Wicked top $30 Million in box office sales

Hit musical Wicked has now taken more than $30 million at the box office and is showing no signs of any serious slow-down at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne.

The record-breaking production, which opened in July, stars Amanda Harrison and Lucy Durack and has become a huge success, with more than 320,000 tickets already sold.T

here are consistent rumours, however, that the show could move to Sydney next year and open at the Capitol Theatre.

Interestingly, 20 per cent of Wicked's ticket sales in Melbourne have come from interstate visitors.

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."

This week, Harrison and Durack will sing the National Anthem at Oaks Day, part of the Spring Racing Carnival in Melbourne.Meanwhile, the Wicked cast met at the Regent Theatre late last month to discuss their producer’s request to re-use publicity footage at the Spring Racing Carnival, the ANZ website, the Regent Theatre website and Showbiz websites.

In other news, delegates at The Rocky Horror Show in Melbourne have worked with Equity to resolve a number of issues including the cleanliness of costumes, hazing effects and the inclusion of ensemble names on the show's website.

Aussietheatre.com