Wicked Flies into New Zealand

WICKED FLIES INTO NEW ZEALAND
TICKETS ON SALE Monday, 8 April

Tickets to WICKED, the international Broadway musical blockbuster, will go on sale to the general public on Monday 8 April at 9am. The thrill-ifying musical opens at The Civic Theatre on Saturday 21 September, the rst stop on its celebration tour, and will run for a strictly limited season.

Tickets will be available from buytickets.co.nz or phone 0800 BUY TICKETS (0800 289 842) or ticketmaster.co.nz (09 970 9700). For groups of 12 or more, call 09 357 3360 and for premium packages visit showbiznz.co.nz It is with great pleasure that Co-producer John Frost today announces who will play the lead roles of Elphaba and Glinda – the two witches of WICKED.

Jemma Rix – who has toured Australia and Asia as Elphaba, the green witch – will reprise her role and Suzie Mathers – with 300 performances in Singapore and Korea to her credit – returns to the role of Glinda, the good witch.

Jemma was thrilled to be part of the 2008 Australian Premiere of WICKED in Melbourne, where she was cast as Standby and performed the role of Elphaba many times. In Sydney in 2010, she was honored to take over the role. Jemma continued playing Elphaba for the Australian tour of WICKED throughout 2011 and then continued the journey with the Australian cast performing in Singapore and Seoul in 2012, belting out an amazing 800 shows from all these venues combined.

Suzie’s other theatre credits and appearances include the lead role of Sophie in Mamma Mia!, both the 2011 and 2012 Rob Guest Endowment concerts, headlining artist at the 2012 Apex Carols by Candlelight, the role of Edith Faulkner in the 2007 New York Music Theatre Festival production of David King and Nick Enright’s The Good Fight and most recently in An Afternoon with Stephen Sondheim at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne.

WICKED is “one of the most successful shows in Broadway history” (The New York Times) and now it is Auckland’s turn to be enchanted by the award-winning hit musical, before Australia is reacquainted with the magic of WICKED.

When WICKED opened on Broadway, it worked its magic on critics and audiences alike. Winner of 35 major awards including a Grammy® and three Tony Awards® , 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, ery 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 ofce 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 ofce 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

“We are very excited for WICKED to premiere at The Civic in Auckland during this 10th Anniversary Year of this wonderful production, and trust that audiences there will embrace it as warmly as those in North America, the UK, Japan, Germany, Holland, South Korea and Australia,” said WICKED producers Marc Platt and David Stone. “It is a testament to the show’s storytelling power that audiences from around the globe continue to embrace its universal themes.”

WICKED Australia Co-Producer John Frost said, “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 people come to see WICKED 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-afrming friendship between the two girls who grow up to be Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

“WICKED is a musical that enchants audiences around the world and right across the spectrum,” Frost said. “I’m thrilled to bring her, in all her emerald beauty, to Auckland, before coming home to the wonderful Regent Theatre in Melbourne, where Australian audiences fell in love with WICKED for the rst time.”

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.co.nz

Performance Times: Tues–Fri 7.30pm, Sat 2pm and 7.30pm, Sun 1.00pm and 6.30pm Price: From $54.90 (service fees will apply) Bookings: www.buytickets.co.nz or phone 0800 BUY TICKETS (0800 289 842) www.ticketmaster.co.nz or 09 970 9700 Groups 12+ call 09 357 3360 Premium packages visit showbiznz.co.nz

ENDS

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