Rejoycify! The musical phenomenon WICKED flies into Melbourne next week, beginning performances at the Regent Theatre on Saturday 2 March, with the glittering opening night on 7 March.
Recently celebrating 20 years since its premiere on Broadway, WICKED remains one of the most successful and popular musicals in the world. Over 65 million people worldwide have seen this spectacular phenomenon, and WICKED has become the 4th longest running show in Broadway history.
WICKED captivated Sydney for the past six months, with ecstatic capacity audiences, five star critic reviews and jubilant praise on social media, and now it’s Melbourne’s turn.
“Ingenious and beautiful: WICKED dazzles.” – Sydney Morning Herald
“Exquisite comic timing, impressive, magical.” – Australian Financial Review
“Triumphant, a dazzling, spectacular production.” – AustralianStage.com.au
“Razzle-dazzle spectacle, uplifting girl-power.” – Limelight
“Absolutely incredible. Extraordinary.” – Studio 10
Winner of over 100 major awards including the Grammy Award, the Olivier Award, six Helpmann Awards, three Tony Awards® and six Drama Desk Awards, WICKED is “A complete triumph! An original musical that will make you laugh, cry and think” (USA Today).
The stellar Australian cast is led by Courtney Monsma as Glinda, the bubbly popular girl who becomes “Glinda the Good”, and in her debut in a lead role, Melbourne-born Sheridan Adams as Elphaba, the girl born with emerald-green skin who grows up to become the “Wicked Witch of the West”. Robyn Nevin plays the role of Madame Morrible, Simon Burke is the Wizard, Liam Head plays Fiyero, Adam Murphy is Dr Dillamond, Shewit Belay plays Nessarose, Kurtis Papadinis is Boq and Zoe Coppinger is the Elphaba Standby.
The talented group of performers comprising the WICKED ensemble and swings includes Christian Ambesi, Conor Bann-Murray, Brittany Carter, Olivia Castagna, Eli Cooper, Matt Cranleigh, Joseph Donovan, Sage Douglas, Bayley John Edmends, Todd Jacobsson, Rohan Khanna, Andrew Kroenert, Elisha Zion Lee, Jordan Malone, Emily Monsma, Matilda Moran, Jackson Reedman, Amelia Sanzo, Edward Smith, Ksenia Teliatnikova, Lucas Van Rhijn, Jessica Vellucci, Mietta White and Jun Woodfield.
Producer John Frost for Crossroads Live, on behalf of his co-producers, said, “We’re thrilled to bring WICKED back to its original Australian home, the beautiful Regent Theatre in Melbourne. The stellar cast led by Courtney, Sheridan, Robyn, Liam, Shewit, Adam and Kurtis are second to none, and have been joined by audience favourite Simon Burke as the Wizard during the Melbourne season. WICKED is a proven blockbuster all around the world, and in Melbourne, tickets sales have been defying gravity. Get your tickets now as they’re flying out the door!”
Long before Dorothy dropped in, two other young women meet in the land of Oz. One, born with emerald-green skin, is smart, fiery, misunderstood and possessing an extraordinary talent. The other is bubbly, blonde, ambitious and exceptionally popular. They become rivals, then friends… until the world decides to call one “good” and the other one “wicked.”
Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, WICKED has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. The production features musical staging by Wayne Cilento with original direction by Joe Mantello. WICKED is produced in Australia by John Frost for Crossroads Live Australia, Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone.
Experience the unforgettable, award-winning musical WICKED in Melbourne from next week.