Wicked (musical)

This article is about the musical. For the Broadway cast recording, see Wicked (musical album). For the film adaptation, see Wicked (2024 film) and Wicked Part Two.

Wicked
The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz
Official poster of the original San Francisco production
Music	Stephen Schwartz
Lyrics	Stephen Schwartz
Book	Winnie Holzman
Basis	Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
Premiere	May 28, 2003: Curran Theatre, San Francisco
Productions	2003 San Francisco (tryout) 2003 Broadway 2005 1st U.S. tour 2006 West End 2009 2nd U.S. tour 2013 1st UK/Ireland tour 2017 2nd UK/Ireland tour 2023 3rd UK/Ireland Tour Multiple international productions (see below)
Awards	Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Musical Outstanding Lyrics Outstanding Book

Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is a loose adaptation of the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which in turn is based on L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its 1939 film adaptation. The musical is told from the perspective of two witches, Elphaba and Galinda, before and after Dorothy's arrival in Oz. The story explores the complex friendship between Elphaba (who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West) and Galinda (who becomes Glinda the Good). Their relationship is tested by their contrasting personalities, conflicting viewpoints, shared love interest, reactions to the corrupt rule of the Wonderful Wizard, and ultimately, Elphaba's tragic fall.

Produced by Universal Stage Productions with producers Marc Platt, Jon B. Platt, and David Stone, director Joe Mantello and choreographer Wayne Cilento, the original production of Wicked premiered on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre in October 2003, after completing pre-Broadway tryouts at San Francisco's Curran Theatre in May and June of that year. Its original stars included Idina Menzel as Elphaba, Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda, Norbert Leo Butz as Fiyero, and Joel Grey as the Wizard.

The original Broadway production won a total of three Tony Awards and seven Drama Desk Awards, while its original cast album received a Grammy Award. The success of the Broadway production has spawned many productions worldwide, including a long-running West End production. Wicked has broken box-office records around the world, holding weekly-gross-takings records in Los Angeles, Chicago, St. Louis, and London. In the week ending January 2, 2011, the London, Broadway, and both North American touring productions simultaneously broke their respective records for the highest weekly gross. In the final week of 2013, the Broadway production broke this record again, earning $3.2 million. In 2016, Wicked surpassed $1 billion in total Broadway revenue, joining The Phantom of the Opera and The Lion King as the only Broadway shows to do so. In 2017, Wicked surpassed The Phantom of the Opera as Broadway's second-highest grossing musical, trailing only The Lion King.

A two-part film adaptation, directed by Jon M. Chu and starring Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, Ariana Grande as Glinda, Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, and Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, is in the works. The first part is scheduled for release on November 22, 2024, with the second part to follow on November 21, 2025.

Inception and development

Wicked composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz

Composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz discovered Maguire's 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West while on vacation and saw its potential for a dramatic adaptation. However, Maguire had released the rights to Universal Pictures, which had planned to develop a live-action feature film. In 1998, Schwartz persuaded Maguire to release the rights to a stage production while also making what Schwartz himself called an "impassioned plea" to Universal producer Marc Platt to realize Schwartz's own intended adaptation. Persuaded, Platt signed on as joint producer of the project with Universal and David Stone.

The novel, described as a political, social, and ethical commentary on the nature of good and evil, takes place in the Land of Oz, in the years surrounding Dorothy's arrival. The story centers on Elphaba, a misunderstood, smart, and fiery girl with emerald-green skin, who grows up to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Galinda, the beautiful, blonde, popular girl who grows up to become Glinda the Good. The story is divided into five scenes based on the location and presents events, characters, and situations adapted from L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) and its 1939 film adaptation in new ways. It is designed to set the reader thinking about what it really is to be "Wicked", and whether good intentions with bad results are the same as bad intentions with bad results. Schwartz considered how best to condense the novel's dense and complicated plot into a sensible script. To this end, he collaborated with Emmy Award-winning writer Winnie Holzman to develop the outline of the plot over the course of a year, while meeting with producer Marc Platt to refine the structural outline of the show, creating an original stage piece rather than a strict adaptation of Maguire's work.

