WICKED COMING TO DETROIT OPERA HOUSE IN 2024

The Broadway sensation WICKED looks at what happened in the Land of Oz…but from a different angle. Long before Dorothy arrives, there is another young woman, born with emerald-green skin, who is smart, fiery, misunderstood, and possessing an extraordinary talent. When she meets a bubbly blonde who is exceptionally popular, their initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships…until the world decides to call one “good,” and the other one “wicked.”

Now the 4th longest-running show in Broadway history, WICKED, the winner of a Grammy Award and three Tony Awards, is coming to the Motor City. This musical will be performed at the Detroit Opera House January 24 – February 18, 2024. Tickets for this engagement go on sale on BroadwayinDetroit.com at 10:00 a.m. and in person at the Fisher Theatre box office starting at Noon on Friday, October 13. 

Performance times for WICKED at the Detroit Opera House located at 1526 Broadway St., Detroit MI are: 

• Tuesday through Saturday evening performances at 7:30 p.m. 
• Saturday matinees at 2:00 p.m. 
• Sunday matinees at 1:00 p.m. 
• Sunday evening performances at 6:30 p.m. 
• Additional matinee performance on Thursday, January 25 at 1:00 p.m. 
• Special Open Caption performance on Sunday, February 2 at 6:30 p.m.

Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, WICKED has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and a book by Winnie Holzman. The production is directed by Tony Award winner Joe Mantello with musical staging by Tony Award winner Wayne Cilento. For more information about WICKED, please visit www.WickedTheMusical.com.

Dorothy Returns to Oz in New Animated Movie

 Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return

Available on Bluray, DVD, Digital Download on August 26, 2014

 
Dorothy is traveling down the yellow brick road again on a brand new adventure in the Land of Oz. In this new animated feature length film, Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return, Dorothy & her little dog Toto are swept back from Kansas to rescue her friends: the Lion, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man from a new evil threat to Oz.  A devious villain named, the Jester, has emerged to rule over Oz and it is up to Dorothy to save the day.

Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return had a theatrical run earlier this year and will be available on Bluray, DVD and Digital Dowload beginning on Tuesday, August 26, 2014.  The cast voicing the movie's characters includes Lea Michele from TV's "Glee", Dan Akroyd, Martin Short, Jim Belushi, Patrick Stewart, and Kelsey Grammar.  Filled with new songs from Academy Award nominated singer/songwriter Bryan Adams and featuring numerous new characters this is a fun movie to enjoy for a family movie night.

 

For more information, visit LegendsofOzMovie.com

Disclaimer:  I received a complimentary Bluray/DVD/Digital Download movie package for myself and one for A GEEK DADDY reader courtesy of my participation in the FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT INSIDERS blogger program. #ozinsiders

CONTEST: Show us your Child's Vision of the Land of OZ

Submit a Drawing by your Child

for a chance to win

LEGENDS OF OZ: DOROTHY'S RETURN

Bluray-DVD-Digital Download Prize Pack

Munchkins, Flying Monkeys, Talking Scarecrows, and Wicked Witches were just a few elements that captured my imagination as a child when watching the 1939 classic movie the Wizard of Oz.  I remember wondering in my youth what other fantastic creatures and characters might also live in that magical land that never made it onto the silver screen. My grandmother's fridge was covered with pictures filled with my images of the wonderful land of Oz and as class writing projects I submitted to teachers a few essays that were my take at sequels to the story originally crafted in L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel. 

This year there is a new motion picture that has been released featuring the land of OZ to inspire a new generation of fans. LEGENDS OF OZ: DOROTHY'S RETURN hit movie theaters this spring and will be released for home video on August 26, 2014.  Kids of all ages will love this musical animated journey back to the magical world of Oz that features a number of recognizable voices including Lea Michele from TV's "Glee," comedian Dan Akroyd, Martin Short the voice of PBS Kids' "Cat in the Hat,"  Patrick Stewart aka Captain Picard from "Star Trek: The Next Generation,"Kelsey Grammar of "Fraser" fame, and many more talented actors and actresses.  The  film's plot involves a devious new villain, the Jester, who rules over Oz.  Dorthy must return from Kansas to rescue her old friends: the Lion, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man.  Set to some great songs from Academy Award-nominated singer/songwriter Bryan Adams and full of delightful new characters this animated return to Oz that is sure to become a family-favorite movie.

For a chance to win a free Bluray / DVD / Digital Download prize pack send in your son, daughter, niece, nephew, or grandchild's impression of Oz.  Submit a picture drawn, colored or painted by a child between the ages of 3 and 15 that shows how Oz appears in his or her imagination.  You can earn up to 2 entries by emailing pictures to thegeekdaddy [at] yahoo [dot] com before 11:59 EST pm on Monday, August 25th, 2014.

ENTRY #1  email a work of art created by a child between the ages of 3 and 15 that portrays the wonderful land of Oz.  Submissions shall constitute a waiver by the entrant that they have the child's parent or guardian's permission to submit the art work on behalf of the child and that the picture may be published on this blog and on social media such as Twitter, Google+, Instagram & Facebook.  Entries must be submitted by a resident of US or Canada over the age of 18 and include the child's first name, child's age, adult's full name and mailing address.

ENTRY #2  if artwork submitted in ENTRY #1 is shared by A GEEK DADDY BLOG in a blog post or via our social media outlets such as Twitter, Google+, Instagram, and Facebook prior to the contest's conclusion that submission shall receive a second entry.  Selection for ENTRY #2 is entirely at the discretion of A GEEK DADDY BLOG.

The final winner will be selected by a random drawing of all eligible entries.  The quality of the artwork will not be judged.

