WICKED LAUNCH DATE ANNOUNCED

The award-winning musical theatre blockbuster WICKED is returning to its original Australian home, the Regent Theatre, Melbourne in 2014 for a strictly limited season. WICKED Australian Co-Producer John Frost will be announcing season details and cast at a media launch at 12 noon on Monday July 8.
WICKED is “one of the most successful shows in Broadway history” (The New York Times) and the 2014 Melbourne season is a part of its’ 10^th Anniversary world tour.
When WICKED opened on Broadway, it worked its magic on critics and audiences alike. Winner of 35 major awards including a Grammy®, three Tony Awards® and six Helpmann® Awards including Best Musical, WICKED is the untold story of the witches of Oz. Long before Dorothy drops in, two other girls meet in the Land of Oz, one born with emerald green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. WICKED tells the story of their remarkable odyssey, how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.

“The defining musical of the decade.”
The New York Times

Currently in its 10th year on Broadway, WICKED’s North American and International companies have cumulatively grossed over US$2.9 billion and been seen by nearly 36 million people worldwide. Since opening at the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway in October 2003, WICKED has regularly broken box office records, consistently grossing more than $US1.8 million a week. In the week between Christmas and New Year, 2012, it grossed a chart-topping $2.95 million, the highest grossing week in Broadway history.

“If every musical had the brain, the heart, and the courage
of WICKED, Broadway really would be a magical place.”
Time Magazine
In London, WICKED had the highest weekly gross in West End history (a record WICKED also holds on Broadway, as well as a North American weekly touring record in both the United States and Canada), and in Tokyo and Stuttgart it again set new box office records. During its three year tour of Australia, WICKED was seen by over 1.5 million people – which is equivalent to more than 1 in 20 Australians.

“A breathtaking success story of a magnitude that North America has not witnessed since the peak years of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.”
Washington Post

Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, WICKED features music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin, Academy Award-winner for Pocahontas and The Prince of Egypt) and a book by Winnie Holzman (My So Called Life, Once and Again and thirtysomething). The production features musical staging by Wayne Cilento and is directed by Lisa Leguillou, based on the original direction by Joe Mantello.
wickedthemusical.com.au