Something WICKED is coming to Singapore…

"Something Wicked this way comes…" it isn't Harry Potter 8, but it promises to be just as magical.

WICKED, the spellbinding musical centred on the two witches of Oz — yes, you remember where they're from: The Wizard of Oz — is on its way to Southeast Asia, and Singapore will be its first stop.

The hit musical has garnered audiences of almost 28 million people worldwide since its premiere on Broadway in 2003, and has won some 35 major awards including a Grammy and three Tony awards.

Fresh off the back of a very successful three-year season in Australia, WICKED's Australian cast will be gracing the Marina Bay Sands Grand Theater stage from 7 December this year to 29 January 2012, before it moves on to other parts of Asia.

Tickets have already gone on sale last month, and so far, some 15,000 tickets have been sold, according to promoter BASE Entertainment's managing director Milan Rokic.

The performers playing the two lead witches, Glinda and Elphaba, were in Singapore this week and Yahoo! Singapore sat down for a chat with Suzie Mathers, who will headline the show as Glinda, as well as Patrice Arkins, here in place of Jemma Rix, who will play the role of the emerald-skinned Elphaba.

Suzie, how do you feel being part of WICKED's first breakthrough into Southeast Asia?

Suzie Mathers (SM): It's really cool actually, yeah, it's awesome. The hype here seems more than we expected, there's so many people who know the musical and are excited about us coming, and it's really wonderful to be taking over the role of Glinda after the Australian season and being the, I suppose, "Asian Glinda", you know, which is fantastic. It's nice to premiere in something so big, in what is becoming the hub of entertainment in Southeast Asia.

Have you worked with Jemma Rix — the incoming Elphaba — before? What's it like?

SM: Yes I have. Patrice, myself and Jemma were in the original company in Melbourne when it was first played in Australia and we shared a dressing room, so we've had many years of friendship and then when I returned for the Australian tour, as understudy I've played opposite her quite a bit.

She's very honest and truthful, her character is very grounded, her voice is phenomenal… (Patrice and I) were both saying that we don't really understand her instrument—it's flawless and you know she never hits a bum note. It's wonderful; she's a really giving, great performer to work with on stage.

So what can audiences expect to see in WICKED?

SM: It's amazing, it's spectacular... the costumes, what was it, US$3 million, is the estimated value of the costumes, for every production. The production in Singapore is what you would expect to see if you went to see it on Broadway or on West End. It's the same creative team, it's the same costume, hair and makeup and set design throughout the world... So the show itself, the lighting design is... out of this world. Sometimes you just sit there and watch it, and a scene change happens and you have no idea where it came from! The entire stage is all of a sudden green, all of a sudden white, and there's chandeliers hanging from the roof. There's a scene in the second act that if you blink you will miss it, it's 30 seconds long, and the costumes for that are worth $10,000 each. But that's the detail they've paid for a 30-second scene. They have put everything into the wigs and the costumes. And one of my costumes in the second act is completely sewn with Swarovski crystals, so it's pretty spectacular.

You watched The Lion King at Sands Theater last night, and you might have noticed some local-centric lines in it. Could we expect anything like that in WICKED?

SM: Well, it's hard with WICKED, because WICKED is set in Oz, so the language itself, we use words like 'confusifying' and 'degreenify' and the show itself, it's like 'congratulotions' is said instead of 'congratulations' so the language is very "Oz-ified" so it's very hard to put local references in there. We did enjoy watching the audience's reaction last night when certain things were said, we were like "Uh, didn't really understand that but I'm sure it was a local reference, yay!" (laughs) so it's kind of hard to incorporate that into a show like this, because we are in Oz, and it's definitely set out that way from the very beginning.

It's said the show will appeal to everyone aged 8 to 80. Is this true?

Patrice Arkins (PA): That doesn't mean that we'll leave out anyone above 80 or below 8, though! It really is a show for all ages. There's wit and humour in there that some of the kids may not necessarily get but it's something like The Simpsons, it's appealing to all ages. The music is beautiful to listen to and it really moves you, and the way that it combines with the costumes and the lights and the story… We all go out to be entertained and to be touched in some way, and this is something that you can definitely expect be moved by.

SM: There's a part of the show in one short day when these three suits come out, and they're called flatheads, and both Patrice and I in the past have been inside them. (laughs) And they get a funny reaction because the entire audience finds them hilarious, but for different reasons—the kids just think "Oh wow, these big colourful things that have come out," and the adults are like, "Oh my God, they've got like necks that go up here" and you know, they're pretty crazy… But it just shows that the entire audience finds it amusing, it's not just for kids or for adults, everyone's on the same page, with the visual stuff.

What do you think makes WICKED such a success?

PA: The way the girls' friendship plays out is something that everyone can relate to; we've all been touched in our lives by someone who may not have always got along with but you can definitely learn from. There's also such a high quality, a high standard of writing and costumes and everything that makes it leaps and bounds above you know, what else is out there. It's been compared to Phantom of the Opera, the classics like that, and it's won so many awards to prove that it's on par with some of the greats.

SM: And it's clever, it's really clever. when the Tin Man comes out you're like "Oh my gosh, that's how the Tin Man became the Tin Man", and all of a sudden you know why the Lion is a coward, and you know what happened to the witch's sister, the Wicked Witch of the East, and you know, why the Scarecrow is the Scarecrow, and everything pieces itself together. And it's so cleverly interwoven with the Wizard of Oz original story, that you can't help but identify with things and laugh, and have a little chuckle when she mentions the shoes.

WICKED will open for a two-month season from 7 December 2011 to 29 January 2012, with nightly shows from Tuesdays to Fridays, and two shows each on weekends. Tickets range from $55 to $250, and can be purchased online at the Marina Bay Sands website.