Whether you’re pro or anti-Glee, you have to admit that they helped introduce musicals and Broadway references to the young pop culture generation that was once too busy gloating over Bieber.
Who can blame the Manila crowd for going crazy after hearing the news that Wicked will be staged in CCP early this year? Theater purists can snub Kurt Hummel and Rachel Berry’s version of “Defying Gravity” all they want (ICYDK, Lea Michele was a Broadway star before Glee), but that won’t stop Wicked from selling to that crowd.
At last week’s press preview, I asked Suzie Mathers, who plays Glinda in Australia’s touring production of Wicked, how opening night (January 22) was. “It was insane!” she said. “It was a little bit crazy, and the stage door was crazy, too,” added Jemma Rix, who plays Elphaba.
The rest of the cast, as well as the producers responsible for shipping 23 12-foot containers of props and costumes to CCP, were so excited to see how Manila would respond. They’re only on their second week, but it’s safe to say that Wicked is outdoing 2012’s Phantom of the Opera in terms of hype and early ticket sales.
Scroll below to meet the cast.
Wicked: The Untold Stories of the Witches of Oz runs from January 22 to February 23, 2014 at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater), Roxas Blvd. Pasay City. Tickets are available at Ticketworld. Ticket prices: P7,000, P5,800, P4,500, P3,500, P2,250 and P1,750 plus tax.
Photos by Andrew Ritchie, Jeff Busby, and Maye E. Wong courtesy of Concertus Manila. Additional photo (Kate with Jemma and Suzie) by Cy Boongaling.