STRAZ CENTER FORMS ALLIANCE

THE NEDERLANDER ORGANIZATION AND STRAZ CENTER FORM ALLIANCE

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Tampa, Fla. – The Nederlander Organization of New York and the David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa announced today that they will join forces to present the finest Broadway shows in the Tampa Bay area.

Both organizations have long and successful histories and together will continue the impressive growth of Broadway at the Straz Center.

The Nederlander Organization is one of the largest theater owners and producers on Broadway, as well as one of the largest Broadway presenters in the nation.

Celebrating its 25^th anniversary in 2012-2013, the Straz Center is the largest performing arts center south of the Kennedy Center and the largest cultural organization and Broadway presenter in Florida. Its Carol Morsani Hall was ranked in top five most-attended venues in the world under 5,000 seats for the past decade by Billboard magazine.

"I am thrilled by this association with this outstanding organization,” said Judy Lisi, the president and CEO of the Straz Center. "Together we can continue the impressive growth of Broadway shows for our audiences."

Lisi said the new association would involve both pre-Broadway and post-Broadway bookings, as well as advice and consultation on Broadway shows still in development.

The Straz Center presents an annual touring Broadway season, the Bank of America Best of Broadway Tampa Bay series. The 12-13 season includes War Horse, Jekyll & Hyde, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Flashdance, Wicked, Green Day’s American Idiot, Sister Act, Anything Goes and more.

“As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Nederlander organization, we could not be more proud to be associated with an organization as great as the Straz Center,” said James L. Nederlander, president of the Nederlander Organization. “We look forward to our continued growth together”

Opening in 1987, the Straz Center consists of five theaters, three restaurants and the Patel Conservatory. The 335,000 square-foot facility provides an environment for a wide variety of world-class events. In addition to hosting one of the nation’s leading Broadway series’ the Straz Center and is nationally respected for presenting a wide variety of concerts, performances and events and for its resident company Opera Tampa. For more information about the David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts, and its upcoming events, please visit www.strazcenter.org.

Save on tickets to see Godspell next week

GODSPELL is currently playing in the Jaeb Theater through May but we have a special discount for you to see the show next week.

Save $5 off tickets to see the show March 3 or 4 at 7:30 p.m. You can also receive the discount on tickets to the March 6 matinee performance at 2 p.m. Just use promo code SOCIAL when ordering tickets.

Limit 4 tickets. Not applicable to prior sales. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Subject to availability.

One of the biggest off-Broadway and Broadway successes of all time, this modern and newly updated GODSPELL, based on the Gospel According to St. Matthew, is ultimately a story of coming together to create a loving community embraced by all. Featuring a sparkling score by Grammy- and Oscar-winning composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz (Wicked), GODSPELL boasts a string of popular songs, led by the international hit, "Day By Day.”

Wicked offers a special social media discount!

Broadway's biggest blockbuster is flying back to Tampa Feb. 3 for a limited engagement through Feb. 28 only! You can save over $30 on tickets to see WICKED. The Straz Center is offering

SPECIAL PRICING for the following performances:
$63* tickets (regularly $91): Feb. 3 and 4 at 7:30 p.m.
$53* tickets (regularly $91): Feb. 4 at 2 p.m.
Simply use promotion code SOCIAL when ordering tickets online , by phone at 813.229.STAR (7827) or in person at the Straz Center Ticket Office.

Long before that girl from Kansas arrives in Munchkinland, two 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. How these two grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good makes for "the most complete and completely satisfying new musical in a long time" (USA Today).

*Ticket prices do not include applicable service charges. Subject to availability. Offer not valid on Premium seating or previously purchased tickets and cannot be combined with any other offer. Offer may be discontinued at any time.
Great seats are still available. Purchase your tickets today, or you’ll be green with envy.

CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS TO REMAINING PERFORMANCES.

