I WAS at the birth of something special recently. The cast and company of Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz met for the first time on July 23. The theatre had invited everyone to attend a Meet and Greet with an initial script read through.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Old friendships were renewed and new friendships were created. In the next couple of months the company will adhere to a schedule of rehearsals, coming together a couple of times a week to apply all their skills and talent to their allocated roles. There will be lots of laughs but it will be intense. I can guarantee that at some point every single person will have second thoughts about their commitment. They will be carried by the people they care about and the final result will be a community demonstration of love.
The Civic Theatre has a proud legacy of quality productions including Legally Blonde, Oliver, The Boy from Oz and Les Miserables. These shows have won awards and people still talk about seeing the shows. However we’ve also created something a little more subtle. We’ve created a family, a collection of like-minded people who love performing.
Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz is a Broadway musical, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman. Wicked celebrated its tenth anniversary on Broadway on October 30, 2013. It has strong literary connections to multiple texts; it is based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. At its foundation it is an alternative telling of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L Frank Baum's classic 1900 story, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
The musical is told from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz; its plot begins before and continues after Dorothy's arrival in Oz from Kansas, and it includes several references to the 1939 film and Baum's novel.
Wicked tells the story of two unlikely friends, Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Galinda (whose name later changes to Glinda the Good Witch), who struggle through opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love-interest, reactions to the Wizard's corrupt government and, ultimately, Elphaba's public fall from grace.
The set for this production is very beautiful, it is otherworldly and you feel transported to another time and place.
The cast is talented and very excited. Wicked will feature an all-star local cast of singers, performers and musicians. The cast includes: Meredith Adams (Elphaba), Siobhan McSweeney (Galinda), Alexandra Richards (Nessarose), Brent Dolahenty (Fiyero), Nicholas Childe (Boq), Joanne Darby (Madame Morrible), Bill Robertson (Dr Dillamond) and Mathew Davidson (The Wizard). The full cast list can be found on the Civic Theatre’s website.
Tickets are already selling strongly and the Civic Theatre encourages you to get organised and buy your tickets early so you don’t miss out on this exceptional show. Tickets can be purchased online at www.civictheatre.com.au or directly from the Theatre on 6926 9688.
****
KINGS of Croon is the next show in the Civic Theatre’s Silver Circle Season; these specially programmed shows feature quality entertainment during the day. The show is on Wednesday 16 August at 11am, with a free morning tea served from 10am and all tickets are the one low price of $22 each.
John Lidgerwood’s Style Music Theatre proudly presents these tuxedo-clad crooners as they bring a classic Vegas-like lounge show to Wagga. You’ll experience a trip back to an iconic time but on 21st century wings with modern mixes of contemporary songs included alongside the classic hits.
Velvety deliveries of Save the Last Dance for Me, Mack the Knife, Speak Softly Love and Beyond the Sea tip the hat to artists such as Andy Williams, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin and so many more. Unique coupling and tripling of songs like Unchained Melody, Can’t Help Falling in Love, John Legend’s All of Me and Adele’s Someone Like You seamlessly deliver a modern twist to this show.
Scott Irwin, Derek Metzger and Ian Stenlake have created a show with a great deal of style and swagger! Every audience member will take away a very memorable experience as the crooners demonstrate through interaction ‘what it takes to be a crooner’.
Tickets are available online at www.civictheatre.com.au or directly from the Civic Theatre by phoning 6926 9688.
