An Australian production officially opened on July 12, 2008, with previews commencing June 27 at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne. Amanda Harrison was originally cast as Elphaba, with Lucy Durack as Glinda. The original cast consisted of Rob Mills as Fiyero, Anthony Callea as Boq, Rob Guest as the Wizard, Maggie Kirkpatrick as Madame Morrible, Penny McNamee as Nessarose and Rodney Dobson as Doctor Dillamond. Guest unexpectedly died months into the Melbourne season, with the role being taken up by Bert Newton. Closing in Melbourne August 9, 2009, the show transferred to Sydney's Capitol Theatre. Previews began on September 5, 2009, with the official opening on September 12.
Australian productions
Wicked (musical)
Wicked (musical) | Australian productions
This production of the musical opened on July 12, 2008, with previews commencing June 27 at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne. "Amanda Harrison" was cast as “Elphaba”, "Lucy Durack" as “Glinda”, "Rob Mills" as “Fiyero", "Anthony Callea" as “Boq” and "Rob Guest" as the Wizard to name a few of the members from this production. An Australian production officially opened on July 12, 2008, with previews commencing June 27 at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne. An Australian production officially opened,  with previews commencing at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne.
who has played fiyero in wicked on broadway
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Norbert Leo Butz
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who composed the lyrics for this musical?
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Stephen Schwartz
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is this musical adapted from a story?
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Yes, it is based on a novel by Gregory Maguire, which is a retelling of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum.
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what is this story about?
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It chronicles the adventures of a young farm girl named Dorothy in the magical Land of Oz, after she and her pet dog Toto are swept away from their Kansas home by a cyclone.
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what is the genre of this musical?
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Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context.
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where was it recorded?
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Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context.
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who produced this musical?
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Universal Stage Productions in coalition with Marc Platt, Jon B. Platt and David Stone.
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where was it first premier?
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October 2003
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did this musical go on an international tour?
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Yes, the tour opened at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford, England.
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who founded this theatre?
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Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context.
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how is the australian productions related to this musical?
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An Australian production officially opened on July 12, 2008, with previews commencing June 27 at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne. Amanda Harrison was originally cast as Elphaba, with Lucy Durack as Glinda. The original cast consisted of Rob Mills as Fiyero, Anthony Callea as Boq, Rob Guest as the Wizard, Maggie Kirkpatrick as Madame Morrible, Penny McNamee as Nessarose and Rodney Dobson as Doctor Dillamond. Guest unexpectedly died months into the Melbourne season, with the role being taken up by Bert Newton. Closing in Melbourne August 9, 2009, the show transferred to Sydney's Capitol Theatre. Previews began on September 5, 2009, with the official opening on September 12.
Wicked (musical) | Australian productions
Recent musical productions include "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels", "Oliver!," "West Side Story", "Anything Goes", "A Peculiar People" (World Premier), "Les Misérables", "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." Recent dramatic productions include "Our Town", "Lord of the Flies" and "The Cherry Orchard."
Sydney Church of England Grammar School | Performing arts
The very first show staged was the comedy, "Bad Lads". Also in the first year, the Australian classic, "For the Term of His Natural Life", was performed, as was Saturday afternoon wrestling and a season of Italian opera.
Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne | History
New Musicals Australia was founded in 2010 by director and producer Kris Stewart, who also founded the New York Musical Theatre Festival.
New Musicals Australia | History
An Australian production for J.C. Williamson Theatres Limited played in Melbourne and Sydney from January–October 1976; starring Andrea Frierson (Dorothy), Victor Willis (Tin Man), Freddie Paris (Lion), Chuck McKinney (The Wiz) and Robert Ellis (Scarecrow). Upon his return from Australia in late 1976, Victor Willis joined the cast of the original Broadway production. Flymonkey Productions (London, UK) ran two shows. The first one was in 2000 which received great reviews and a second was run the following year in 2001 receiving exceptional reviews from the London press. Both productions were run at the Hackney Empire. The 2001 show was particularly notable because it was the last show to be performed at the Hackney Empire before the theatre closed its doors for refurbishment.
The Wiz | Other productions
The musical began touring Australia beginning 4 November 2017 at the Lyric Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Brisbane, Queensland, followed by a season at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney in Sydney from 30 December 2017. The cast included Anthony Warlow as the Wizard with Lucy Durack as Glinda the Good and Jemma Rix as Wicked Witch of the West, with Samantha Dodemaide as Dorothy. Durack and Rix previously portrayed Glinda and Elphaba respectively in the Australian production of "Wicked".
The Wizard of Oz (2011 musical) | Australian tour (2017–2018)
An Australian production, also with Lewis Fiander, opened at Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne on 26 June 1971 and moved to the Theatre Royal in Sydney on 11 September 1971.
1776 (musical) | Productions
The database provides records of productions from the beginnings of theatre in Australia up to today, searchable by playwright, venue, company, director and other categories. A team of people working around the country have indexed articles from journals such as the "Australia and New Zealand Theatre Record" as well as archived theatre programmes and other printed and electronic materials. The first recorded theatre production staged in Australia, performed in the same year as the convict settlement was founded in Port Jackson, 1789, and put on by convicts in a hut, with Captain Arthur Phillip in the audience, is included in the database.
AusStage | Content and description
The first professional production in Australia (English-speaking) was a concert version in 2019.
Jekyll &amp; Hyde (musical) | Regional and International Productions
The Production Company is an Australian not-for-profit theatre company that stages a series of usually three musicals at the Arts Centre Melbourne each year. It was launched in 1999 by Jeanne Pratt AC with the goal of providing "professional opportunities for local artists and to entertain Melbourne audiences with the best shows from Broadway and beyond". The Production Company specialises in revivals of popular and lesser known musicals with short (two week) rehearsal periods and short runs. It has also produced the Australian professional premieres of "Thoroughly Modern Millie", "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels", "Grey Gardens", "Nice Work If You Can Get It", "Curtains" and "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder".
