WICKED, STARRING KRISTIN CHENOWETH, IDINA MENZEL AND JOEL GREY. Decca Broadway proudly presents the original cast recording of WICKED, Broadway's most talked about new musical. The box office is already over $10 Million! With a score by Stephen Schwartz (Broadway's Pippin, Godspell), libretto by Winnie Holzman (TV's My So-Called Life) and based on the best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire, the musical is a prequel to the legendary classic, THE WIZARD OF OZ. WICKED explores the early life of the witches of Oz: Glinda and Elphaba. One witch, born with emerald green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. WICKED stars Tony Award® winner Kristin Chenoweth (You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown) as Glinda, Idina Menzel (Rent) as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Tony® and Oscar® Winner Joel Grey (Cabaret) as The Wizard. The Original Cast Recording -- featuring an essay by Wicked novelist Gregory Maguire, original color photos from the show and a complete libretto.

He has the soul of a poet and a bluesman on the same wavelength as Van Morrison and Tom Waits, two of the composers whose songs he performed.... Even on Broadway Mr. Butz's singing has an unmistakable rock 'n' roll edge. But who knew he could be the full-out blues singer who infused Marc Broussard's 'Home' with the authenticity of a weary, New Orleans-bound road warrior? --The New York Times
For his cabaret debut Sunday night at 54 Below, he strapped on a guitar and proved his two Tony Awards were no fluke. That said, the star of 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' and 'Catch Me If You Can' - whose regular-guy looks belie his show-stopping fireworks - basically leaves his theater work behind in a powerhouse evening of blues, country, folk and soul.... Going from a bluesy growl to an aching falsetto, he invests his often obscure material with powerful emotion. --New York Post
It took a cabaret to show NLB all in all his grownup glory and far-reaching tastes in music. For his 75-minute set, he picked a dozen or so pop, folk and blues songs of various vintages loosely linked by the subject of memory.... If the mashup of '16 Tons' and 'Great Big Stuff' from 'Scoundrels' showed off the rascal in him, he let him romantic side show, too. 'Georgia on My Mind' was a tender air kiss to his 18-month-old daughter, Georgia. He dedicated his open-hearted 'No One', an Alicia Keys hit, to his girls from his first marriage. --New York Daily News
For his cabaret debut Sunday night at 54 Below, he strapped on a guitar and proved his two Tony Awards were no fluke. That said, the star of 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' and 'Catch Me If You Can' - whose regular-guy looks belie his show-stopping fireworks - basically leaves his theater work behind in a powerhouse evening of blues, country, folk and soul.... Going from a bluesy growl to an aching falsetto, he invests his often obscure material with powerful emotion. --New York Post
It took a cabaret to show NLB all in all his grownup glory and far-reaching tastes in music. For his 75-minute set, he picked a dozen or so pop, folk and blues songs of various vintages loosely linked by the subject of memory.... If the mashup of '16 Tons' and 'Great Big Stuff' from 'Scoundrels' showed off the rascal in him, he let him romantic side show, too. 'Georgia on My Mind' was a tender air kiss to his 18-month-old daughter, Georgia. He dedicated his open-hearted 'No One', an Alicia Keys hit, to his girls from his first marriage. --New York Daily News