Iconic TV star announced as Madam Morrible

Iconic TV star announced as Madam Morrible

New tickets on sale tomorrow Monday

Accomplished and admired leading lady of the stage, Maggie Kirkpatrick – who created one of the most iconic characters on
Australian television -- is conrmed to play Madam Morrible in the blockbuster Broadway musical WICKED when it comes
to New Zealand in September.

Maggie – known for her role as Joan “The Freak” Ferguson, a sadistic and corrupt lesbian prison ofcer in Prisoner – will reprise
a role she’s been playing since WICKED opened in Melbourne in 2008.

As the prickly headmistress of Shiz, Maggie joins a stellar cast that includes Jemma Rix as Elphaba, Suzie Mathers as Glinda, and
New Zealand’s own Jay Laga’aia as The Wizard.

WICKED plays at The Civic in Auckland from 17th September 2013 – the rst stop on its 10th anniversary celebration tour – and will run for a strictly limited season.

Due to overwhelming demand, new shows will go on sale tomorrow Monday, May 27
from buytickets.co.nz or phone 0800 BUY TICKETS (0800 289 842) or ticketmaster.co.nz (09 970 9700). For groups of 12 or more, call 09 357 3360 and for premium packages visit showbiznz.co.nz

Maggie holds a unique place in Australian entertainment. As well as creating the iconic Joan “The Freak” Ferguson on television,
she simultaneously evolved into one of the most accomplished and admired theatrical leading ladies.

Maggie has worked extensively with Australia’s leading theatre companies and her musical repertoire includes Irene, Anything Goes, Songs from Side Show Alley, Singin’ in the Rain, The Screw Is Loose, the cabaret Maggie Kirkpatrick...Still Here and the West End production of Prisoner Cell Block H - The Musical. Her television credits include All Saints, Blue Heelers, Water Rats, GP, Home and Away, The Pacic and of course Prisoner. Maggie’s feature lm roles include Welcome to Woop Woop, Lillian’s Story, Billy’s Holiday, The Night of the Prowler, The Getting of Wisdom and the SBS produced feature With Mother.

WICKED is “one of the most successful shows in Broadway history” (The New York Times) and now it is Auckland’s turn to be enchanted by the award-winning hit musical, before Australia is reacquainted with the magic of WICKED.

When Wicked opened on Broadway, it worked its magic on critics and audiences alike. Winner of 35 major awards including a Grammy® and three Tony Awards®, WICKED tells 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, ery 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.

“The defining musical of the decade.”

The New York Times

Currently in its 10th year on Broadway, WICKED’s North American and International companies have cumulatively grossed over
US$2.9 billion and been seen by nearly 36 million people worldwide. Since opening at the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway in October 2003, WICKED has regularly broken box office records, consistently grossing more than $US1.8 million a week. In the
week between Christmas and New Year, 2012, it grossed a chart-topping $2.95 million, the highest grossing week in Broadway history.

“If every musical had the brain, the heart, and the courage of WICKED, Broadway really would be a magical place.”

Time Magazine

In London, WICKED had the highest weekly gross in West End history (a record WICKED also holds on Broadway, as well as a North American weekly touring record in both the United States and Canada), and in Tokyo and Stuttgart it again set new box office records. During its three year tour of Australia, WICKED was seen by over 1.5 million people – which is equivalent to more than 1 in 20 Australians.

“A breathtaking success story of a magnitude that North America has not

witnessed since the peak years of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.”
Washington Post

“We are very excited for WICKED to premiere at The Civic in Auckland during this 10th Anniversary Year of this wonderful production,
and trust that audiences there will embrace it as warmly as those in North America, the UK, Japan, Germany, Holland, South Korea
and Australia,” said WICKED producers Marc Platt and David Stone. “It is a testament to the show’s storytelling power that audiences
from around the globe continue to embrace its universal themes.”

WICKED Australia Co-Producer John Frost said, “Right from the beginning this show has been an overwhelming hit everywhere it has
played. WICKED is a phenomenon, the most beloved musical of the past decade, and appeals to everyone from 8 t o 80. People
love it for so many different reasons – some people come to see WICKED for the engrossing story, some for the astonishing sets and costumes, some for the soaring ballads, some for the deeper messages, and some to see the life-affirming friendship between the two girls who grow up to be Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

“WICKED is a musical that enchants audiences around the world and right across the spectrum,” Frost said. I’m thrilled to bring her,
in all her emerald beauty, to Auckland, before coming home to the wonderful Regent Theatre in Melbourne, where Australian audiences fell in love with WICKED for the first time.”

Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, WICKED features music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin, Academy Award-winner for Pocahontas and The Prince of Egypt) and a book by Winnie Holzman (My So Called Life, Once and Again and thirtysomething). The production features musical staging by Wayne Cilento and is directed by Lisa Leguillou, based
on the original direction by Joe Mantello.

WEBSITE: wickedthemusical.co.nz

ENDS

© Scoop Media