The Production Company | Introduction
Theatre in Australia today includes a diverse range of performances of different scale and contexts. Commercial theatres like the Lyric, Capitol and Theatre Royal in Sydney and the Regent, Princess, Her Majesty's and Comedy in Melbourne, and other major venues in these and other cities, host Australian productions of popular musicals and other large-scale events. Resident professional theatre companies in Sydney (Sydney Theatre Company, Belvoir, Griffin, Ensemble), Melbourne (Melbourne Theatre Company, Malthouse), Brisbane (Queensland Theatre, La Boite), Perth (Black Swan), Adelaide (State Theatre Company of South Australia), and some other cities on a smaller-scale, produce mainstage seasons of Australian and international plays and, occasionally, musicals.
Theatre of Australia | Theatre today
Following complaints from the audience, there was considerable negative press attention to the decision, and Sondheim threatened to revoke the production rights for the show.
Company (musical) | 2007 Australian production
Thomson began a long and successful collaboration with director Jim Sharman after they met at Heavenburgers on Sydney's Oxford Street in 1969; they worked together on a series of groundbreaking productions for the Old Tote Theatre Company and worked together on a string of hugely successful musical productions including the Melbourne production of "Hair", the original Australian and London productions of "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "The Rocky Horror Show". Other musical credits include the most recent Broadway production of "The King and I" (1996 Tony Award for Best Scenic Design), "Dame Edna – Back with a Vengeance" and more recently in Australia "Company", "The Boy from Oz" Arena Tour with Hugh Jackman (2007 Helpmann Award for Best Design), and "Priscilla: Queen of the Desert the Musical".
Brian Thomson (scenic designer) | Biography
The full Australian production, directed by Neil Armfield with choreography by Gideon Obarzanek and with Perfect in the title role, opened at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne on 10 December 2008. It toured to the Regal Theatre in Perth from 18 March 2009 and the Enmore Theatre in Sydney from 15 May 2009. A 2013 revision included a new beginning and ending, new scenes and a revised structure, four new songs and new characters including Liz Hurley. It played short seasons in June for the Adelaide Cabaret Festival at Her Majesty’s Theatre, then at Hamer Hall in Melbourne. This production, directed by Simon Phillips, had a cast that included Perfect, Lisa McCune, Shane Jacobson and Christie Whelan-Browne.
Shane Warne: The Musical | Productions
The theatre is renowned for hosting a collective mix of entertainment from dramas, comedies and musicals, with notable localised production of such productions as "The King and I", "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and "War Horse". Sydney has acquired the rights to host the musical "Hamilton: An American Musical" in 2021.
Theatre Royal, Sydney | Productions
From 1915 the theatre's lessees were Bert Bailey and Anderson's former business manager, Julius Grant. This period saw a number of productions by J. and N. Tait Ltd, the firm of three of the Tait brothers, John Henry, James Nevin and Frank Samuel, who merged their enterprise with that of J.C. Williamson's in 1920. During the 1920, '30s and '40s, the theatre saw plays, vaudeville, pantomimes (such as "Sinbad the Sailor" (1939)), comedians, musical revues (like the mostly American production of Olsen and Johnson's "Hellzapoppin" (1949)), magicians and others perform. In March 1922 the American illusionist Nicola (William Mozart Nicol), who was also giving shows inside the theatre, performed a trick where he hung upside down from a sign that was suspended from the roof of the theatre.
King's Theatre, Melbourne | Later live theatre years
C. Williamson continued to produce seasons of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, seasons of operetta, musical comedy, straight plays, pantomimes and occasional musical revues, and later grand opera, ballet seasons, and concert tours by visiting celebrity singers and musicians, at the many theatres that it owned or leased throughout Australia and New Zealand until 1976, when the company closed and leased out its name. The company's activities even extended to London's West End, where it produced, among others, seasons of the musicals "High Jinks" (in 1916), and "Mr. Cinders" (1928).
J. C. Williamson | World War I and beyond
The Araca Group next co-produced "Wicked", a musical based on the novel by Gregory Maguire that retells the story of The Wizard of Oz. Premiering at The Gershwin Theatre on 30 October 2003, "Wicked" received three Tony Awards and is currently among the top grossing shows on Broadway. "Wicked" would go on to have subsequent productions all over the world including London, Germany, Australia, Japan, and an upcoming debut in the Netherlands. "Wicked" has also had great success in North America with two tours and long running performances in Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
The Araca Group | "Wicked"
Sydney Theatre Company intended the season at the Wharf Theatre to be a tryout before a transfer to the larger Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre and a national tour. As it was not a popular success, this did not occur. A revival by the State Theatre Company of South Australia was produced in Adelaide in 1991, at The Space, Adelaide Festival Centre. Neil Armfield directed the musical as a promenade production, with a cast including David Field and Nancye Hayes.
Jonah (musical) | Productions
Kookaburra was founded by Australian musical theatre performer Peter Cousens in 2006 and received high-profile support from many luminaries of the Australian stage, the Australian Federal government and a variety of businesses. Throughout its short career it produced seven musicals, two major concerts and fourteen cabaret events. The company experienced financial challenges and cancelled productions, and caused controversy when Stephen Sondheim demanded an apology and threatened to remove rights after major cuts were made to "Company" when an actor with no understudy could not perform. It officially closed in March 2009, reportedly with thousands of dollars owing to creative staff and $1.6 million in debt.
Kookaburra Musical Theatre | History
The musical was to transfer to The Palms at Crown in Melbourne. However, with weak ticket sales the production closed in Brisbane after 47 performances. In September 2007, Kookaburra Musical Theatre announced a Sydney production as part of its 2008 season. This was also later cancelled.
Sideshow Alley (musical) | Production history
A condensed thirty-minute version of the musical played at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, Japan. Australian Jemma Rix was part of the original cast, alternating the role of Elphaba with Jillian Giaachi and Taylor Jordan. The show, which opened on July 12, 2006, featured the preliminary storyline of Act 1 but Fiyero, Madame Morrible, Boq, Nessarose and Doctor Dillamond were absent and there were considerable changes in sets and costumes. The final performance took place on January 11, 2011. A Japanese production by the Shiki Theatre Company opened in Tokyo, Japan, on June 17, 2007, and subsequently moved to Osaka, Fukoka and Nagoya, before closing in Sapporo on November 6, 2016.
