Wicked leaves more records in its wake

Wicked has taken a box office gross of $1,691,529 for the week ending July 20 (eight performances), a new record in Melbourne theatre.

It's not the first record the Australian production of the smash hit tuner has left in its wake, however.

Last Monday, following the show's opening at the Regent Theatre on July 12, the rush for tickets set a new one-day box office sales record for any Melbourne Theatre.

And in just three hours on February 13, when advance bookings first opened in Melbourne, group bookers snapped up advance tickets worth $2.3 million – a record for Australian musical theatre.

Wicked now holds $13 million in advance sales, and last week released a further 60,000 seats for sale.“Wicked is unique,” said the musical’s co-producer, John Frost. “Week by week it just gets bigger and bigger. This is a spectacular musical that has won the big the awards: a Grammy for Best Musical Show album - the album has sold more than two million copies - three Tony Awards and six Drama Desks including Best Musical. The amazing book that goes with the show, Wicked The Grimmerie, has sold 200,000 copies."

Wicked is the untold story of the witches of Oz. Long before Dorothy drops in, two other girls meet in the land of Oz. One, born with emerald green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. Wicked tells the story of their remarkable odyssey, how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch.

In his review of Wicked for AussieTheatre.com, Troy Dodds said, in part: "Wicked’s spectacular costumes and contemporary staging are the real stars of the show, and the gasp of wonderment from the audience when Elphaba (Amanda Harrison) flies into the air at the spectacular conclusion to act one embodies the incredible connection this show builds with an audience throughout. And such gasps keep coming, whether it be at one of the many hundreds of wonderful outfits or the strong, action-packed script that has so many surprises along the way that it almost makes Wicked a show you need to see two or three times to really take it all in."

Wicked is expected to run at Melbourne's Regent Theatre for at least 18 months before moving to Sydney. Bookings: 132 849.

Aussietheatre.com