WICKED ANNOUNCES LOTTERY FOR $25 SEATS

You've been asking and here it is the official announcement and rules of the Wicked Lottery:

A day-of-performance lottery for $25 seats will be held daily for WICKED, which will be on stage Feb. 3-28 at the David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts (formerly Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center).

People who are interested in WICKED lottery tickets can enter their name into the lottery drum at the WICKED table by the Straz Center Ticket Office beginning 2.5 hours before show time. No entries will be accepted before that time.

Entries will be accepted until two hours before the show, when names will be drawn for a limited number of seats in varying locations at $25 each, cash only.

This lottery is available only in-person at the Straz Center Ticket Office.
One entry per person. Two-ticket limit per entry. Must be present for entry and drawing to win.

Must present photo ID at ticket office window to purchase.

There you go! Good luck!

-Kari G.

A Wicked Good Time

The time is drawing near, the monkeys are getting closer!

Wicked returns to the Straz Center on Feb. 3 - 28 and we couldn't be more excited! Do you have your tickets yet? If not, Best availability is for weeknights and Sunday evening performances. Purchase your tickets now before they fly away.

Here's a nice little shout out by the Golden Globe winning show Glee in a bit of a "Diva Off."



-Kari G.

Idina Menzel to appear on GLEE?

Fellow bloggers and news media are raving about Idina Menzel and her possible appearance on the new FOX hit Glee.

The show already had an appearance by fellow Wicked star, Kristen Chenoweth, and Jonathan Groff from Spring Awakening has signed up to play in five to six episodes (he costarred with Lea Michele in Spring Awakening).

The word is that Menzel is in negotiations to be on the series when it returns in April. She potentially will play the role of the choir director for New Directions’ rival, Vocal Adrenaline (the lead male vocalist of the group will be Groff).

If the negotiations become a reality, I’m sure many Glee fans will be clutching their remotes. Here’s hoping!

~ Angela P.

Wicked Pre-Sale for Culture Shock Readers!

So Much Happened Before Dorothy Dropped In.

Get the best seats to WICKED before tickets go on sale to the general public on September 19.

Limited engagement begins February 3. And you, gentle readers have the unique chance to order your WICKED tickets NOW to get the best choice of dates and locations before seats go on sale to the general public on Saturday, September 19, at noon. Valid for performances February 3 - 28, 2010.

Long before Dorothy dropped 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. How these unlikely friends end up as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch makes WICKED the most spellbinding new musical in years.

After breaking box office records and selling out in record time in 2006 and 2007, Broadway's biggest blockbuster returns to Tampa for a strictly limited four-week engagement in February.

Click here and enter promotion code: SHOCK

-Kari G.

Special moments in theater

So I was sitting in traffic this morning with the iPod on shuffle and Spring Awakening's "The Mirror-Blue Night" came on. I love this song mainly for the violin instrumental break after Melchior's solo verse. If you've seen the show, that's the exact moment that the hayloft platform starts to rise and the blue lights illuminate like stars on the stage. Live theater magic!

That got me to thinking about other great theater moments where all the elements of a production come together and move you in some amazing way. When Elphaba flies at the end of "Defying Gravity" in Wicked or "Circle of Life" in The Lion King.

What is your favorite live theater moment?

Breaking News: Wicked's Idina Menzel booked 7/27

Tony Award-winning Broadway star Idina Menzel will play Ferguson Hall on Sun., July 27, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $38.50 and will go on sale to her fan club, TBPAC donors and TBPAC Broadway Series season ticket holders on June 24 at noon. The show will go on sale to the general public on Fri., June 27 at noon.


Idina Menzel originated the role of the green-skinned Elphaba in the blockbuster Wicked, which won her a 2004 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She's also very well known from her portrayal of Maureen in the Broadway and film versions of RENT.

Since this show is in our more intimate 1,042-seat Ferguson Hall, we recommend you get your tickets when they go on sale to ensure you get a seat!