Wicked (musical) | Subsequent international productions
The original production opened at Melbourne's Princess Theatre on 16 January 1988, produced by John Timlin with investors including the Hoyts Corporation and Qantas, as part of Australian Bicentenary celebrations. It was directed by John Bell with choreography by Mark Daly and musical direction by David King. The cast included Ivar Kants, Michele Fawdon, John McTernan, Jonathan Biggins, Greg Stone, Linda Nagle, Kate Turner, Helen Noonan, Tina Bursill, Jenny Vuletic, Bob Hornery, Carmen Tanti, Ross Williams, Terry Brady, Darryl Emmerson, Geoffrey Jenkins and Ingrid Silveus. Negative initial reviews and poor ticket sales resulted in the musical facing closure after three weeks.
Manning Clark's History of Australia – The Musical | Production history
The Sydney Theatre Company presented the first Australian production at the Sydney Opera House's Drama Theatre in January and February 1986. Directed by Richard Wherrett, it featured John O'May as Bobby, Geraldine Turner as Joanne, with other cast members, including Tony Sheldon, Simon Burke, Terence Donovan, and Barry Quin.
Company (musical) | Original Australian production
The following year, he adapted the play "Norman, Is That You?" for Australian audiences, which had successful seasons in Melbourne and Sydney. The adaptation included a new title song, co-written by Howson with composer Peter Best, which was recorded and released as a single by the show's star, Bobby Limb. The late 1990s saw Howson return to the creation of stage musicals, albeit this time in the form of jukebox musicals rather than entirely original shows with original music. "Shout! The Legend of The Wild One", a stage musical about the life of singer Johnny O'Keefe, was co-written by Howson with Melvyn Morrow and David Mitchell, and made its premiere in Melbourne in the early 2000s (decade).
John-Michael Howson | Theatrical productions
Shortly into the run, Harrison was forced to leave the role of Elphaba due to an illness, so current standby Jemma Rix and Australian theatre veteran Pippa Grandison began to share the role, each appearing in four shows per week. Eventually, it was confirmed that she would not be returning to the cast.
Wicked (musical) | Australian productions
New Musicals Australia is operated out of a collection of entertainment spaces owned by Century Venues.
New Musicals Australia | Venues
For the week commencing December 27, 2010, the London production grossed £1,002,885, the highest single-week gross in West End theatre history, with over 20,000 theatregoers attending the nine performances of "Wicked" that week. The Melbourne production broke Australian box-office records, selling 24,750 tickets in three hours during pre-sales and grossing over $1.3 million on the first business day after its official opening. On April 27, 2009, the production passed the milestone of 500,000 patrons. When it transferred to Sydney, the production broke "all previous weekly box office records for a musical at the Capitol Theatre, grossing $1,473,775.70 in one week during October 2009.
Wicked (musical) | Commercial reception
Stage School Australia also operates as a performing arts company and have been putting on multiple stage productions annually for two decades. Stage School Australia have done seasons of original plays and musicals as well as many theatre classics including; The Conference of the Birds, Godspell, Man of La Mancha, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Oliver!, Rags, Salad Days, Wizard of Oz, Spring Awakening, Seussical TYA, Conference of the Birds, Disney Alice in Wonderland Jr, Disney Aladdin Jr, BABE the Sheep-Pig, Disney The Little Mermaid Jr, The Secret Garden ~ Spring Version, Disney Beauty and the Beast Jr, Honk! Jr, Shrek Jr, Wicked, Madagascar - A Musical Adventure Jr.
Stage School Australia | Performances
Theatre of Australia refers to the history of the performing arts in Australia, or produced by Australians. There are theatrical and dramatic aspects to a number of Indigenous Australian ceremonies such as the corroboree. During its colonial period, Australian theatrical arts were generally linked to the broader traditions of English literature and to British and Irish theatre. Australian literature and theatrical artists (including Aboriginal as well as Anglo-Celtic and multicultural migrant Australians) have over the last two centuries introduced the culture of Australia and the character of a new continent to the world stage. Individuals who have contributed to theatre in Australia and internationally include Sir Robert Helpmann, Dame Joan Sutherland, Barry Humphries, David Williamson, Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Judy Davis, Jim Sharman, Tim Minchin and Baz Luhrmann.
Theatre of Australia | Introduction
The Australian gold rushes beginning in the 1850s provided funds for the construction of grand theatres in the Victorian style. A theatre was built on the present site of Melbourne's Princess Theatre in 1854. The present building now hosts major international productions as well as live performance events such as the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The Melbourne Athenaeum was built during this period and later became Australia's first cinema, screening "The Story of the Kelly Gang", the world's first feature film in 1906. Mark Twain, Nellie Melba, Laurence Olivier and Barry Humphries have all performed on this historic stage. The Queen's Theatre, Adelaide opened with Shakespeare in 1841 and is today the oldest theatre on the mainland.
Arts in Australia | Theatre
The theatre focuses on "all-Australia" talent and works.
Griffin Theatre Company | History
The music was composed by American Edward Stillman Kelly and remained popular for some years. A bubonic plague outbreak temporarily closed the theatre soon afterwards, and it was burnt down with huge losses. But Williamson organized a Shakespeare company at the Theatre Royal and rebuilt the theatre in 1903. The next year he entered partnership with George Tallis, his Melbourne manager, and with Gustave Ramaciotti as legal adviser. Visually sensational shows were now 'the Firm's' speciality, and the organisation had grown to employ 650 people.
J. C. Williamson | The beginning of the J. C. Williamson Ltd. theatrical empire
The production closed on September 5, 2010.
Wicked (musical) | North American productions
Productions have included: many Shakespeare's plays (presented in the Roma Street Parkland Amphitheatre (formerly called the Albert Park Amphitheatre), as well in the Lyric Theatre and the Playhouse at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre. Other productions have included: "Black Diggers," "Macbeth" (directed by internationally renowned Michael Attenborough CBE), "Twelfth Night", "The Importance of Being Earnest", "The Alchemist" by Ben Jonson, "That Face" by Polly Stenham, "God of Carnage" by Yasmina Reza, "25 Down" by Richard Jordan, "The School of Arts" by Bille Brown, "Ninety" by Joanna Murray-Smith, "The Year of Magical Thinking by" Joan Didion, "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller and "Toy Symphony" by Michael Gow.
