Bert Newton has been confirmed as the new Wizard in the Australian version of the hit musical Wicked, now playing in Melbourne. Newton, of course, played the same character in the touring version of The Wizard of Oz a few years back. The role in Wicked became vacant after the untimely death of Rob Guest. Newton says:

"The Wizard is a complex challenging role. He’s a charismatic, seductive man who says he just wants to make people happy. He may even believe it, but the truth is much darker. I feel privileged to take this role, one Rob Guest memorably created for the Australian production of Wicked. Rob was a close mate, we played opposite each other in The Sound of Music, and we had a lot of fun together. I’m looking forward to joining a terrific cast in the musical of the decade."

Good luck to him. In my experience, he's one of the nicest blokes in the biz.
PS: It's also been announced that Buddy: The Buddy Holly story will play the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Brisbane from May 2. Details here.