The real business of Broadway

A new film documentary called Show Business: The Road to Broadway has finished up the film festival circuit and is hitting the theaters. From casting to rehearsals, opening nights and Tony Awards, the film shows what really goes into making a show a success on Broadway. And for the Wicked and Avenue Q fans out there, both shows are prominently featured. Here's the downside … you're probably going to have to wait for it to come out on DVD since it's not showing Florida. But keep an eye out for it. Definitely looks interesting!

- Angela L.

What a wicked few weeks

Sold-out shows put a different kind of (good) stress on our organization.

As we breathe deeply after three Wicked weeks, it's pretty impressive what we managed to do.

We had nearly 60,000 people come through our doors to see Wicked, and that wasn't even the only thing we had going on. Classes at the Patel Conservatory, business meetings here during the day, Nine Parts of Desire, Cigar City Chronicles, Altan, Catie Curtis, Ladysmith Black Mambazo ... We certainly stay busy. In that time our marketing department staff alone executed marketing campaigns, met groups coming on buses, conducted lotteries before every performancee, provided customer service advisories, handled a mountain of special requests and liased with the media on a daily basis.

And, of course, the success of the show wasn’t just on us in our area. The entire TBPAC staff played a part. For Wicked we fed over 7,000 people a full meal in our three on-site restaurants: Maestro's, Maestro's on the River and Maestro's Cafe. We valeted roughly 5,000 cars. That's just the beginning, we could dig real deep into this and find out how many rolls of TP we went through, or how many patrons walked up 5 minutes before curtain angrily miffed that they couldn't just buy front row tickets.

It's important to note that the hard work isn't over when we book a show, even a great one like Wicked that we knew would be a sure-thing. The shows aren't the only stars who work in this building, we have a great staff, too!

-dj

Feeling "wicked" lucky?

The Wicked lottery is back starting with tomorrow's opening night performance. Interested in participating? Here's how it works …

• A day-of-performance lottery for $25 seats will be held daily for WICKED, which will be on stage from Feb. 21 – March 11 at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center’s Carol Morsani Hall.
• People who are interested in WICKED lottery tickets can enter their name into the lottery drum at the WICKED table by the TBPAC Ticket Office beginning 2½ hours before show time. No entries will be accepted before that time.
• Entries will be accepted until two hours before the show, when names will be drawn for 26 seats in varying locations at $25 each, cash only.
• This lottery is available only in-person at the TBPAC Ticket Office.
• One entry per person. Two-ticket limit per entry. Must be present for entry and drawing to win.
• Must present ID at Ticket Office window to purchase.
• Falsifying information or attempts to disrupt the system in place will disqualify persons from future lottery entry attempts.

Trust him… she's really dead.

This morning I was passed a New York Times story that is, well … unique. It's a story about a coroner. But not any ordinary coroner. It's a profile on Meinhardt Raabe, the actor who played the coroner for Munchkinland in The Wizard of Oz and pronounced the Wicked Witch of the East dead. You know… "As coroner, I must aver, I thoroughly examined her. And she's not only merely dead, she's really, most sincerely dead." (stuck in your head yet?)

Now 91 and living in Penney Farms, Florida, Raabe is the oldest living resident of what was known as Munchkinland. Raised in Wisconsin, Raabe visited the Chicago World's Fair in 1933 and learned that there were others with his, as he calls it, "abnormal lack of height." One thing led to another and he eventually found himself in Hollywood and in Oz. Want to learn more? Check on the article in this past Sunday's New York Times or read his autobiography titled "Memories of a Munchkin."

And the nominees are ...

While you're catching the Grammy Awards this Sunday, make sure to pay attention to the category of Best Musical Show Album. This year's nominees include The Drowsy Chaperone, Jersey Boys, The Color Purple, The Pajama Game and Sweeney Todd. I know my pick. Who would get your vote?

And on a similar note, the 2005 Grammy Award winner in the category, Wicked, just saw their cast album go Platinum. With amazing and memorable songs like "Popular," "Defying Gravity" and "For Good" it's no wonder.

- Angela L.