Queensland Theatre Company | Productions
These productions in recent years have provided modern updates to classic stories, including "Lord of the Flies", "Animal Farm" and "Sweeney Todd", as well as performing modern plays such as Nick Enright's "Spurboard". In 2013 Eugène Ionesco's "Rhinoceros" was performed.
Melbourne Grammar School | Theatre
In 2012, ASTA announced its annual school musical (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) and its subsequent cast. ABC commentator Spencer Howson is likely to be support of the production following his support for the High School Musical production in 2010. In 2013, ASTA received the rights to perform the award-winning musical Hairspray. The production received six standing ovations for all six sold out shows at the Redlands Performing Arts Centre. Annual musicals held at the Redland Performing Arts Centre in Cleveland, Queensland, have since included West Side Story, Dreamgirls, and The Addams Family.
Australian School of the Arts | In the Media
The original National Theatre Movement (current owners) was established in 1935 by soprano Gertrude Johnson. After returning from an overseas career that included performing at Covent Garden, Miss Johnson was dismayed at the lack of training and performing opportunities for Australian artists in their own country. To that end the National Theatre was founded along with a network of companies throughout Australia. The Ballarat National Theatre was founded in 1938 along with other branches in Heidelberg, Yallourn and Swan Hill. Included in the network too was an opera school (1935), drama school (1936) and ballet school (1939). Production Companies (three Arts Festivals) ran through the 1940s and 1950s.
National Theatre, Melbourne | Background to the National Theatre movement
New Musicals Australia is a music theatre workshopping program founded in 2010 by Century Venues with the support of the Australia Council Music Board.
New Musicals Australia | Introduction
Broadway to Oz was a 2015 concert tour by Australian actor, musician and dancer Hugh Jackman. He performed Broadway and Hollywood musical numbers backed by a company of 150 musicians and dancers. The concert show was produced by Dainty Group and Robert Fox Ltd. The show started in Melbourne on 24 November 2015, touring through Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide, before closing in Perth on 15 December, 2015.
Broadway to Oz | Introduction
This starred James Fox but ran for only two months. The Broadway musical "Wicked" received its London première at the venue on 27 September 2006 with a cast featuring Idina Menzel as Elphaba, Helen Dallimore as Glinda, Nigel Planer as The Wizard, Adam Garcia as Fiyero and Miriam Margolyes as Madame Morrible. On 27 September 2016, "Wicked" celebrated its tenth anniversary in the West End, with a curtain call reunion of former cast members.
Apollo Victoria Theatre | Musical theatre
Noël Coward called it a "Dream Theatre" and Laurence Olivier came to its defence when it was threatened with demolition in the 1940s. The Queen's Theatre, Adelaide opened with Shakespeare in 1841 and is today the oldest theatre on the mainland. The Melbourne Athenaeum was founded in 1839 as the Melbourne Mechanics' Institute, and its theatre in its present form was created in 1921.
Theatre of Australia | Early history
These pro-am musical productions include Canberra premiers of The Phantom of the Opera in 2013, Mary Poppins in 2015, and both The Little Mermaid and Wicked in 2016.
Canberra Theatre | Canberra Theatre
Peter Cousens' Kookaburra: The National Musical Theatre Company was an Australian not-for-profit theatre company dedicated to musical theatre.
Kookaburra Musical Theatre | Introduction
Johnson returned to Melbourne in 1935, a woman of independent means, and retired from singing. Distressed at the lack of training opportunities in Australia for upcoming artists, she founded the National Theatre. Included was an opera, drama and ballet school. The National Theatre company grew rapidly, and protected from international competition during World War II, managed to produce 15 operas through this period. After the war the company continued to tour nationally, and in 1954 gave a Royal Command Performance at Melbourne's Princess Theatre in front of Queen Elizabeth II. The success of the performance and subsequent season led to the founding of the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust, which in turn ironically led to the decline of the National Theatre as a performing company.
Gertrude Johnson | National Theatre
The Australian premiere of the musical by the Melbourne Theatre Company was staged in Melbourne, Australia. Performances began on April 28, 2012, and ran through June 4 (extended from May 28). The cast included Kate Kendall as Diana, Matt Hetherington as Dan and Bert LaBonte as Dr. Fine/Dr. Madden. A production in Perth played at the Heath Ledger Theatre from November 5–19, 2015. Produced by Black Swan State Theatre Company, the cast included Rachael Beck as Diana and Brendan Hanson as Dan. Australia's first Musical Theatre performance since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic is a new production of Next to Normal directed by Darren Yap and choreographed by Kelley Abbey.
Next to Normal | Australia
In the late 1960s, Howson also turned his talents as a scriptwriter and lyricist to the creation of original Australian stage musicals, working in collaboration with local composers. Early examples included "Razza-ma-tazz (and all that Jazz)", which was set in Melbourne's pre-war Red-light district, Little Lonsdale Street. With a cast that included veteran stage actress Madeleine Orr, the show was produced at the Southland Theatre in 1968. That same year, Howson collaborated with Peter Pinne and Don Battye on the musical "It happened in Tanjablanka", which was a spoof of Hollywood in the 1940s. In 1972, Howson wrote "What's in a name", a straight play on the subject of prejudice and intolerance in modern society, which was performed at St Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne.
John-Michael Howson | Theatrical productions
The tryout closed on June 29, 2003, and after extensive retooling, the musical began previews on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre on October 8, 2003, and made its official premiere on October 30. Most of the original production team and cast members remained with the show. Principal casting changes included Joel Grey as the Wizard, William Youmans as Doctor Dillamond and Christopher Fitzgerald as Boq. As of March 12, 2020, the show suspended production due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The show's production will be suspended until June 1, 2021 at the earliest.
Wicked (musical) | Original Broadway production
The 16th Annual Helpmann Awards for live performance in Australia were held on 25 July 2016 at the Sydney Lyric Theatre. The Australian production of "Matilda the Musical" received thirteen awards including every award for musicals. Griffin Theatre Company's drama "The Bleeding Tree" received three awards including Best Play. Brisbane Baroque's production of Handel's "Agrippina" received four awards including Best Opera, and Bangarra Dance Theatre's "Sheoak" received three awards including Best Ballet or Dance Work. New musical "Ladies in Black" was named Best New Australian Work.
