Wicked delay
Posted June 20th, 2010 by debritz
It's great news for Brisbane theatregoers that Wicked! will finally open at the Lyric Theatre in January next year. But that will be two-and-a-half years after its Australian premiere in Melbourne -- in which time, according to its producers, it has played 866 shows seen by more than a million people. In other words, the lion's share of the return from the show in terms of arts tourism dollars has gone into the Victorian coffers and, to a lesser extent, to NSW. Of course, if Brisbane had another large venue -- say a renovated Regent Theatre -- such big shows could be debuting in Queensland, rather than coming in at the end of their run after the diehard fans have already spent up big on package tours to see them.
I totally agree, I have said time and time again that brisbane could be HUGE and be on par with Sydney AND Melbourne concerning Entertainment and Shows, and The Regent would be the perfect setting in which to host these events but I don't think the government are seeing the bigger picture or the economic value of The Regent. This beautiful and stunning place could bring in alot of money and build Brisbane up to further benefit the Tourism Industry for Queensland/Brisbane, aswell as keep the Heritage and History of The Regent for future generations and tourists, alas, this was apparently not thought of. Just as well we have Save The Regent Campaign and so many people whom have been wonderfully supportive to help the politicians think and do their job hey? Ha ha ha ha ha .
I am tipping a three month residency.
I remember saying on Twitter last night:
Restoring the Regent doesn't just have direct benefits. Imagine how much tourist dollars would be made from a musical base? Homesteading musicals, don't just sell tickets. They sell hotel rooms, dinners, etc. #savetheregent
Wicked's run in Melbourne, gave $126million to the Victorian economy, with over half a million people seeing it.
If that amount of money was given to The Regent restoration, it would pay for itself, and give the south-east corner's economy a massive boost.