Wicked Flies Back
2018 Playhouse dates for smash musical
Wicked, the musical telling the back-stories of the witches of Oz, has announced a 2018 UK tour, including a five week run at the Edinburgh Playhouse.
The nine-venue tour opens in Bristol Hypodrome in February 2018, running through to a Christmas season at the Manchester Palace theatre.
Emily Tierney and Ashleigh Gray. Photo: Matt Crockett
The Playhouse dates are the only ones in Scotland. The show was previously in Edinburgh for the 2014 Christmas season, garnering a clutch of five star reviews – on Æ we said it was “✭✭✭✭✭ Spellbinding“.
One of the most successful productions at the Edinburgh Playhouse to date, it was seen by 175,000 people during the 2014 run – equivalent to one in three Edinburgh residents.
The show, which has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman, is the untold story of an unlikely but profound friendship between two sorcery students and their extraordinary adventures in Oz.
They have their destinies thrust upon them according to their looks, not their characters and grow up to become known as Glinda the Good and Elpheba, The Wicked Witch of the West.
Thrilled
It is based on Gregory Maguire’s best-selling novel, that re-imagines the stories and characters originally created by L. Frank Baum in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Deborah Newman, general manager at the Playhouse is understandably thrilled about the return of the show, which includes the soaring Defying Gravity as the Act 1 closer.
She said: “We’re delighted to welcome back Wicked on this, its only Scottish dates in 2018. This award-winning show amazed and thrilled huge audiences here in Edinburgh last time around.
“It is an enduring story brought to life, truly reflecting the magic of theatre and is particularly engaging with our younger audiences, therefore especially relevant coming in Scotland’s Year of Young People 2018.”
Casting details will be announced at a future date.
Listings
Wicked
Edinburgh Playhouse, 18 – 22 Greenside Place, Edinburgh, EH1 3AA Phone bookings: 0844 871 3014.
Tuesday 8 May – Saturday 9 June 2018.
Mon-Sat: 7.30pm; matinees Weds, Sat: 2.30pm.
Tickets go on General sale from Wed 8 Feb 2017 on the Playhouse website.
Theatrecard Priority bookings start on Wednesday 1 February 2017.
| Wicked on tour 2018: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 Feb – 3 March | Bristol Hippodrome |
0844 871 3012 | Book online |
| 7 – 31 March | Liverpool Empire |
08448 713 017 | Book online |
| 4 – 28 April | Birmingham Hippodrome |
0844 338 5000 | Book online |
| 8 May – 9 June | Edinburgh Playhouse |
0844 871 3014 | Book online |
| 13 June – 7 July | Leeds Grand Theatre |
0844 848 2700 | Book online |
| 17 July – 1 September | Dublin Bord Gais Energy Theatre |
0818 719 377 | Book online |
| 6 – 29 September | Sunderland Sunderland Empire |
0844 871 3022 | Book online |
| 3 – 27 October | Southampton Mayflower Theatre |
02380 711811 | Book online |
| 31 Oct – 24 Nov | Cardiff Wales Millennium Centre |
029 2063 6464 | Book online |
| 4 Dec 2018 – 5 Jan 2019 | Manchester Palace Theatre |
0844 871 3019 | Book online |
ENDS