16th Helpmann Awards | Introduction
Previous notable productions at Her Majesty's include:
Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne | Previous productions
"Six" had its Australian premiere at the Sydney Opera House, in January 2020. The production was originally planned to tour to Melbourne's Comedy Theatre in mid 2020 and Adelaide's Her Majesty's Theatre in late 2020 as part of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival but all performances have since been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Australian production is produced by Louise Withers, Michael Coppel and Linda Bewick. At some point, it is set to open in Wellington, New Zealand's Opera House.
Six (musical) | Australia and New Zealand (2020)
European traditions came to Australia with the First Fleet in 1788, with the first production being performed in 1789 by convicts. In 1988, the year of Australia's bicentenary, the circumstances of the foundations of Australian theatre were recounted in Timberlake Wertenbaker's play "Our Country's Good". Hobart's Theatre Royal opened in 1837 and is Australia's oldest continuously operating theatre. Inaugurated in 1839, the Melbourne Athenaeum is one of Melbourne's oldest cultural institutions, and Adelaide's Queen's Theatre, established in 1841, is today the oldest purpose-built theatre on the mainland. The mid-19th-century gold rushes provided funds for the construction of grand theatres in the Victorian style, such as the Princess Theatre in Melbourne, established in 1854.
Culture of Australia | Theatre
Notable theatrical institutions include the Sydney Opera House, and the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney.
Theatre of Australia | Introduction
This was staged in the now-defunct St James Theatre, Phillip Street, Sydney.
Jabberwocky (musical) | Sydney revival production, 1978
It was produced by the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust, Eric Dare, the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust and SAS Channel 10. The musical was capitalised at $250,000 with weekly running costs of $40,000 to $50,000. The production was visually striking, with design features including a full drop curtain containing over 600 hurricane lamps and Kelly's iconic armour represented by a costume of shiny black plastic with geometric bullet holes. Critical reception was negative. The major Adelaide newspaper, the Adelaide Advertiser, in its review referred to the show as "an artistic disaster – a hideous monument to bad taste and theatrical excess".
Ned Kelly (musical) | Productions
Some professional companies focus on particular genres like classical theatre (Bell Shakespeare), theatre for young people (Windmill, Barking Gecko, Patch, Arena, Monkey Baa), music theatre (The Production Company, Harvest Rain) or circus and physical theatre (Circa, Circus Oz). Other companies specialise in areas such as artists with disability (Back to Back), Indigenous artists (see below) or specific communities (Urban Theatre Projects, Big hART).
Theatre of Australia | Theatre today
The other principals included Ursula Smith, Martin Turner and Ashleigh Sendin. Jerry Zaks again directed the production, with scenic and costume design by Tony Walton, lighting by Paul Gallo and sound by Tony Meola. The musical director was John Owen Edwards and the choreographer Michael Smuin. The show transferred to Australia the same year and played in both Sydney and Melbourne starring Geraldine Turner as Reno Sweeney, Peter Whitford as Moonface, Simon Burke as Billy Crocker, Marina Prior as Hope Harcourt and Maggie Kirkpatrick as Evangeline Harcourt.
Anything Goes | 1989 West End revival and Australia
The show opened at the Theatre Royal, Sydney on October 12, 1946. The Melbourne season commenced April 10, 1947 at Her Majesty's Theatre, followed by a Perth season commencing May 22, 1948 at His Majesty’s Theatre.
Follow the Girls | Productions
In 1931 they held their inaugural Australian Playwriting Competition, the winning play causing controversy when it was performed because of its realistic subject matter and coarse language. It was a sign of things to come. The theatre company became known for its production of modern and innovative theatre. They are now Australia's oldest continuously running theatre company. The group has performed in many theatres including Her Majesty's, the Bohemia, Cremorne, Theatre Royal, Rialto, Old and New Albert Halls and held a lease on the Princess Theatre for several years. However, one by one theatres closed and with the demolition of the Albert Hall in 1967, the last available and affordable venue for productions in the central city area was lost.
La Boite Theatre Building | History
In the words of theatre historian John Thompson: Collits’ Inn was hailed as a unique Australian musical. It was not the first theatrical production to use Australian settings, nor was it, as is commonly claimed, the first Australian musical... [It] was not The Great Australian Musical many hoped it would be. But it proved that Australian creativity and talent could produce an original work that Australian audiences wanted to see and was judged worthy of a place on the world stage.
Collits' Inn (musical) | Legacy
These were followed by the numerous Edwardian musical comedies and the musical theatre works of American creators like George M. Cohan at the turn of the 20th century. The Princess Theatre musicals (1915–1918) and other smart shows like "Of Thee I Sing" (1931) were artistic steps forward beyond revues and other frothy entertainments of the early 20th century and led to such groundbreaking works as "Show Boat" (1927) and "Oklahoma!" (1943). Some of the most famous musicals through the decades that followed include "West Side Story" (1957), "The Fantasticks" (1960), "Hair" (1967), "A Chorus Line" (1975), "Les Misérables" (1985), "The Phantom of the Opera" (1986), "Rent" (1996), "The Producers" (2001), "Wicked" (2003) and "Hamilton" (2015).
Musical theatre | Introduction
She worked six months in London He became involved in the managerial side of the theatre, first with William Anderson, then from around 1904 with the Fuller family chain. By 1907 he had his own company, first leasing a theatre in Newcastle. By Christmas 1910 he was lessee of, then a year later purchased the Princess's Theatre, Melbourne. In 1911 he built The Adelphi, in Castlereagh Street, Haymarket, Sydney, the largest theatre in Australia. "The Bad Girl of the Family" was his first production in the new theatre, followed by the George Fowler musical "The Fatal Wedding" and the melodrama "The Rosary".
