The musical Wicked opened on Broadway in October 2003. Based on the best-selling novel Wicked by Gregory Maguire, the show retells the story of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the point of view of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, a misfit who, through the events of the play, discovers her inner strength and power. The show has run for nearly six thousand performances as of 2017 and is the second highest grossing Broadway musical of all time, having earned over 1 billion dollars to date. This book describes the path the play took from concept to the stage, its Broadway run, and its influence.

A legendary blue diamond is the target, but Adam has bigger plans for Jess in this West End—set finale to Michelle Dayton’s Strange Tango series Dealing with prima donna theater people and his uncle Tony’s gang of thugs wasn’t quite how Adam pictured his first holiday season with Jess. Especially not now, when he’s made up his mind about things. Forever-type things. But it’s the job of a lifetime: Tony plans to steal the Bulgarian Blue, an enormous blue diamond allegedly owned by one of Britain’s most famously fickle directors. Choosing to stay in London with Adam over the holidays was a big step for Jess. Infiltrating the cast of their target’s West End production while Adam puts his role-playing experience to good use as an understudy is bigger. But she and Adam are “all or nothing,” and there’s no way she’ll let him play this one alone. In fact, Jess can’t imagine letting Adam play anything alone anymore. On fronts both financial and personal, this is the riskiest venture Jess and Adam have ever embarked upon. On a snowy New Year’s Eve they’ll never forget, they’ll need to be on top of their game—together—to save London’s hottest play, rob the city’s biggest jerk and find their happily-ever-after. This book is approximately 38,000 words One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!

Show business is a multimillion dollar business, and its celebrities and sports figures are the most famous people on earth. Yet, most entertainers are neither rich nor famous. In Life upon the Wicked Stage, author Jacqueline Boles provides an academic portrait of live performers and offers insight into their unique world. Based on the biographies and autobiographies of one hundred and seventeen American show people, Life upon the Wicked Stage delves into the lives of entertainers musicians, singers, dancers, comics, and variety artists. This sociological study first shares the history of show business from its beginnings to present-day, where the public's fascination with entertainers and celebrities is avid. Then, Boles analyzes the entertainers and their family backgrounds, investigates their reasons for choosing entertainment, and explores their career patterns. This study also shows the affects that show business has on family and relationships, and it discusses the costs and rewards of life as a performer. Life upon the Wicked Stage illustrates that live entertainment has changed dramatically over the last one hundred and fift y years while remaining remarkably unchanged. Boles communicates that the show must go on.

From climate change to GM foods, we are increasingly confronted with complex, interconnected social and environmental problems that span disciplines, knowledge bases and value systems. This book offers a transdisciplinary, open approach for those working towards resolving these 'wicked' problems and highlights the crucial role of this 'transdisciplinary imagination' in addressing the shift to sustainable futures. Tackling Wicked Problems provides readers with a framework and practical examples that will guide the design and conduct of their own open-ended enquiries. In this approach, academic disciplines are combined with personal, local and strategic understanding and researchers are required to recognise multiple knowledge cultures, accept the inevitability of uncertainty, and clarify their own and others' ethical positions. The authors then comment on fifteen practical examples of how researchers have engaged with the opportunities and challenges of conducting transdisciplinary inquiries. The book gives those who are grappling with complex problems innovative methods of inquiry that will allow them to work collaboratively towards long-term solutions.

The challenges faced by 21st-century businesses, organizations and governments are characterized as being fundamentally different in nature, scope and levels of impact from those of the past. As problems become increasingly complex and wicked, conventional reductive approaches and data-based solutions are limited. The authors argue that practical wisdom is required. This book provides an integral and practical model for incorporating wisdom into management decision making. Based on a cross-disciplinary conceptualization of practical wisdom, the authors distinguish systematically between data, information, knowledge, and wisdom-based decision making. While they suggest that data, analytics, information and knowledge can assist decision-makers to better deal with complex and wicked problems, they argue that data-based systems cannot replace optimized human decision-making capabilities. These capabilities, the authors explain, include a range of qualities and characteristics inherent in philosophical, psychological and organizational conceptions of practical wisdom. Accordingly, in this book, the authors introduce a model that identifies the specific qualities and processes involved in making wise decisions, especially in management. The model is based on the empirical fi ndings of the authors’ studies in the areas of wisdom and management. This book is a practical resource for professionals, practitioners, and consultants in both the private and public sectors. The theoretical discussions, critical arguments, and practical guidelines provided in the book will be extremely valuable to students at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, as well as upper-level postdoctoral researchers looking at business management strategies.

