Wicked, “one of the most successful musicals of all time” (BBC News), will fly back into Birmingham Hippodrome from Tuesday 5 March to Sunday 7 April 2024, and producers today announce that the cast will be led by former West End ‘Elphaba’ Laura Pick. Tickets will go on sale to Birmingham Hippodrome Friends and Patrons on Monday 6 March 2023 and on general sale Thursday 9 March.
Last night (Monday 27 February), Laura Pick performed one of the musicals most iconic songs, ‘Defying Gravity’, as the BBC recorded ‘Big Night of Musicals’ at Manchester’s AO Arena. The television broadcast of the musical extravaganza is set for the Spring.
Laura Pick (Elphaba) was born in Wakefield and trained at Mountview. She made her London stage debut in July 2013 in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. Her West End journey in Wicked began in 2017, when she was cast as the Standby for ‘Elphaba’. Laura subsequently assumed the starring role full-time, playing ‘Elphaba’ in the West End at more than 350 performances to huge acclaim.
She said: “I’m thrilled to be leading the UK & Ireland tour cast of Wicked and to be given the opportunity to continue my journey in the unique and extraordinary role of Elphaba, which first began for me in the West End in 2017. Wicked has been a life and career-changing show for me and I am very proud to be part of the cast bringing this incredible musical to audiences in Birmingham.”
Michael McCabe, Executive Producer (UK & Ireland) of Wicked said: “Laura Pick’s powerhouse performance wowed West End audiences at more than 350 performances and we’re excited that audiences at the Birmingham Hippodrome will now get to experience her thrilling vocals and passionate portrayal of Elphaba from Tuesday 5 March 2024.” Further casting is to be announced.
It takes over 100 people on-stage and behind the scenes to deliver performances of this award-winning touring production of Wicked. Featuring all the celebrated spectacle, magic, technical wizardry, and more than 350 stunning costumes, this touring production has been acclaimed as “every bit the West End show” (The Reviews Hub).
Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman’s musical, based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, imagines a beguiling backstory and future possibilities to the lives of L. Frank Baum's beloved characters from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reveals the decisions and events that shape the destinies of two unlikely university friends on their journey to becoming Glinda The Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
The West End and Broadway musical phenomenon, that tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz, continues its open-ended run at London's Apollo Victoria Theatre, where it is already the 12th longest-running production in West End history.
Wicked has now been seen by more than 60 million people worldwide, and 2023 marks the 20th Anniversary of its Broadway premiere. Productions continue on Broadway, in the West End, and on tour across North America. This year, Wicked will also return to Sydney, Australia and Tokyo, Japan.
It has won over 100 major international awards including 3 Tony Awards; 6 Drama Desk Awards; 2 Olivier Audience Awards (BBC Radio 2 Audience Award, ITV’s This Morning Audience Award); 11 WhatsOnStage Awards (including 3 for 'Best West End Show'); 6 Australian Helpmann Awards, and a Grammy.
