Tauranga Musical Theatre's new production, Wicked, looks at what happened in the Land of Oz long before Dorothy dropped in.
With a hugely talented cast and production team, it weaves the untold stories of the Wizard of Oz's most famous characters, witches Elphaba and Glinda, into an extraordinary tale about love, friendship and trust.
Tiffany Wilkinson, who plays Glinda, says this Tony award-winning show will appeal to people from all walks of life because it centres around growth and friendship, and tackles issues such as empowerment, being comfortable within your own skin, and doing what is right even if it's unpopular.
"Wicked has been my favourite show since I discovered musical theatre and I would have played a tree in the background just to be a part of it," she says.
Glinda and Elphaba, played by Tiffany Wilkinson and Bailea Twomey
Tiffany feels lucky to work under the professional guidance of director Russell Dixon, vocal director Elise Rohde, and choreographer Dani Miller and she describes them as super encouraging and supportive.
Her character Glinda evolves from a bubbly, somewhat shallow and sheltered young girl to a strong, kind and empathetic woman.
The other female lead role in Wicked is played by Bailea Twomey, and Tiffany says Bailea is the perfect Elphaba.
In many ways, both their personalities off stage reflect elements of Glinda and Elphaba, and the two performers just clicked from the get-go.
Bailea, who travels from Whakatane several times a week for rehearsals, loves that this is a show with two strong women at the lead, and she explains it tells a story of two extremely different girls who, against all odds, have an incredible friendship.
"It's about acceptance, facing adversity, love, finding confidence in yourself, and standing up for what you believe in no matter how hard it is," she says.
In the role of Elphaba, which was at the top of her bucket list, Bailea gets covered in green makeup.
Bailea Twomey stars in Wicked The Musical
"It is quite a process becoming green and it takes a while to put on, but even longer to wash off. No matter how many showers you take, you always find some green somewhere but it's part of the experience and I love that," she laughs.
For both young women, being on stage is their favourite thing to do. They have met some amazing people through theatre and made life-long friends.
"I love that I can jump out of my own life and be someone else for two hours and being surrounded by like-minded people who have the same passion and drive. It motivates you to do better, and it's so much fun," Bailea says.
Tiffany says she was a bit of a latecomer to musical theatre, and she decided on a whim to audition for a show a few years ago. As soon as she gave it a try, she knew she was in the right place.
"Honestly it doesn't matter whether you have a lead role or if you sweep the stage, in the theatre every single person counts and contributes towards making a good show amazing," she says.
"We bring stories to life for people to enjoy and to make them feel something. That's always my goal, to deliver a performance that makes people feel like they've been on a journey and to come away with something they can apply to themselves or their lives," says Bailea.
This is the first time that Bailea and Tiffany are on stage together but along with Bailey Hocking, who at just 16 plays the male lead Fiyero, they have the same singing teacher.
Both Tiffany and Bailea love this "effortlessly talented kid". They say they were in awe when they first saw him perform.
"I am not exaggerating when I say my jaw literally dropped. His performance blew me away. I'm not just saying this because he's my friend but because he is genuinely so talented. He is definitely going to go a long way," Bailea says.
Tiffany adds that Bailey has a maturity beyond his years in the way he views the craft of musical theatre and that he truly gets into the grit of his character.
They both mention that all the cast, crew, creative team and volunteers who put in so much work and effort are amazing, and that the music, the set and costumes are incredible.
