Bert Newton draws on his magic
Wizard of the Regent: Bert Newton makes his debut last night in Wicked.
Luke Dennehy
November 14, 2008 12:00am
THERE were mixed feelings for Bert Newton last night as he made his debut as the Wizard in the hit musical Wicked at the Regent Theatre.
Newton takes over from Rob Guest, who played the role for three months before his death last month from a stroke.
"In this particular case the circumstances are so sad, and being a friend of Rob's it takes it to another level," Newton said.
"I'm very happy to be in the show, but I wish I was not for obvious reasons."
Newton said he was particularly impressed with the great young cast of the show.
"Maggie Kirkpatrick said she's thrilled I've joined the cast for a number of reasons. I suspect one is because I'm now officially the oldest in the cast."
The 70-year-old reckons Wicked is his 10th show, and says he always enjoys stepping away from TV to tread the boards.
"But then I think, 'Hell, it's a pretty big show, there's nowhere to hide in this'," he joked..