Post by Buff on May 14, 2009 9:48:17 GMT 11
From www.aussietheatre.com/:
Buff
The speculation is over with blockbuster musical Wicked announcing it will play its final performance at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne on August 9 before embarking on a Sydney season.
A venue or opening night date has not been confirmed for Sydney but its logical home would be the Capitol Theatre. It is expected that the show will open in either September or October, pitting it against Mamma Mia! at the Lyric Theatre.
"It will be 60 weeks since we began previews at The Regent and 464 performances since opening night [when we close]," said producer John Frost.
"And what an exhilarating 60 weeks! Right from the beginning this show has been a hit. We got off to a wonderful start securing the biggest sponsorship ever for an Australian theatrical production from the ANZ bank.
"Next we got tremendous support from the government of the State of Victoria and of the City of Melbourne itself, helping market Wicked in a way unprecedented in this country. Melbourne went emerald green: the Town Hall and the trees in the city’s major thoroughfare were green lit, and stayed that way."
Wicked's opening night in Melbourne last July was one of the most spectacular in Australian theatre history and the show became an immediate success, with wide expectations that it would run for more than a year.
While it will achieve that goal, it hasn't always been easy.
The cast was rocked by the tragic sudden death of Rob Guest, who was playing the Wizard, last October.
In recent months, ticket sales have been far from brilliant, but the show held its own and there will most likely be a spike now that it has confirmed its closure.
Minister for Tourism and Major Events, Tim Holding, congratulated the producers and cast on an outstanding season.
"Wicked has been a terrific success story for Melbourne. Shows such as Wicked combined with Melbourne’s prestigious calendar of major events are critical to our tourism offering and help ensure that our hotels, restaurants and retail sector are busy
throughout the year," he said.
"Recently we marked the milestone of 120,000 interstate and international visitors to see the show in Melbourne. There is no doubt that in the coming months Wicked will continue to be the hottest ticket in Australia."
The musical took a record of more than $2.3 million in advance bookings in just three hours on February 12, 2008 and, on the Monday after it opened smashed the one-day box office record for all Melbourne theatres with a $1.5 million ticket sales in just one day.
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 Witch.
The Australian production features a stellar cast, led by Amanda Harrison as Elphaba and Lucy Durack as Glinda.
A venue or opening night date has not been confirmed for Sydney but its logical home would be the Capitol Theatre. It is expected that the show will open in either September or October, pitting it against Mamma Mia! at the Lyric Theatre.
"It will be 60 weeks since we began previews at The Regent and 464 performances since opening night [when we close]," said producer John Frost.
"And what an exhilarating 60 weeks! Right from the beginning this show has been a hit. We got off to a wonderful start securing the biggest sponsorship ever for an Australian theatrical production from the ANZ bank.
"Next we got tremendous support from the government of the State of Victoria and of the City of Melbourne itself, helping market Wicked in a way unprecedented in this country. Melbourne went emerald green: the Town Hall and the trees in the city’s major thoroughfare were green lit, and stayed that way."
Wicked's opening night in Melbourne last July was one of the most spectacular in Australian theatre history and the show became an immediate success, with wide expectations that it would run for more than a year.
While it will achieve that goal, it hasn't always been easy.
The cast was rocked by the tragic sudden death of Rob Guest, who was playing the Wizard, last October.
In recent months, ticket sales have been far from brilliant, but the show held its own and there will most likely be a spike now that it has confirmed its closure.
Minister for Tourism and Major Events, Tim Holding, congratulated the producers and cast on an outstanding season.
"Wicked has been a terrific success story for Melbourne. Shows such as Wicked combined with Melbourne’s prestigious calendar of major events are critical to our tourism offering and help ensure that our hotels, restaurants and retail sector are busy
throughout the year," he said.
"Recently we marked the milestone of 120,000 interstate and international visitors to see the show in Melbourne. There is no doubt that in the coming months Wicked will continue to be the hottest ticket in Australia."
The musical took a record of more than $2.3 million in advance bookings in just three hours on February 12, 2008 and, on the Monday after it opened smashed the one-day box office record for all Melbourne theatres with a $1.5 million ticket sales in just one day.
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 Witch.
The Australian production features a stellar cast, led by Amanda Harrison as Elphaba and Lucy Durack as Glinda.
Buff
