”Wicked,” the untold story of the witches of Oz, lands at the Keller Auditorium in Portland, Sept. 6-17. Available tickets are limited. Flying high above the Wizard's guards and the citizens of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba (actress Eden Espinosa is shown here) sings ”Defying Gravity” in a Broadway production of ”Wicked.”

By Jenny Harada

The Bulletin

American songwriter and performer George M. Cohan once sang Give my regards to Broadway / Remember me to Herald Square / Tell all the gang at Forty-second Street / That I will soon be there.

Well, theater aficionados wont have to travel to New York to get a taste of Broadway. The Portland Opera and Broadway across America will present Little Women The Broadway Musical (Aug. 15-20) and Wicked (Sept. 6-17) at the Keller Auditorium in Portland.

Based on the classic novel by Louisa May Alcott, Little Women sets the beloved story of the March family to music by Jason Howland. Led by recording, concert and theater star Maureen McGovern as Marmee, the musical traces the adventures of Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy March as they grow up in Civil War America.

Little Women, which has never been out of print since its first publishing in 1868, has been made into three major motion pictures and countless stage adaptations, as well as operettas, ballets and several made-for-television movies, according to a press release. The musical version is directed by Susan H. Schulman, with choreography by Michael Lichtefeld and book also known as a libretto by Allan Knee.

Whereas Little Women faithfully follows Alcotts plot, Wicked weaves a new magical tale of L. Frank Baums land of Oz. Based on the best-selling 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked presents the untold story of the witches of Oz long before Dorothy arrives via house.

Beaverton native Shoshana Bean plays the role of Elphaba, a smart, fiery and misunderstood woman born with emerald green skin. Elphaba attends Shiz University where she becomes roommates with the beautiful, ambitious and very popular Glinda (played by Megan Hilty). Wicked tells the story of how these two unlikely friends become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch.

According to a press release, Wicked began performances in New York on Oct. 8, 2003, at The Gershwin Theatre and continues to be the top-grossing show on Broadway. Music and lyrics are by Stephen Schwartz, best known for Godspell and Pippen. My So-Called Life creator Winnie Holzman supplied the book.

Ticket costs range from $20 to $65 for Little Women and $35 to $74 for Wicked and can be purchased through Ticketmaster. Tickets for Wicked are selling fast and availability is extremely limited. The Portland Opera is working to book a return engagement and may release a limited number of front row seats in August. For more information, contact 866-739-6737 or visit www

.portlandopera.com.