Inflation will insidiously level the playing field, delivering realignments, one tiny wicked slice at a time.

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With a score by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman, "Wicked" has been one of Broadway's biggest success stories since it arrived in 2003 starring Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda and Idina Menzel as Elphaba.

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"I decided to (be) a hip old lady" -- one who had a wicked sense of humor, the kind of person who was married 12 times and cracked a whip in a ward of cardiac patients.

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"Wicked, " based on Gregory Maguire's cult novel, tells the story of two young witches-to-be, one a green brooder who will be the Wicked Witch of the West and the other blond and bubbly, who will be Glinda the Good Witch.

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He is, at heart, a curmudgeon, but a delightful one, with a vast range of knowledge, a wicked sense of humor and a talent for storytelling and mimicry.

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Once you have had your fill of the cold, grab your Valentine for some "Wicked" hot chocolate with allspice, cinnamon and chilli peppers at one of Jacques Torres six New York stores.

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He was entranced by Dorothy and her ruby slippers, the yellow brick road, the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man and even the Munchkins, but there was one prop from the 1939 movie that held him under the deepest spell: the broomstick of the Wicked Witch.

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