Left - National Touring Company. Below - From the Original Broadway production. Photos - Joan Marcus
The most sought after roles in Australian music theatre - the witches from Wicked were announced in New York last week. Amanda Harrison and Lucy Durack met their Broadway counterparts on stage at the Gershwin Theatre.
At the time John Frost, the Australian co-producer of Wicked said the announcement of the two stars followed the most exhaustive auditions in Australian music theatre history.
Today from the Regent Theatre ballroom, four more principal roles were announced. Joining Harrison and Durack will be Australian theatre stars Rob Guest as the Wizard, and Maggie Kirkpatrick as Madame Morrible. Also announced were Australian Idol favourites, Rob Mills as Fiyero, the romantic lead, and Anthony Callea as Boq.
Auditions began on December 2, with the two remaining principal roles still to be announced.
Wicked - the untold story of the Witches of Oz, tells how, long before Dorothy arrives, two other girls meet in the land of Oz. Unlikely friends, they grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda the Good Witch.
Wicked opened at the Gershwin Theatre, New York in October 2003, regularly grosses more than $US1.4 million a week, and is already regarded as one of the most successful shows in Broadway history.
Written for the stage by veteran Stephen Schwartz (Music and lyrics), whose previous credits include Pippin, The Baker’s Wife, Rags and the film versions of Pocahontas and The Prince of Egypt. An Academy Award and Grammy winner, Schwartz was in Melbourne recently as a guest of the Australian Tennis Open.
Winnie Holzman (Book) is a Tony nominee and has written for film and television (thirtysomething).
Gregory Maguire (author of the original novel) has written a dozen novels for children before launching his first adult novel Wicked. His latest novel is Son of a Witch, a sequel to Wicked.
Accomplished actor/director Joe Mantello will oversee the Melbourne production.
WICKED FACTS
• More than five million people have seen Wicked in North America alone, which has a combined box office sales above $US 700 million
• In England Wicked had the highest weekly gross in West End history
• Presenting Sponsor, ANZ, has made the largest investment of its kind in Australian theatre history, with its $1 million investment
• More than 1700 performers auditioned in Australia for the eight principal and 24 ensemble roles
• Wicked has won 15 major awards including the Grammy and three Tonys
