WICKED the Musical
“BROADWAY’S BIGGEST BLOCKBUSTER” OPENS IN TWO WEEKS’ TIME
Rejoicify! The musical phenomenon WICKED flies into Brisbane in two weeks’ time, beginning performances at the Lyric Theatre QPAC on 12 September, with the glittering opening night on Saturday 14 September.
Two stars of the production have arrived in Brisbane and were seen surveying the city from the top of the Storey Bridge. Defying gravity were Queenslander Courtney Monsma (Glinda) and Sheridan Adams (Elphaba).
In just over 20 years since its premiere on Broadway, WICKED remains one of the most successful and popular musicals in the world with over 67 million people worldwide having seen this spectacular phenomenon. 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).
“Broadway’s Biggest Blockbuster” (NY Times) has been playing to ecstatic full houses in Sydney and Melbourne, and now it is Brisbane’s turn.
“★★★★★ Masterful, stunning. A sparkling musical” – Time Out
“★★★★★ A thrillifying theatrical experience” – Scenestr
“★★★★★ Positively breathtaking” – Girl.com.au
“★★★★ The most extravagant production you’ll encounter in Melbourne theatres this year, and it’s a sight to behold.” – The Age
“Ingenious and beautiful: WICKED dazzles” – Sydney Morning Herald
“Exquisite comic timing, impressive, magical” – Australian Financial Review
The stellar Australian cast is led by Courtney Monsma as Glinda, the bubbly popular girl who becomes “Glinda the Good”, and 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 Madame Morrible, Todd McKenney is the Wizard, Ainsley Melham 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, Matt Holly, 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.
WICKED Australia Co-producer John Frost said, “We’re thrilled to bring WICKED to Brisbane and the demand for tickets for WICKED has been extraordinary. Audiences know that WICKED is one of the most lavish musical productions to have ever played in Australia, the full Broadway experience. With the lavish sets and opulent costumes, it’s a feast for the eye and the ear. If you have never seen WICKED, come and see it for the first time and be spellbound. If you have seen it before, I know you’ll want to come back and be enthralled all over again. Snap up your tickets now Brisbane, before the show sells out.”
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.