George Marlow | Introduction
The Nimrod Theatre Company, commonly known as The Nimrod, was an Australian theatre company based in Sydney. It was founded by in 1970 by Australian actor John Bell, Richard Wherrett and Ken Horler, and gained a reputation for producing more "good new Australian drama" from 1970 to 1985 than any other Australian theatre company. The company's original theatre located in Nimrod Street, Kings Cross is now home to Griffin Theatre Company. The company moved in 1974 to Belvoir Street, Surry Hills, but retained its original name. From 1981 to 1988 it also played in the Seymour Centre theatres. The company ceased operations in 1988.
Nimrod Theatre Company | Introduction
A production of "Hellzapoppin" toured Australia in 1949-50 playing in Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Sydney. The Australian shows were produced by J. C. Williamson, and featured a predominantly American cast including Don de Leo and George Mayo (as ‘Olsen and Johnson’), Gloria Gilbert, Tom Toby, Marlene Lilyponds, Dorothy Jean, Snowball Whittier, Charlie Pope, trombonist Reg Thorpe, and David Hogarth. Various ‘locals’ joined the cast in some cities: Bob Dyer in Perth, and Roy Rene in Sydney. A production also played in Sydney in 1954, including female impersonator Maurice Millard.
Hellzapoppin (musical) | International productions
In 1980, the family returned to Australia and based itself in Hobart, Tasmania where the Salamanca Arts Centre provided a venue. They created a repertoire of stories in and about Tasmania in the hope of shedding some light on the overall Australian story, then took this story on the road. By 1988, a repertoire of performances, including "Broken Dreams" in Adelaide and Melbourne in 1984, and "Hallelujah Lady Jane", "Pieces of Iron" and "Guarding the Perimeter" from 1986 to 1988, was forming and had begun to find its way interstate.
Round Earth Theatre Company | History
In 1989, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the film, the RSC script and score were adapted into an arena-style touring production in the U.S. According to "USA Today", the show was "Built to play about 70 stadiums across the country, the $5 million production opened Wednesday at Radio City Music Hall." The production, with many dramatic and, according to critics, ill-advised design features, was not well received and had a short run, closing quietly in 1990. The RSC production had its Australian premiere at the State Theatre, Melbourne in January to February 1991. The production played in December 1991 in Brisbane and January to February 1992 in Adelaide.
The Wizard of Oz (1987 musical) | 1989 The Wizard of Oz Live! Arena Show
The musical opened at Sydney's Lyric Theatre at The Star Casino on 11 June 2011 and closed on 25 September 2011, two weeks earlier than anticipated, ending its Australian run.
Hairspray (musical) | Original Australian production
Casey suggests that 'corroboree' could also be called 'aboriginal theatre'. European theatrical traditions came to Australia with European settlement commencing in 1788 with the First Fleet. The first production, "The Recruiting Officer" written by George Farquhar in 1706, was performed in 1789 by convicts. The extraordinary circumstances of the foundation of Australian theatre was recounted in the 1988 play "Our Country's Good" by Timberlake Wertenbaker - the participants were prisoners watched by sadistic guards and the leading lady was under threat of the death penalty. The play is based on Thomas Keneally's novel "The Playmaker". The Theatre Royal, Hobart opened in 1837 and is the oldest still-operating theatre in Australia.
Theatre of Australia | Early history
The encouragement that this undertaking received induced the enterprising proprietor to enlarge his sphere of activity. He built a theatre called the Theatre Royal, which was opened in 1833, at a cost which almost bankrupted him. Isaac Nathan, who emigrated to Australia in 1841, wrote the first Australian opera, "Don John of Austria" to a libretto by Jacob Levi Montefiore. It premiered on 3 May 1847 at the Royal Victoria Theatre, Sydney. There have been Jewish contributions to Australian visual arts. Georges Mora, born Gunter Morawski in 1913 in Leipzig, Germany of Jewish/Polish heritage, fled Germany to Paris in 1930, then to Melbourne in 1949.
History of Jews in Australia | Arts and culture
may be necessary for the purposes of realism" and the production of the sporting play "The Chance of a Lifetime" featured Trixy, a trained mare and carriages onstage, while sheep were shorn onstage during the production "The Squatter's Daughter".
King's Theatre, Melbourne | Opening and early years
The Music Hall presented light-hearted melodramatic productions which recalled the days of Victorian music hall and vaudeville. Audience participation was a major feature, and the original poster for its debut production encouraged patrons to: "Hiss the villain, Weep with the Heroine and All join in the choruses." The Music Hall's first production was a revival of one of the many stage adaptations of the famous 19th century sensation novel "East Lynne" by Ellen Wood. Subsequent productions included "The Face at the Window", "Lady Audley's Secret" (another revived Victorian melodrama) and "How the West was Lost", which was written by Barry Creyton.
The Music Hall (Sydney theatre) | Productions
Pinafore" (1878) and "The Mikado" (1885). These were sensations on both sides of the Atlantic and in Australia and helped to raise the standard for what was considered a successful show. These shows were designed for family audiences, a marked contrast from the risqué burlesques, bawdy music hall shows and French operettas that sometimes drew a crowd seeking less wholesome entertainment. Only a few 19th-century musical pieces exceeded the run of "The Mikado", such as "Dorothy", which opened in 1886 and set a new record with a run of 931 performances. Gilbert and Sullivan's influence on later musical theatre was profound, creating examples of how to "integrate" musicals so that the lyrics and dialogue advanced a coherent story.
Musical theatre | 1850s to 1880s
A number of productions for "Wicked", a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman, have won and nominated several awards. "Wicked" is based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel "" (1995), a parallel novel of the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz" and L. Frank Baum's classic story "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" (1900). Although the production received mixed reviews and was initially panned by "The New York Times", it has proved to be a favorite among patrons. The Broadway production's success spawned productions in Chicago, Los Angeles, London's West End and San Francisco, as well as international productions in Japan, Germany, Australia and elsewhere, and two North American tours that have visited over thirty cities in Canada and the United States.
List of awards and nominations for the musical Wicked | Introduction
On September 8, 1881, Williamson became the sole lessee of the Theatre Royal, which was newly renovated, introducing modern technical facilities and lavish sets. This transaction marked the beginning of Williamson's long career as Australia's foremost theatrical manager. After a tour of New Zealand, in 1882 Williamson entered into partnership with Arthur Garner and George Musgrove. This triumvirate was often criticized for creating a monopoly, crushing the old repertory system and discouraging local actors, but it brought to Australia such artists as Dion Boucicault, as well as employing new and local talent such as Nellie Stewart and Howard Vernon. In December 1886, they opened the luxurious (New) Princess's Theatre in Melbourne with "The Mikado".
