WICKED, the West End and Broadway musical phenomenon that tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz, is delighted to confirm that its spectacular touring production will fly home to where it began in September 2013, the Palace Theatre in Manchester, for one final time. The five-week Christmas engagement, from Tuesday 4 December 2018 to Saturday 5 January 2019, will mark the end of the multi record-breaking, critically acclaimed tour.
Following its sensational Manchester premiere in 2013, this production not only travelled to cities across the UK and Ireland but has also dazzled audiences in China, the Philippines, Singapore and Switzerland.
WICKED transports audiences to a stunningly re-imagined world of Oz, providing wonders beyond the imagination. The “spellbinding smash hit” (Time Out London) is already the 14th longest running show in West End theatre history and has now been seen by over 9 million people in London alone. Around the world, WICKED has won more than 100 major awards, including ten theatregoer-voted WhatsOnStage Awards (winning ‘Best West End Show’ on three occasions) and two Olivier Audience Awards in the UK. The song ‘Defying Gravity’ was also recently voted the UK’s ‘No.1 Favourite Musical Theatre Song’ by listeners of Encore Radio.
The acclaimed cast features Amy Ross as Elphaba, Helen Woolf as Glinda, Aaron Sidwell (best known as ‘Steven Beale’ in EastEnders) as Fiyero, Steven Pinder (best known as ‘Max Farnham’ in Brookside) as The Wizard & Doctor Dillamond, Kim Ismay as Madame Morrible, Emily Shaw as Nessarose and Iddon Jones as Boq. Nikki Bentley is Standby for Elphaba.
Based on the best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire that ingeniously re-imagines the stories and characters created by L. Frank Baum in ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’, WICKED tells the incredible untold story of an unlikely but profound friendship between two sorcery students. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfil their destinies as Glinda The Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
WICKED has music and lyrics by Oscar, Golden Globe, Grammy and Tony Award winner Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin; Disney’s Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Enchanted; DreamWorks’ The Prince of Egypt) and is based on the novel ‘Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West’ by Gregory Maguire and adapted for the stage by Winnie Holzman (My So-Called Life). Scenic designer Eugene Lee and costume designer Susan Hilferty each won 2004 Tony Awards for their stunning designs. Music arrangements are by Alex Lacamoire (Hamilton) and Stephen Oremus (Disney’sFrozen). Musical staging is by Wayne Cilento and the production is directed by two-time Tony Award-winner Joe Mantello.
