Penny’s Magical Month

The days are long but the end result will be something special.

In rehearsals for the Sydney season of the blockbuster musicalWicked, Penny McNamee has a whirlwind of thoughts going around in her head.

On one hand, there’s the excitement surrounding coming home for the Sydney season at the Capitol Theatre. On the other, there’s her upcoming wedding, which will obviously be one of the personal highs of her life.

“It is a bit of a crazy time – getting ready to open the show and getting married in a month,” McNamee said.

“I’m not sure it’s perfect timing, but it’s the way it all came about.”

McNamee is one of the bright young stars on the Australian theatre scene. Winning the role inWicked marked the biggest moment of her professional career, and it has been an incredible jorney.

“It’s been great – the show is so huge and so exciting,” she said.

“We’ve had some hard times too, particularly when Rob Guest left us so suddenly. Watching [his partner] Kellie Dickerson, a leader in our company, suffer so much has been extremely difficult.”

McNamee said the huge support for the musical continues to surprise her.

“The fan base is still something that shocks us – it felt like a rock concert in Melbourne on closing night,” she said.

The 26-year-old said she was undertaking a workshop for the musical Karaoke when she landed the role of Nessa Rose.

“It was quite incredible because I was doing a workshop with 20 musical theatre people and I had to subdue my excitement,” she said.

Wicked opens at the Capitol Theatre on Saturday.