for Las Vegas; a place that will educate, entertain and excite the citizens of our great community. Located in downtown's 61-acre urban development, Symphony Park, The Smith Center broke ground in May of 2009 with a ceremonial carillon bell casting and ringing. In February 2010, it celebrated its "Topping Out" with the raising of 50 tons of steel and is projected to open in March 2012. For more information about The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, please visit www.thesmithcenter.com. Keep up with news and events on Facebook.