'Wicked' announces lottery for $25 seats

From a Blumenthal Performing Arts Center press release that just popped into my inbox:

A day-of-performance lottery for a limited number of orchestra seats will be held daily for WICKED, which will be performing from May 19 to June 13 at Ovens Auditorium. Each day, 2½ hours prior to show time, people who present themselves at the Ovens Auditorium box office will have their names placed in a lottery drum and then, thirty minutes later, names will be drawn for a limited number of orchestra seats at $25 each, cash only. This lottery is available only in-person at the box office, with a limit of two tickets per person. The Ovens parking lot will be open for lottery participants starting three hours before curtain and there will be no charge for parking. Please identify yourself as a lottery participant to the lot attendant.

Called “a cultural phenomenon” by Variety and just named “the defining musical of the decade” by The New York Times, WICKED continues to thrill audiences around the world. There are currently eight productions of WICKED worldwide, including two North American tours, a Broadway production, San Francisco production, London production, a Japanese-language production, a German-language production and Australian production. A Dutch-language production of WICKED will open in 2011.

WICKED begins performances on Wednesday, May 19. Tickets can be purchased online at www.blumenthalcenter.org, by phone at 704.372.1000, or in person at the Belk Theater box office. For best seat locations, please check weeknight performances and the special Thursday matinee on May 20.