Wicked in Melbourne

So the news of Wicked coming to Australia is true, and even better, it's coming to Melbourne. July 2008 will see Wicked opening at the Regent Theatre (coincidentally, the venue where I went to my very first music concert, and the place where I saw the Wizard of Oz on the big screen for the first time in my life) on Collins St. Wicked is to be produced by John Frost and is rumoured to have an $18 million budget, thanks to the support from the government. The government has jumped behind bringing this magical musical to Melbourne, as it will do a lot (so they hope, and so I expect) for tourism in Melbourne. With the news that the show will not tour and will not go to Sydney (although this fact remains to be seen and I do doubt that it will not go there eventually) the Melbourne run is being advertised as 'open ended', forcing current and future fans (for I gurantee you the number will grow) to flock to Melbourne to enjoy the wonder of Wicked.

It is early days yet which means no casting news. Helen Dallimore is expected to play the role of Glinda, and has expressed interest, but she has definitely not signed on. I do wonder if she will in fact reprise her role here - there are pros and cons to staying in and leaving London. The main reason I wonder is this: Dallimore was well known in Australia before she headed over to London, but it took quite a while for her to find a break over there. While one can see she landed the biggest break of them all, it wasn't easy and it didn't happen overnight. Helen is no stranger to waiting tables in London, and often thought about simply returning home and taking what she could here. Not one to give up though, she stuck it out, believing that her break was just around the corner - and then one day it was. She finishes her run at the Apollo Victoria on July 14 2007, a full year before the opening in Melbourne. After struggling for so long to land something big in London, and now being a household name over there (at least one would imagine) it's hard for me to think that coming home would be her next career move. We'll see though, and I hope she does. The next question would then be: British or Aussie?

So Wicked is coming, and I am excited. Too excited, even. I'm saving my pennies, and recruiting as many people as I can. The more group bookings I can make, the cheaper my tickets.

Check out the Aussie Wicked site here