J. C. Williamson | The beginning of the J. C. Williamson Ltd. theatrical empire
Once We Lived Here is an Australian musical with book and lyrics by Dean Bryant and music by Mathew Frank. It concerns a farming family struggling to hold onto their sheep station, 'Emoh Ruo', after years of drought, fire and financial pressure. The family gather for a long weekend where shadows of the past come to the forefront. The musical premiered in September 2009 at fortyfivedownstairs in Melbourne. The cast included Esther Hannaford, Sally Bourne, Christie Whelan, Sam Ludeman and Warwick Allsopp. Subsequent productions include fringe productions at the King's Head Theatre in London in 2014, and the Blue Room Theatre in Perth in 2017.
Once We Lived Here | Introduction
In 1986, David Marriner purchased the theatre and commenced a renovation and refurbishment to restore the building to its 1922 state, and improve its technical capacity. The refurbished theatre reopened on 9 December 1989 with the musical "Les Misérables", followed by "The Phantom of the Opera", which established a new record for the longest running show ever staged in Victoria. The Princess Theatre continues to be owned and operated by the Marriner Group as a venue for major musical theatre productions, including "Beauty and the Beast", "MAMMA MIA!", "Jersey Boys" and "The Book of Mormon". In 2017, it was announced that the international production "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" would open at the Princess Theatre in early 2019 for an exclusive Australian season, as just the third location for the production after London and New York.
Princess Theatre (Melbourne) | 1989 reopening and current operation
Regular venues include: the Melbourne Arts Centre, Sydney Opera House, Sydney Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre and Queensland Performing Arts Centre.
Theatre of Australia | Growth of non-commercial theatre
Chiarella and Livingston began collaborating on the show while they were touring in the Australian cast of "Les Miserables". In 2016, the show was picked up for development by New Musicals Australia and secured a season at the Hayes Theatre in Sydney in 2018 with the support of the Australia Council for the Arts. The original Australian production of "Evie May" opened at the Hayes Theatre on the 12th of October 2018. The show was directed by Kate Champion, with musical direction and orchestration by Steven Kreamer, musical supervision by Max Lambert, design by Anna Gardiner, lighting design by Sian James-Holland and sound design by Nate Edmondson.
Evie May (musical) | Productions
Quambatook (subtitled The Australian Folk Musical) is a Musical theatre piece written by Australian Simon Heath and John Williamson. It was directed by Bernie Zelvis. The musical is based on the early days of the Williamson family in Quambatook, Victoria, Australia and their quest to see Uluru. Williamson announced the musical in September 2007 Drew Anthony was the choreographer. It had its world premiere at the Evan Theatre, in Penrith, NSW on 7 February 2008 and received positive audience reaction. The show had a limited 4-show run, ending on 10 February 2008.
Quambatook (musical) | Introduction
The largest of three dedicated performance areas is the 575 seat Heath Ledger Theatre, named in honor of the late Academy Award winning actor, Heath Ledger. It is a traditional proscenium theatre. The stage can be modified to accommodate an orchestral pit. All the rows of seats are curved to face the stage and each row is elevated above the row in front, so that the occupant of every seat in the house can have an unobstructed view of the stage. There are timber acoustic baffles below the ceiling which enhance the acoustic qualities of the auditorium and the walls of the auditorium are lined with attractive timber panels.
State Theatre Centre of Western Australia | Facilities
The theatre seating around 300 people was established by entrepreneurs Kenn Brodziak and Harry M. Miller, converted from the former Kelvin Hall built in 1927. It opened in June 1969 with the controversial play "The Boys in the Band". Plays and musicals at the theatre in the early 1970s included "Butterflies Are Free", "Juggler's Three" and "Godspell". The Australian Film Institute leased the theatre for two years from mid-1974 to mid-1976. In 1977, the Playbox Theatre became the home of theatre company Hoopla!, which changed its name to the Playbox Theatre Company.
Playbox Theatre, Melbourne | History
The company was founded in 2007 by three high school friends, including Artistic Director Edwin Kemp Attrill. The company initially created street theatre performances, on political issues such as the incarceration of Adelaide-born Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks. Initial ensemble members were drawn from the Adelaide branch of Amnesty International Australia and local youth theatre company Urban Myth Theatre of Youth. The company is controlled by a Board of Management and is registered as a charity with Australian Charity and Not for Profit Commission. In 2018 the company established a city based rehearsal studio, office and small arts venue called MakeSpace.
ActNow Theatre | History
Williamson married Mary Alice Weir, a dancer, in 1899, and his partnership with Musgrove dissolved that year unpleasantly. Among other ventures, in 1900 Williamson leased Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne, and began a series of extensive renovations and expansions to the theatre that became the flagship venue for J. C. Williamson in years to come. He also leased Her Majesty's Theatre in Sydney, and in 1902 mounted the biggest production in its history, "Ben Hur", at a cost of £14,000. With a running time of nearly four hours, the production contained huge choral numbers, marches and a spectacular chariot race, with horses galloping on a treadmill in front of a moving backdrop.
J. C. Williamson | The beginning of the J. C. Williamson Ltd. theatrical empire
O'Connor is the founder of the Brisbane Academy of Musical Theatre with in dance, music, and acting. Harvest Rain also runs the Australian Musical Theatre Workshop which runs workshops and masterclasses in Brisbane and regional centres,
Tim O'Connor (theatre director) | Training Programs
Athenium Theatre is a heritage-listed former theatre and cinema and now community hall at The Broadway, Junee, Junee Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Kaberry and Chard and built in 1929 by J. Nyssen. It is also known as the Broadway Theatre and JADDA Centre. The property is owned by Junee Shire Council. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 9 January 2004.
Athenium Theatre | Introduction
ATG's productions in Australia include "Ghost the Musical, Legally Blonde – the Musical, Thriller Live, The Rocky Horror Show, Guys and Dolls "and" West Side Story".
