Wicked has taken the first steps towards being the most successful musical ever staged in Australia after the all-important group booking figures exceeded expectations on Tuesday evening.
The show took $2.3 million in advance sales in just three hours, a new record for musical theatre in Australia.
The group bookers evening is always an important test for a production on how its initial promotion and marketing has been received and can often be the first indication of either success or disaster in the long term."It’s a tremendous sign that this musical is going to have a very long run at the Regent Theatre," said producer John Frost."Group bookers are the backbone of every successful musical, so I’m thrilled, of course. But I can’t say the advance sales came as a huge shock. Wherever it opens Wicked smashes box office records. At the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway alone it holds $40 million in advance bookings: an unheard of figure for a show that is now into its fifth year."The record-breaking night came just hours after Frost announced more details of the show's cast, confirming that Anthony Callea, Rob Guest, Rob Mills and Maggie Kirkpatrick would join previously announced cast members Amanda Harrison and Lucy Durack in the musical, which is essentially the back story to The Wizard Of Oz.
The advance sales record on Tuesday beat the previous record holder - The Phantom Of The Opera - by a whopping 15 per cent."It has been a phenomenal response," Frost said."And I expect we’ll get another record breaking rush when bookings open to the general public on February 25."
It has been a month of record-breaking achievements for Wicked, with the production also announcing a $1 million 'presenting sponsor' deal with ANZ - the largest deal of its kind in Australian theatrical history.
Frost revealed on Tuesday that after securing the $1 million deal, he walked out of the meeting, purchased a bottle of French champagne and drank it at four in the afternoon, an indication of his excitement at the coup.
Aussietheatre.com
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