This volume in the Routledge Key Guides series provides a round-up of the fifty musicals whose creations were seminal in altering the landscape of musical theater discourse in the English-speaking world. Each entry summarises a show, including a full synopsis, discussion of the creators' process, show's critical reception, and its impact on the landscape of musical theater. This is the ideal primer for students of musical theater – its performance, history, and place in the modern theatrical world – as well as fans and lovers of musicals.

Enjoy the second book in this action-packed urban fantasy series! Secrets are more valuable than gold. Kayda Kayda Verdan and Harlow Fletcher have been ride-or-die best friends since they were teenagers. And yet, when Harlow’s life hits the skids after she steals a sentient dragon sword, she doesn’t seek Kayda’s help. Harlow ghosts her friend altogether under the guise of keeping Kayda safe. Kayda is not amused. When Harlow leaves Luma and Kayda behind, Kayda is downright angry. As the Collective and their trained werecats try to track Harlow down, they turn their sights on Kayda, propelling her into an adventure she never expected. An adventure that reveals a secret group threatening Luma’s veil magic—and the lives of everyone who resides within the hidden magical city. ~ ~ ~ Harlow Harlow and Caspian Blackthorn left Luma to let the dust settle back home. While enjoying some much-needed rest and relaxation, they strategize their search for the origins of the sentient sword. The road trip leads them to a black-market auction where fae are selling dangerous items to fae and mundanes living outside the hubs. When Harlow and Caspian get their hands on a treasure chest that was extracted from a sunken pirate ship, they uncover not just a piece of the sword’s past, but the Collective’s. The treasure they find is more valuable than gold—treasure that powerful fae would kill for. And without magical friends to call for help, Harlow, Caspian, and the sword will have to fend for themselves. So much for a relaxing vacation … ---- Content Warning: Adult language ----- KEYWORDS: urban fantasy, contemporary fantasy, elves, elf, vampires, vampire fiction, magic, paranormal mystery, hidden city, magical sword, sentient sword, fantasy mystery, amateur sleuth, female protagonist, woman of color, supernatural suspense, paranormal suspense, supernatural mystery, supernatural thriller, supernatural mystery, fantasy series, mystery series, urban fantasy series, first book, sorcerers, witches, goblins, urban fantasy series

Some problems are just plain wicked. Complex, ill-defined, with no known solution - and no way of knowing if the solution you create will be right or wrong until you implement it.You have some of these, don’t you? Of course you do. We all do.To create a wicked-good solution to a wicked-hard problem, you need a time-tested, proven-to-work approach.This guide introduces you to Creative Problem Solving (CPS). Known and used around the world, researched and refined for more than 50 years, CPS will help you to solve wicked problems, and to seize any opportunity, that does not have a clearly-defined path. Step by step, this guide teaches you a process that might just change how you see everything.

In 2004, the original Broadway production of Wicked earned 10 Tony nominations, including best musical. Based on the best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire, the show continues to run on Broadway and has touring companies throughout the United States and around the world. In Wicked: A Musical Biography, author Paul Laird explores the creation of this popular Broadway musical through an examination of draft scripts, interviews with major figures, and the study of primary musical sources such as sketches, drafts, and completed musical scores. Laird brings together an impressive amount of detail on the creation of Wicked, including a look at Maguire's novel, as well as the original source material, The Wizard of Oz. This volume also offers a history of the show's genesis along with examinations of the draft scenarios and scripts that demonstrate the show's development. Laird also explores Stephen Schwartz's life and work, providing an analysis of the composer and lyricist's work on the show through song drafts, sketches, and musical examples. Laird also surveys the show's critical reception in New York and London, noting how many critics failed to appreciate its qualities or anticipate its great success. The unusual nature of Wicked's story—dominated by two strong female leads—is also placed in the context of Broadway history. A unique look into a successful Broadway production, Wicked: A Musical Biography will be of interest to musicologists, theatre scholars, students, and general readers alike.