Next year, something Wicked this way comes… to Sydney. That’s right, the hit broadway musical is gracing Sydney’s Lyric Theatre on August 23rd, 2023.
Wicked is the award-winning musical and prequel to The Wizard of Oz that follows younger Elphaba and Glinda as they learn about magic and take their places in Oz as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch.
Marking twenty years on Broadway, NSW Arts and Tourism Minister Ben Franklin praised Wicked for “being for everybody” and “one of the biggest technical shows to come to Australia.”
Being the second-highest grossing musical on Broadway, Franklin is extremely enthusiastic about the tourism opportunities that Wicked will bring in .
“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.
Further down the line, a two-part Wicked film from director John M. Chu is in the works. Assumingly following the same story as the musical, Glinda will be portrayed by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo will play Elphaba.
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo at rehearsals for #Wicked. pic.twitter.com/vlbBSjsf5b
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) October 6, 2022
Chu is no stranger to music and dance having directed both Step Up 2: The Streets, back in 2008 and the Justin Bieber biopic Never Say Never. Teamed up with both Erivo and Grande, it’s bound to make any music hyped.