New Plymouth Operatic Wicked: Shows put on pause, but not for long

Catherine Hay (right) performed on stage on Saturday, but the vocals were provided by another actor. Photo / Chris Hill Photography

New Plymouth Operatic's production of Wicked has had to cancel three shows, dues to the illness of a lead actor.

Friday night's performance of New Plymouth Operatic's Wicked was cancelled just a couple of hours before the curtain was due to go up, as lead actress Catherine Hay was unwell.

Ticket holders were told their tickets were being transferred to a new date, with a matinee performance of the show arranged for Saturday, July 3. Any ticket holders who were unable to make the new date were being offered a refund, and a New Plymouth Operatic (NPOS) spokesperson said theatre fans could be reassured the cancellation was for one night only, with plans in place to ensure performances would continue from Saturday onwards.

The plan had been to fly in an alternate performer who would provide the vocals for Catherine's role of Elphaba from off stage, while Catherine herself still performed the part on stage.

Actor Jane Leonard flew in from Auckland and impressed audience members at Saturday's matinee show with her impressive vocals, while Catherine lip-synced on stage for the songs. The loud applause at the final curtain call showed Jane's voice had impressed the audience just as much as Catherine's on stage performance had.

Soon after the matinee ended at 5pm however, NPOS put out a new media statement.

"It is with regret that the New Plymouth Operatic Society inform patrons that both this evenings and tomorrow's afternoon performance, are now cancelled due to illness."

A spokesperson said Catherine had "given it all" on stage for the Saturday afternoon performance, but was simply too unwell to continue with another performance in the evening.

The decision was made to cancel the evening show as well as Sunday's matinee, to give the director, cast and backstage team time to prepare for a change in line-up, with Jane now set to take on the role of Elphaba on stage as well as vocally.

The spoke person says ticket holders for either of the cancelled shows will be able to request a refund or to exchange their tickets for an alternative performance in line with Ticketek's policies.

There was a possibility of an extra show or two being added to the schedule to accommodate the number of people wanting to exchange tickets for an alternate date.

"We are in the process of looking at the possibility of additional shows and this will be announced shortly. We apologise sincerely for any inconvenience caused but as they say the show will go on next week."