Wicked Returns to Australia and Auckland in 2014
"Wicked" Australian co-producer John Frost announced Monday afternoon that Aussies and New Zealanders can watch "Wicked" again come 2014, The Australian Stage reports.
Mr Frost said that "Wicked" will be open at the Regent Theater, Melbourne, on Saturday May 10 2014 before making its stage tour to Sydney and Brisbane and in Auckland in September.
Mr Frost was ecstatic as he delivers the news, "Right from the beginning this show has been an overwhelming hit everywhere it has played. Wicked is a phenomenon, the most beloved musical of the past decade, and appeals to everyone from 8 to 80. People love it for so many different reasons - some come for the engrossing story, some for the astonishing sets and costumes, some for the soaring ballads, some for the deeper messages, and some to see the life-affirming friendship between the two girls who grow up to be Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West."
"We have assembled an extraordinary cast for this 10th anniversary tour, led by Lucy Durack returning to her favourite role, a role which shot her to stardom. Jemma rix is again donning the green makeup as Elphaba and is second to none with that huge voice. There's no actress who could touch Maggie Kirkpatrick in her portrayal as Madame Morrible, so I'm very pleased Maggie has agreed to return. After playing Doctor Dillamond during the Asian tour, it's wonderful to introduce Glen Hogstrom to Australian audiences. And it's terrific to welcome three amazingngly talented musical theater performers in their debut lead roles, Steve Danielsen as Fiyero, Emily cascarino as Nessarose and Edward Grey as Boq."
Mr Frost added, "I'm thrilled to bring Wicked, in all her emerald beauty and with this stellar cast, back home to the wonderful regent Theatre, where Australian audiences fell in love with it for the first time."
"Wicked" producers Marc Platt and David Stone shared the enthusiasm. "We are very excited for Wicked to return to Melbourne as part of our 10th Anniversary World Tour and trust that audiences will again embrace it as warmly as those in North America, the UK, Japan, Germany and Holland, it is a testament to the show's storytelling power that audiences from around the globe continue to embrace its universal themes."
In an interview with The West.com, actress Lucy Durack admitted that she will have to attend voice lessons to train her voice again to be more suitable for her role as Glinda the Good Witch for the shoe in 2014.
Lucy shared that, "In the role of Elle in Legally Blonde I had to work really hard on my voice because after doing Wicked for nearly four years, everything I sang sounded like I was Glinda the Good Witch. Elle is a lot more pop and lot less soprano and a lot less classical. I will have some singing lessons and just really work on the material."
Lucy also shared that she has learned a lot from her role in Legally Blonde, "I bring with me quite a lot more life experience. It's so well written and there is so much in it that I never felt over it."
Lucy said that although her character as gilnda in Wicked will be the funniest character, it also has the saddest character journey, "It's a really lovely concept I think to have a musical that's so powerful... and it's largely based on the story of a really wonderful friendship between these two women."