To help sweep up your child's imagination towards the Land of Oz our friends over at Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment have provided some fun activity sheets that can be downloaded to inspire them.

 

DISCLAIMER: All valid entries will be assigned a number and one random entry will be chosen to receive the Oz movie combo pack. You must be a US or Canadian resident to enter over the age of 18.  For a chance to win submit your entries before Monday, August 25th, 2014 @ 11:59pm EST.  A Geek Daddy Blog will select the random winner on Tuesday, August 26. A Geek Daddy Blog will be responsible for selecting the winner of this contest, but TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT is responsible for providing the prize and its delivery to the winner.  By participating in this contest you waive any liability towards A Geek Daddy Blog or its publisher that may arise from your involvement with this promotion.  Only one entrant per mailing address per A GEEK DADDY BLOG giveaway.  If you have won the same prize on another blog, you will not be eligible to win again.  Winner is subject to eligibility verification.  P.O. Boxes are not allowed as mailing addresses for this contest.  E-mails collected are only used to notify winners and are deleted after the conclusion of this promotion. E-mails collected are not used for any marketing purposes.  By submitting an entry you allow us to post your name on this blog and its social media channels announcing you as the winner if you are selected to receive the giveaway prize.  Normal policy is to post the first name, last initial and state where the winner resides in such announcements. By submitting to this contest you acknowledge you have permission to submit artwork on behalf of a minor and grant us permission to publicize such artwork on this blog and through other social media platforms displaying the submission and listing the child's first name and city of residence.

A Geek Daddy Blog did not receive financial compensation for this post and hosting the contest, but did receive complimentary movie combo packs for it to review the movie and to utilize as a prize for this contest.

#OzInsiders

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY: A GOOD DAY TO BE A KID & A KID AT HEART

My son & I had a nice father and son bonding morning on Saturday May 4 as we threw on our Spider Man t-shirts and took a trip to the local comic book store for FREE COMIC BOOK DAY.  Free Comic Book Day is a special event that takes place each year on the first Saturday in the month of May when comic book retailers give out issues to anyone who comes into their shops absolutely for FREE.  This year there were 52 Free Comic Book Day issues to choose from with titles ranging from Superman to Sesame Street that would appeal to everyone from preschool children like my son and daughter to a 40 year old geeky dad like me. 

A big part of the fun of the day was interacting with a wide range of people in line waiting for a chance to grab a bunch of free comic books.  If you enjoy people watching this was the place to be!  There was a very nice lady who stood in line next to us that told us the whole history of the X-Men characters while I tried not to stare out the HUGE butterfly tattoo inked across her cleavage that was very visible due to her very low cut blouse; a group of bikers clad in riding leather that looked like they could have been from the cast of the History Channel’s VIKINGS who of all things were discussing what they liked and didn’t like about that show; guys dressed up as storm troopers from the local 501^st Garrison who everyone wanted to get a picture with; a group of kids wearing their karate uniforms and practicing their moves on the sidewalk after just getting out of their class from the studio that was next door to the comic store; and we can’t forget the friendly little girl in the Wonder Woman costume who came up to my little boy to tell him she loved his Spidey shirt and struck up a conversation with him about which tv show was better on the Disney Channel: Doc McStuffins or Sophia the First. We were having a blast just hanging out in line talking about super heroes and villains with people who were die hard comic book fans as well as parents who had never read a comic but brought their kids up to enjoy the promotion.  My wife and daughter really missed out when they decided to go shopping rather than join us guys on our excursion.

The fun continued as we gawked at all the comics we had to choose from when we reached the front of the line.  The comic store we were at allowed each person to take 10 issues…which is pretty generous as I’ve heard some retailers limit people to selecting 2 or 3 comics…and we had to go through to pick and choose from all the ones available.  We grabbed Disney Fairies and StrawberryShortcake for my daughter.  My son chose Batman& the Teen Titans, Sonic the Hedgehog, The Smurfs, and Teenage Mutant NinjaTurtles.  I picked up for myself TheWalking Dead, Star Wars, Buck Rogers, Prince Valiant, and The Tick.  We also picked up Mouse Guard, the SteamEngines of OZ, and World of Archie Digest for the whole family to enjoy together.

After grabbing a treasure trove of comics we stopped to get some Superman ice cream on the way home.  Than we enjoyed a few hours of just sitting back relaxing and enjoying our haul of goodies.  Free Comic Book Day has two goals, first to reward loyal customers with a fun event that will encourage their continued business and second, to entice new readers to enjoy reading comic books and get them to buy the publishers’ products in the future.  They accomplished their goal when it came to our family!  My kids can’t read yet, but they’ve been going through the artwork in their books over and over again and have been asking me to read the stories to them.  I have a feeling they are going to be future customers!  I am a regular consumer of Star Wars and The Walking Dead comics so they built up some additional brand loyalty with this customer who is going to keep buying these publications by providing me a nice Darth Vader story to read and an exclusive Tyreese comic for my collection this year.  Plus, I was very impressed with the preview of the new comic Steam Engines of OZ which had great artwork and a nicely written dramatic and suspenseful story, so Archana Comics most likely picked up a new customer through their FREE COMIC BOOK DAY issue.  Steam Engines of OZ is set 100 years after Dorothy’s visit in the Wizard of Oz where the Tin Man rules the Emerald City and the “Wicked” Witch of the North is trying to save the land from his dictatorship with the story portrayed in the steam punk genre.   My interest was peeked after reading the first issue of this new series.

If you haven’t enjoyed FREE COMIC BOOK DAY, I highly encourage you to check it out next year.  For more information, visit www.freecomicbookday.com