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"Wicked" fans whose interest in contemporary theater extends beyond that one Broadway blockbuster will get first shot at buying single tickets for the long-awaited Honolulu premiere production in November if they choose to subscribe to a three-show series that includes the island premieres of two other contemporary hits: "Rain — A Tribute to the Beatles" and "Blue Man Group."
Ticket sales for "Wicked" are currently restricted to groups of 20 or more. Tickets for the new three-show season package go on sale April 2, but prices are not yet available. All performances will be at Blaisdell Concert Hall.
PLAY TIMES
>> “Wicked”: Nov. 24 to Jan. 16. The show, based on novelist Gregory Maguire’s prequel to “The Wizard of Oz,” won a Grammy and three Tony awards. It tells the story of two girls in Oz — one born with emerald green skin and the other beautiful, ambitious and popular — who go on to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good. To learn more see www.wickedthemusical.com.
>> “Rain — A Tribute to the Beatles”: May 13-19, 2013. The multimedia concert includes a full range of Beatles music live on stage. To learn more see www.raintribute.com.
>> “Blue Man Group”: June 18-23, 2013. The group combines music, comedy and multimedia theatrics in ways that are appropriate for all ages. To learn more see www.blueman.com.
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"It’s tough to get the right shows (for Honolulu) … but the three shows we have coming are big crowd-pleasers," John Ballard, chief executive officer of MagicSpace Entertainment, said Monday at the Blaisdell Concert Hall. "They’re all very different, but every one of them are crowd-pleasers."
"Wicked" is a guaranteed hit, and almost anything involving the Beatles is an easy sell. Ballard says "Blue Man Group" should not be overlooked.
"It is a musical, but it’s like no other musical — three guys with blue heads who don’t talk. It’s been running in New York for almost 20 years, and it still draws extremely well. … It’s another one of those shows that audiences absolutely love."
Efforts by another theatrical promotion group several years ago to sell a "season" of national touring company shows here fell through due to the perceived weakness of the overall package. Few local ticket-buyers at the time were willing to buy into a "series" of shows when they were only interested in one.
Ballard says MagicSpace hopes that the quality of its productions — and that fact that all are playing here for the first time — will make this series a success.
"The important thing for a series in the long run is that you have quality shows year after year," he said, adding that MagicSpace is already looking at shows for a second season.
Individual tickets for "Wicked," "Rain — A Tribute to the Beatles" and "Blue Man Group" will be available closer to each show’s scheduled run.
For more on the season package, see www.Broadwayinhawaii.com or www. magicspace.net.
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