WICKED serves as a prequel to the Wizard of Oz, and tells the untold story of the Witches of Oz. Adapted from Gregory Maguire’s novel Wicked: The Life & Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, it explores the early life of the witches of Oz: Glinda and Elphaba.
Long before Dorothy blew into town, there were two other girls kicking up a storm in the land of Oz. Galinda; blonde ambitious and very popular, and green-skinned Elphaba; neglected and misunderstood. Wicked tells the story of these two mis-matched friends and how they become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.
The two main characters meet at University. By a misunderstanding, they end up as roommates and, after an initial period of mutual loathing, begin to care for each other and influence the other choices. These choices and their personal convictions take them on wildly different journeys.
The story pays homage to the classic Wizard of Oz story while simultaneously changing our understanding of it forever.
A cautionary tale about love, friendship and trust, Wicked explores contemporary moral dilemmas such as tolerance and prejudice, and political themes including media manipulation and government corruption.
It seamlessly integrates these modern socio-political themes with contemporary music and references to the Wizard of Oz to leave the audience spellbound.
WICKED effortlessly reveals that there are indeed two sides to every story.
Director Carolyn Murphy
Musical Director Christopher Luke
Choreographer Alannah Matthews
Production Manager Steve Lloyd
Elphaba Thropp: Catherine Hay
G(a)linda Uppland: Rebekah Head
Fiyero Tigelaar: Sam Mitchell
Nessarose Thropp: Jess Old
Madame Morrible: Stacy Manktelow
Boq: Keegan Pullman
The Wizard: Justin Clinton-Gohdes
Dr Dillamond: David Liggett
Chistery: Jesse Pearson
Blake Wilson, Cervantee Wild, Charlie Couchman, Cynthia Ciezadlo, Daniel Lockett, Ella Hawthorne, George Lehrke, Hana Klenner, Hannah Liggett, Jasmine Butler, Jeff Poole, Julie Trigger, Kate Dawkins, Katie-Rose Murphy, Katie Slater, Lauren Luque, Lauren Nottingham, Levi King, Liana Harris, Shaun Murphy, Sophie James
Angela Hill, Ann Stewart, Anna Rowe, Diana Lloyd, Ian Hutchinson, Jenny Bennett, Joe Deegan, John Ainsworth, Laura Griffith, Steve Leeks, Vikki Johnson
New Plymouth Operatic Society production of
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Book by Winnie Holzman
Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire
Orchestrations by William David Brohn
Musical Arrangements by Alex Lacamoire & Stephen Oremus
Licensed exclusively by Music Theatre International (Australasia).
All performance materials supplied by Hal Leonard Australia.
