Blockbuster musical Wicked will return to Australia in 2023 for an exclusive 20th anniversary run in the Emerald Cit- I mean Sydney. As a Melburnian, ooft, I hope you’re happy now, NSW.
The musical, which tells origin story of the two witches from the Wizard of Oz, premiered on Broadway in 2003 and last toured Australia in 2015. The tour played to more than two million people and more than 60 million have seen it globally.
This time it’s just Sydney, but *sigh* wishing only wounds the heart.
It will open at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre on August 24, 2023. NSW Arts and Tourism Minister Ben Franklin said he hoped it would draw more than 50,000 out-of-towners to the state.
“Wicked is a global sensation that has played to more than 60 million people in 16 countries. It has proven enormously popular in Australia and appropriately Sydney will be the only city to host a season in its 20th anniversary year,” he said.
Wicked is the second-highest-grossing musical on Broadway, topped only by The Lion King. By the time Wicked opens in Australia it will be the fourth longest-running show in Broadway history.
We don’t yet know who’ll be playing Glinda or Elphaba — auditions will be held in the coming months and the local cast announcement is expected early next year.
Together, the witches are unlimited but the tickets definitely are not.
The waitlist for priority tickets is already open so brb, joining before it sells out for good.
But if you can’t make it to Sydney, don’t worry, a Wicked film is finally in the works and it’s starring Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. Well, actually two films, director Jon M. Chu said it it will be split into two parts.
Hopefully they stay true to the stage show’s acts and close the first film with Erivo belting the fuck out of Defying Gravity.
