Dorothy, meet Mrs Robinson …novice Nikki Webster and veteran Wendy Hughes have landed plum stage roles, writes Bryce Hallett.
After being hoisted high into the Olympic stadium last year, Nikki Webster is destined to travel the yellow brick road.
Webster has been cast in the coveted role of Dorothy in a new $4million production of The Wizard of Oz, opening at the Lyric Theatre in November.
The announcement by co-producers James Erskine (SEL) John Frost (GFO) and Macks Entertainment comes a day after the arena production of Hair was cancelled by producers IMG and Harry M. Miller due to poor ticket sales.
“The Wizard of Oz is not a panto, it’s essentially the MGM film on stage with a twist and featuring great songs such as Over The Rainbow,” says producer John Frost. “The timing is right for Nikki at this point in her career and audiences will get to see what the kid can do.”
Webster, who has four musicals including Aladdin and The Sound of Music to her credit, is taking the latest opportunity in her stride. “The Wizard of Oz is one of my favourite musicals and I remember dressing up as Dorothy in Book Week at kindergarten.”
The production will be staged by Nancye Hayes, who was the resident director of Annie and directed Judi Connelli in a concert version of Gypsy last year. Roger Kirk will design the costumes and sets.
Webster, who as a 14-year-old has permission to perform eight shows a week, is the first member of the cast to be announced before auditions start next month. The producers, however, have a secret wish list, including for the standout witch’s role of Mrs Gulch, played by Pamela Rabe a decade ago and recently by Eartha Kitt at Madison Square Garden.
Local actor Bille Brown has also tackled the role, about 12 years ago for the Royal Shakespeare Company, a version on which the Australian production will be based.
Macks Entertainment co-director Ken Mackenzie-Forbes, who came up with the idea to cast Webster, said The Wizard of Oz was ripe for reviving.
“We could see that we had a new young star in Nikki and this is the perfect vehicle to display her talents.”
In early talks about producing The Wizard of Oz, the idea to present it in an arena setting was quickly scrapped.
Says John Frost: “Jesus Christ Superstar and Grease proved to be landmark arena shows, but they are not the way to go these days. Unless the work is rock-based like Grease and where you can annihilate lots of dialogue, musicals aren’t easily adapted to the big arenas … Two battles have to be won: first you have to find the right show and know it will hit the mark with the public; second, it’s a matter of convincing audiences to go back to arenas [for musicals].”
Frost says that he and fellow producers knew the arena version of Grease, starring Dannii Minogue, was going to be a hit a day after tickets went on sale. “On the first day of sales in five cities we sold 60,000 seats and knew straight away it would go through the roof. “Wendy Hughes has been cast as Mrs Robinson in the Australian stage production of The Graduate, the producers announced last night.
Co-producer Tim McFarlane said Hughes had been selected after considering actresses from Australia, the US and Britain.
“We needed an actress who could lend sensitivity, credibility and pure sex appeal to this now legendary role.”
Kathleen Turner, Jerry Hall, Amanda Donohoe and Anne Archer have all played Mrs Robinson in the current West End production. The Graduate premieres in Sydney in October. Further casting details will be announced on Wednesday.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald