Wicked, the musical which has been enchanting audiences at the Apollo Victoria with its tale of the witches of Oz, has announced an extension to its current run. The magical show is now booking until 26 September 2009.
Wicked was an award-winning success on Broadway before opening in London’s West End in September 2006 with a cast including original American leading lady Idina Menzel. Since then it has been seen by over 1.5 million people and will celebrate its second birthday later this month.
Wicked is set in the fantastical land of Oz created by L Frank Baum and immortalised in the classic film The Wizard Of Oz. Wannabe witches Elphaba and Galinda are thrown together at college and, though one is intelligent and green-skinned, the other blonde, popular and a touch dim, they become friends. Yet circumstances beyond their control lead one of them to become the Wicked Witch of the West while the other becomes the Good Witch of the North. But in a world of magic and mystery not everything is as it seems.
Michael McCabe, Executive Producer of Wicked said of the show: “As we enter our third year in the West End the success of Wicked continues to grow. We have enjoyed an incredibly successful 2008 and business is up week-on-week from 2007 which is an extraordinary achievement. We are now delighted to be adding our 6th booking period and putting almost half a million (460,692) new tickets on sale. We have been averaging over £600,000 gross a week all summer, and we are delighted that there is absolutely no sign of Wicked being affected by the ‘credit crunch’. In fact theatregoers appear to be actively seeking out the show in this current climate in order to enjoy a night of pure escapism and value-for-money entertainment.”
Wicked’s current cast includes Alexia Khadime as wicked witch Elphaba, Dianne Pilkington as good counterpart Glinda, Oliver Tompsett as Fiyero, Harriet Thorpe as Madame Morrible and Desmond Barrit as The Wizard. Kerry Ellis, who previously played Elphaba in the West End, and is currently performing as the sprout-coloured enchantress on Broadway, returns to the London production from 1 December.
MA