Hit musical Wicked - telling the story of how The Wizard Of Oz’s Wicked Witch of the West turned bad - makes a welcome return to Birmingham this month. What’s On caught up with Michael McCabe, the man who originally brought the show to the UK...
Despite a staggering 110,000 people having seen Wicked The Musical when it last visited Birmingham back in 2014, there’s clearly still a hunger in the city and wider Midlands region for a show that’s won over 100 major awards. And so, to the delight of many, it returns to the Hippodrome this month for a three-week run.
Since last visiting Brum, the production has been transported nearly 12,000 miles in 13 articulated lorries by road, air and sea, delighting regional audiences across the UK. The London production, meanwhile, continues to pull in the crowds too, and has been playing at the Apollo Victoria Theatre for 12 years.
Wicked The Musical is essentially a prequel to The Wizard Of Oz, focusing on what made the Wicked Witch of the West bad. The legendary Judy Garland film will be 80 years old in 2019, yet the musical is very much ‘in the present’. “When I saw the show on Broadway, it felt at the time - and remains - so fresh and contemporary,” says producer Michael McCabe, the man who brought Wicked to the UK. “It’s very much a modern musical, in that its cleverness is so much based on the characters that you know and are familiar with, but everything that happens to them is new.
“The idea that you can take this beloved story and turn it on its head just seems so intriguing. There’s such a fascination with the whole idea of prequels, where you find out what decisions led the characters to be who they become. I found that so engaging.”
Michael greatly hoped that UK audiences would feel the same way about Wicked as he did, and his gamble in bringing the show to these shores has most definitely paid off. But did he anticipate the success Wicked has achieved in the UK? “No, not in one’s wildest dreams! It wasn’t until audiences started watching the show that I realised their reaction was exactly the same as mine. People make an incredibly emotional connection to Wicked. The roar of the audiences is still the thing that I find so meaningful after 12 years of doing this. I still stand at the back and listen to the way they react. It’s extraordinary.”
Wicked is a show to which people return time and again, but also one that continues to attract new audiences. “No long-running production could do what it does without people coming back more than once. I think there’s something about Wicked that people want to share in; the emotion that they feel with others. It’s an experience that people find unforgettable.”
So will the new touring version of the show differ in any way from the one that visited Birmingham back in 2014? “It’s the same production, with all of the same high production values. This was a commitment we made right from the beginning; that it wouldn’t be a cut-down version of the show.” There is, however, a new cast...
“With each new cast comes new levels, layers and interpretations. We’re very, very lucky that we keep finding extraordinary people. Helen (Woolf), who is Glinda, has been with us in various guises for some time - in the original tour and in the West End - whereas Amy Ross, playing Elphaba, is brand new to us.”
As with any show, running a tour and a London production simultaneously is a challenge - but there are definite advantages... “The tour has ended up being a roadshow for the London production. It feeds the interest enormously and, inevitably, marketing a show all over the country has led people to London.”
A staggering 8.5 million people - across almost 5,000 performances - have so far seen Wicked in the capital, making it the seventh longest-running show currently playing in the West End.
And with the equivalent of one-tenth of the entire population of Birmingham catching the last tour, it’s obvious why Michael is happy to be bringing the show back to the city. “The Hippodrome is truly one of the most beautiful theatres in the country. Because it’s so alive with resident companies, you feel like you’re a part of something very much more than just a theatre building. Birmingham is such a huge city - you’re benefiting from so many different types of people and age groups. The support for theatre in Birmingham is very humbling.”
Wicked The Musical shows at Birmingham Hippodrome from Wednesday 4 to Saturday 28 April.
Hit musical Wicked - telling the story of how The Wizard Of Oz’s Wicked Witch of the West turned bad - makes a welcome return to Birmingham this month. What’s On caught up with Michael McCabe, the man who originally brought the show to the UK...
Despite a staggering 110,000 people having seen Wicked The Musical when it last visited Birmingham back in 2014, there’s clearly still a hunger in the city and wider Midlands region for a show that’s won over 100 major awards. And so, to the delight of many, it returns to the Hippodrome this month for a three-week run.
Since last visiting Brum, the production has been transported nearly 12,000 miles in 13 articulated lorries by road, air and sea, delighting regional audiences across the UK. The London production, meanwhile, continues to pull in the crowds too, and has been playing at the Apollo Victoria Theatre for 12 years.
Wicked The Musical is essentially a prequel to The Wizard Of Oz, focusing on what made the Wicked Witch of the West bad. The legendary Judy Garland film will be 80 years old in 2019, yet the musical is very much ‘in the present’. “When I saw the show on Broadway, it felt at the time - and remains - so fresh and contemporary,” says producer Michael McCabe, the man who brought Wicked to the UK. “It’s very much a modern musical, in that its cleverness is so much based on the characters that you know and are familiar with, but everything that happens to them is new.
“The idea that you can take this beloved story and turn it on its head just seems so intriguing. There’s such a fascination with the whole idea of prequels, where you find out what decisions led the characters to be who they become. I found that so engaging.”
Michael greatly hoped that UK audiences would feel the same way about Wicked as he did, and his gamble in bringing the show to these shores has most definitely paid off. But did he anticipate the success Wicked has achieved in the UK? “No, not in one’s wildest dreams! It wasn’t until audiences started watching the show that I realised their reaction was exactly the same as mine. People make an incredibly emotional connection to Wicked. The roar of the audiences is still the thing that I find so meaningful after 12 years of doing this. I still stand at the back and listen to the way they react. It’s extraordinary.”
Wicked is a show to which people return time and again, but also one that continues to attract new audiences. “No long-running production could do what it does without people coming back more than once. I think there’s something about Wicked that people want to share in; the emotion that they feel with others. It’s an experience that people find unforgettable.”
So will the new touring version of the show differ in any way from the one that visited Birmingham back in 2014? “It’s the same production, with all of the same high production values. This was a commitment we made right from the beginning; that it wouldn’t be a cut-down version of the show.” There is, however, a new cast...
“With each new cast comes new levels, layers and interpretations. We’re very, very lucky that we keep finding extraordinary people. Helen (Woolf), who is Glinda, has been with us in various guises for some time - in the original tour and in the West End - whereas Amy Ross, playing Elphaba, is brand new to us.”
As with any show, running a tour and a London production simultaneously is a challenge - but there are definite advantages... “The tour has ended up being a roadshow for the London production. It feeds the interest enormously and, inevitably, marketing a show all over the country has led people to London.”
A staggering 8.5 million people - across almost 5,000 performances - have so far seen Wicked in the capital, making it the seventh longest-running show currently playing in the West End.
And with the equivalent of one-tenth of the entire population of Birmingham catching the last tour, it’s obvious why Michael is happy to be bringing the show back to the city. “The Hippodrome is truly one of the most beautiful theatres in the country. Because it’s so alive with resident companies, you feel like you’re a part of something very much more than just a theatre building. Birmingham is such a huge city - you’re benefiting from so many different types of people and age groups. The support for theatre in Birmingham is very humbling.”
Wicked The Musical shows at Birmingham Hippodrome from Wednesday 4 to Saturday 28 April.