Ambassador Theatre Group | Productions in Australia
Renamed "Wicked: Die Hexen von Oz" ("Wicked: The Witches of Oz"), the German production of "Wicked" began previews on November 1, 2007 and opened on November 15, at the Palladium Theater in Stuttgart. Willemijn Verkaik played Elphaba, Lucy Scherer played Glinda. The production was produced by Stage Entertainment and closed on January 29, 2010, and transferred to Oberhausen where previews began at the Metronom Theater am CentrO on March 5, 2010, with an opening night of March 8. The Oberhausen production closed on September 2, 2011. Another production, which was notable for not being a replica of the original Broadway staging, opened at the City Theatre in Helsinki, Finland on August 26, 2010 after a preview performance took place on August 24 of that year.
Wicked (musical) | Subsequent international productions
The Australian production presented by J.C. Williamson's opened at Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne on August 16, 1963. Len Gochman starred as Finch, with Betty McGuire as Hedy, and Annabelle Adams as Rosemary. The show toured across Australia, playing seasons in Sydney, Perth, and Adelaide. Nancye Hayes, who started in the ensemble, would later go on to replace Betty McGuire as Hedy.
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (musical) | Australia
There have been several productions by high schools and amateur companies in Perth, in regional South Australia and Western Australia, and in Auckland.
Jabberwocky (musical) | Other
On 12 February 1953 McKellar, Donovan and Mulcahy wrote and/or performed a musical revue, "Metropolitan Merry-Go-Round", for their professional debut at the Metropolitan Theatre in Kings Cross. It was produced by William Orr, who subsequently established the Phillip Street Theatre which show-cased works by McKellar. Further revues followed and then, in 1955, the trio travelled to the United Kingdom where they wrote sketches and material for cabarets. McKellar returned to Phillip Street Theatre and became its resident writer. From 1964 McKellar periodically travelled to the United States attempting to stage a Broadway production. From February to April 1965, "Is Australia Really Necessary?", was staged at the Tivoli Theatre, Melbourne with McKellar providing lyrics.
John McKellar (writer) | Biography
Packemin Productions is a theatre company based in Western Sydney, Australia. The company was formed in 2010 to produce Pro-Am musical theatre in association with Riverside Theatres Parramatta.
Packemin Productions | Introduction
Changes were made to the auditorium and foyer to make it more of a cinema rather than a live theatre venue. With Haymarket being identified with the Chinese community, the Rivoli was let to Chinese interests who reopened in 1976 as the Mandarin Cinema, showing Chinese language films and in 1989 the Australian Hall became the home of the Mandolin Cinema.
Australian Hall | Phillip Theatre, 1961-1974
The production of "Wicked" in Melbourne has garnered 24 nominations, winning 10 of them.
List of awards and nominations for the musical Wicked | Melbourne production
The play is based on Thomas Keneally's novel "The Playmaker". The Theatre Royal, Hobart, opened in 1837 and it remains the oldest theatre in Australia. The Melbourne Athenaeum is one of the oldest public institutions in Australia, founded in 1839 and it served as library, school of arts and dance hall (and later became Australia's first cinema, screening "The Story of the Kelly Gang", the world's first feature film in 1906). The Queen's Theatre, Adelaide opened with Shakespeare in 1841 and is today the oldest theatre on the mainland.
History of Australia (1788–1850) | Culture
The New Theatre movement started in America in the late 1920s. It was motivated by the depressed economic climate which resulted in widespread unemployment, more people on welfare and evictions of those who could not pay their rent. Most of the pieces performed where agit prop which attempted to capture social reality. When New Theatre groups were formed in Australia (beginning mainly as Worker's arts groups) they continued using agit prop in their plays. They were also committed to developing the highest possible theatrical standards as well as to introduce it to the Australian people by infusing theatre into cultural groups in all industries, organisations and districts.
James Crawford (playwright) | New Theatre Club
In the same year the Middle School production of "Beauty and the Beast" was awarded Junior Male Performer in a Supporting Role and was nominated for Musical Direction of a Junior Production.
St Leonard's College (Melbourne) | Hart Theatre Company
The Theatre Royal is Australia's oldest theatrical institution located in Sydney, dating from 1833, though the current theatre was built in 1976. It has offered a broad range of entertainment including dramas, comedy and especially musicals since the 1990s. The theatre has been closed since March 2016, but is scheduled to reopen in August 2021, under parent company Trafalgar Entertainment, and will also house the school of performing arts "Stagecoach" and have a live-streaming hub. The reopening comes as a need for Sydney to accommodate a larger capacity venue, since the harbour city does not host as many larger venues as its counterpart Melbourne, which acquired the rights to the JK Rowling West End production of "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child"
Theatre Royal, Sydney | Introduction
Since that time, it has been the home of the West Australian Ballet and West Australian Opera companies, both of which perform regularly.
His Majesty's Theatre, Perth | Introduction
The first Australian professional production was staged in October and November 2019. The production marked the 25th anniversary of Anthony Warlow's 'Complete Works' recording. It starred Warlow performing Jekyll & Hyde and Jemma Rix as Lucy. Broadway performer Amanda Lea LaVergne performed Lisa. It was presented at the Arts Centre Melbourne in October 2019, with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and in Sydney, November 2019 with the Sydney International Orchestra.
Jekyll &amp; Hyde (musical) | "Jekyll & Hyde:" 25th Anniversary Concert (Australia)
"Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" premiered on 7 October 2006 at the Lyric Theatre, Star City Casino, Sydney, Australia and ended its run on 2 September 2007. Directed by Melbourne Theatre Company artistic director Simon Phillips, it starred Tony Sheldon as Bernadette, Jeremy Stanford as Tick/Mitzi and Daniel Scott as Adam/Felicia with Michael Caton as Bob and Joshua Arkey, Alec Epsimos, Rowan Scott and Joel Slater as Benjamin. The Sydney production transferred to the Regent Theatre in Melbourne, beginning previews on 28 September 2007 before opening on 6 October 2007. The show closed on 27 April 2008 to make way for the Australian premiere of "Wicked".
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (musical) | Australia (2006–08)