SMASH hit musical Wicked flies into Bradford for a five-week long run this month.

The show runs at the Alhambra from July 20 to August 21 - the only chance to see it outside London this year. More than 40,000 tickets have been sold at the Alhambra so far.

The West End and Broadway musical phenomenon, telling the captivating story of the Witches of Oz, stars Jacqueline Hughes as Elphaba and Carly Anderson as Glinda, with Bradley Jaden, Steven Pinder, Kim Ismay, Iddon Jones, Emily Shaw and Jodie Steele also leading the cast. The show sets off on an international tour after its Alhambra run.

The Alhambra is the only theatre in the UK outside London to show Wicked, which features hit songs Defying Gravity and Popular. The show will then travel directly to Marina Bay in Singapore, where it opens on September 29. It will then continue touring internationally until January, 2018.

Based on the best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire, that re-imagined the stories and characters created by L Frank Baum in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Wicked is centred on an unlikely but profound friendship between two sorcery students.

Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfil their destinies as Glinda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West.

Pictured are the cast in rehearsal for the hit show, prior to their arrival at the Alhambra.

*Tickets are on (01274) 432000.