Press Release Friday 20 May 2016 WICKED ANNOUNCES 10TH ANNIVERSARY LONDON CAST RACHEL TUCKER RETURNS FROM BROADWAY TO PLAY ELPHABA ANITA DOBSON TO PLAY MADAME MORRIBLE SUZIE MATHERS JOINS FROM THE AUSTRALIAN PRODUCTION AS GLINDA WICKED, the West End musical phenomenon that tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz, is proud to announce that, from Monday 5 September 2016, the new cast that will lead the award-winning show through its 10th birthday celebrations at the Apollo Victoria Theatre will include: Rachel Tucker, who will return to the London production direct from a triumphant run on Broadway to play Elphaba; Suzie Mathers, who joins from the Australian production to star as Glinda; Oliver Savile, who continues as Fiyero; Anita Dobson, who joins to play Madame Morrible; Mark Curry, who continues as The Wizard; original cast member Martin Ball, who returns to play Doctor Dillamond; original cast member Katie Rowley Jones, who continues as Nessarose and Idriss Kargbo, who joins to play Boq. Alice Fearn will be Standby for Elphaba and Carina Gillespie continues as Standby for Glinda. Executive Producer Michael McCabe said: “We are delighted to announce the fantastic company that will lead us through the 10th birthday celebrations at the Apollo Victoria Theatre later this year. It is a great pleasure to welcome back from Broadway the incredible Rachel Tucker who will star alongside Suzie Mathers, who appeared in the Australian production, as ‘Elphaba’ and ‘Glinda’. Surrounding them will be many exciting new faces, including the incomparable Anita Dobson as Madame Morrible, and celebrated alumni, including the return of original cast member Martin Ball as Doctor Dillamond.” The production, acclaimed as “pure magic” (Time Out London), is currently booking until Saturday 29 April 2017. Please note that Rachel Tucker, Anita Dobson and Katie Rowley Jones appear until Saturday 28 January 2017 only. Current London cast members Emma Hatton (Elphaba), Savannah Stevenson (Glinda), Liza Sadovy (Madame Morrible), Sean Kearns (Doctor Dillamond), Daniel Hope (Boq) and Natalie Andreou (Standby for Elphaba) will all play their final performances on Saturday 3 September 2016. On Tuesday 27 September 2016, Wicked will celebrate an extraordinary 10 years in London. Now the 8th longest-running show in the West End* and already the 19th longest-running show in West End theatre history*, the “hugely popular show” (The Times) has played over 4000 performances and been seen by over 7 million people in London alone. *Information verified by The Society of London Theatre. A limited number of tickets for the 10th Birthday performance will go on public sale on Friday 27 May 2016 at 12.00 noon via the Wicked UK website only. Priority Booking will be available to subscribers of the Wicked Ozmopolitan e-newsletter from 10.00am on 27 May 2016. Please note that there will be no Day Seats released for this performance. Please visit www.WickedTheMusical.co.uk/Wicked10 for more information and to sign up. From Monday 5 September 2016, Wicked will star Rachel Tucker (Elphaba), Suzie Mathers (Glinda), Oliver Savile (Fiyero), Anita Dobson (Madame Morrible), Mark Curry (The Wizard), Martin Ball (Doctor Dillamond), Katie Rowley Jones (Nessarose), Idriss Kargbo (Boq), Alice Fearn (Standby for Elphaba), Carina Gillespie (Standby for Glinda), James Darch, Kerry Enright, Freya Field, Joseph Fletcher, Fraser Fraser, David Gale, Sergio Giacomelli, Alexandra Grierson, Olivia Kate Holding, Aaron Jenkins, Claudia Kariuki, Will Lucas, Chanel Mian, Billy Mitchell, Scott Monello, Ella Nonini, Rosa O’Reilly, Julienne Schembri, Joe Sleight, Jessamy Stoddart, Paulo Teixeira, Joe Toland, Hannah Toy, Russell Walker, Sasha Wareham and Helen Woolf. Cont’d... Based on the international best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire that ingeniously re-imagined the stories and characters created by L. Frank Baum in ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’, Wicked tells the incredible untold story of an unlikely but profound friendship between two sorcery students. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfil their destinies as Glinda The Good and the Wicked Witch of the West. Wicked has music and lyrics by multi Grammy and Academy Award-winner Stephen Schwartz (Godspell; Disney’s Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame) and is based on the novel ‘Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West’ by Gregory Maguire and adapted for the stage by Winnie Holzman. Musical staging is by Tony Award- winner Wayne Cilento and the production is directed by two-time Tony Award-winner Joe Mantello. Wicked is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Stage Productions, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone. Executive Producer (UK) Michael McCabe. Through its FOR GOOD programme and other charitable endeavours, Wicked is proud to support the remarkable work of the following UK charities: Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA); the Cybersmile Foundation; the Helen Bamber Foundation; the Rainbow Trust Children's Charity; Stonewall's ‘Education For All’ campaign; The Woodland Trust and the National Literacy Trust. Further information can be found at www.WickedForGood.co.uk Apollo Victoria Theatre, Wilton Road, London, SW1V 1LG Official UK website: www.WickedTheMusical.co.uk For press enquiries please contact JO ALLAN PR: James Travis-Lever / E: [email protected] | T: +44 (0)20 7520 9392 | M: +44 (0)7753 222 768 Jo Allan / E: [email protected] | T: +44 (0)20 7520 9392 | M: +44 (0)7889 905 850 LISTINGS INFORMATION NOW BOOKING TO SATURDAY 29 APRIL 2017 Apollo Victoria Theatre, Wilton Road, London, SW1V 1LG The theatre is 1 minute from London Victoria Mainline and Underground Stations Box Office Opening Hours: Monday - Saturday 10.00am - 7.45pm No booking fees or transaction charges for tickets booked in person at the Box Office. Official UK website: www.WickedTheMusical.co.uk Box Office and 24 Hour Credit Card Bookings: ATG Tickets 0844 871 3001* / www.ATGTickets.com/Wicked (*Calls cost 7p per minute, plus your phone company’s access charge) Ticket prices: from £17.50 - £125.00 * *An ATG Tickets booking fee of up to £2.75 may apply to bookings made online and by telephone. A one-off ATG Tickets £3.00 transaction fee will also be added to each booking made online and by telephone. Group Sales (10 tickets or more): Group Line 020 7420 9700 / www.Groupline.com/Wicked No booking or transaction fees for group bookings of 10 or more. Sales subject to terms and conditions. Day Seats: £29.50: A limited number of seats released daily for that day’s performance(s) at 10.00am, in person at the Box Office. PLEASE NOTE THAT NO DAY SEATS WILL BE RELEASED ON TUESDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2016. Students: Best available seats £29.50 from 10.00am, Monday-Friday at 7.30pm and Wednesday & Saturday at 2.30pm from the Box Office with student ID. Subject to availability. One ticket per ID. Standby Concessions: Best available seats £29.50 from 10.00am, Monday-Friday at 7.30pm and Wednesday & Saturday at 2.30pm from the Box Office for Senior Citizens, Jobseekers, Equity, BECTU and MU members and registered disabled. Subject to availability. One ticket per ID. EXTRA SHOWS ADDED: Thursday 14 July, Thursday 4 August, Thursday 11 August, Thursday 27 October, Thursday 22 December, Monday 26 December, Thursday 29 December 2016, Thursday 16 February 2017 and Thursday 13 April 2017. All extra shows commence at 2.30pm All ticket prices include a £1.75 Theatre Restoration Levy. NOTES FOR EDITORS WICKED WORLDWIDE “A phenomenon that keeps growing” (Los Angeles Times), Wicked has already been seen by 50 million people around the world and is one of the most celebrated, spectacular and successful musicals of all time. Winner of over 100 major awards, Wicked has already been performed in over 100 cities in 14 countries around the world (United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan, Germany, The Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, The Philippines, Mexico and Brazil) and has also been translated into six languages: Japanese, German, Dutch, Spanish, Korean and Portuguese. WICKED LONDON Already the 19th longest-running show in West End theatre history, the London production premiered on 27 September 2006 (with previews from 7 September) and has already played over 4000 performances at the Apollo Victoria Theatre. Wicked has been hailed as “one of the greatest musicals of our time” (Daily Mail); “one of the biggest hits of our age” (The Observer); and “one of the most popular West End musicals ever” (London Evening Standard). Wicked is the winner of the Olivier Audience Award (twice); the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Night Out; a Visit London Gold Award; and nine What’s On Stage Awards including Best West End Show (twice) and Best Musical. Most recently, Wicked has been named as London’s No.1 Long-Running Show by BritishTheatre.com, awarded a Certificate of Excellence by Trip Advisor®, received a Critics’ Choice citation from The Times and is the first ever UK stage production to earn coveted Reader Recommendations from Good Housekeeping and Cosmopolitan magazines. WICKED UK/INTERNATIONAL TOUR Wicked recently concluded an almost two-year, multi record-breaking tour of the UK & Ireland. A “blockbuster success” (Sunderland Echo) in 15 cities, the production was seen by 1.3 million people and acclaimed as “the ultimate Broadway experience for theatre audiences all over the UK” (The Northern Echo). The award-winning production resumes touring this summer, re-opening at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford on 20 July for 5 weeks before travelling to multiple international territories, including Singapore, Hong Kong and Manila, until the beginning of 2018. WICKED BROADWAY The multi record-breaking original Broadway production remains “Broadway’s biggest blockbuster” (The New York Times) after 13 years and over 5000 performances at the Gershwin Theatre, where it premiered on 30 October 2003 (with previews from 8 October 2003).