While the draft followed Maguire's idea of retelling the story of the 1939 film from the perspective of its main villain, the storyline of the stage adaptation "goes far afield" from the novel. Holzman observed in an interview with Playbill that: "It was [Maguire's] brilliant idea to take this hated figure and tell things from her point of view, and to have the two witches be roommates in college, but the way in which their friendship develops—and really the whole plot—is different onstage." Schwartz justified the deviation, saying: "Primarily we were interested in the relationship between Galinda—who becomes Glinda—and Elphaba... the friendship of these two women and how their characters lead them to completely different destinies." Other major plot modifications include Fiyero's appearance as the scarecrow, Elphaba's survival at the end, Nessarose using a wheelchair instead of being born without arms, Boq having a continuing love interest for Glinda and eventually becoming the Tin Woodman instead of Nick Chopper, cutting Elphaba's years in the Vinkus, the deletion of Liir's birth, Fiyero not having a wife and children, Doctor Dillamond being fired instead of being murdered, and Madame Morrible going to prison instead of dying.

The Curran Theatre in San Francisco, where Wicked made its debut

The book, lyrics, and score for the musical were developed through a series of readings. In these developmental workshops, Kristin Chenoweth, the Tony Award–winning actress whom Schwartz had in mind while composing the music for the character, joined the project as Glinda. Stephanie J. Block played Elphaba in the workshops (she played Elphaba in the first national tour and later as a Broadway cast replacement) before Idina Menzel was cast in the role in late 2002. Earlier that year, the creators recruited New York producer Stone, who began planning the Broadway production. Joe Mantello was engaged as director and Wayne Cilento as choreographer, while designer Eugene Lee created the set and visual style for the production inspired by W. W. Denslow's original illustrations for Baum's novels and Maguire's concept of the story being told through a giant clock. Costume designer Susan Hilferty created a "twisted Edwardian" style in building more than 200 costumes, while lighting designer Kenneth Posner used more than 800 lights to give each of the 54 distinct scenes and locations "its own mood". By April 2003, the show was in rehearsals.

Following the out-of-town tryout in San Francisco in May and June 2003, which received mixed critical reception, the creative team made extensive changes before its transfer to Broadway. Holzman recalled:

Stephen [Schwartz] wisely had insisted on having three months to rewrite in-between the time we closed in San Francisco and when we were to go back into rehearsals in New York. That was crucial; that was the thing that made the biggest difference in the life of the show. That time is what made the show work.

Elements of the book were rewritten, while several songs underwent minor changes. "Which Way is the Party?", the introductory song to the character Fiyero, was replaced by "Dancing Through Life". Concern existed that Menzel's Elphaba "got a little overshadowed" by Chenoweth's Glinda, with San Francisco Chronicle critic Robert Hurwitt writing, "Menzel's brightly intense Elphaba the Wicked Witch [needs] a chance of holding her own alongside Chenoweth's gloriously, insidiously bubbly Glinda." As a result, the creative team set about making Elphaba "more prominent". In making the Broadway revisions, Schwartz recalled, "It was clear there was work to be done and revisions to be made in the book and the score. The critical community was, frankly, very helpful to us."

Synopsis

Act One

Fabi Bang making Glinda's Act One entrance in the original Brazilian production

The citizens of the Land of Oz are celebrating the death of the Wicked Witch of the West. Glinda the Good then appears and tells the wicked witch's backstory: her mother had an affair with a traveling salesman while her father, the Governor of Munchkinland, was away. She gave birth to a daughter with green skin, whom her father rejected at birth, cursing her to have a troubled childhood ("No One Mourns the Wicked"). When a man asks Glinda if it was true that she was Elphaba's friend, Glinda begins to reminisce about their past.

Many years earlier, Elphaba Thropp arrives at Shiz University with her younger sister, Nessarose ("Dear Old Shiz"), who is paraplegic and uses a wheelchair. The school's headmistress, Madame Morrible, assigns shy and nerdy Elphaba to share a dorm with bubbly and popular Galinda Upland. Worried about being separated from her sister, Elphaba uses magic to pull back Nessarose's wheelchair after Madame Morrible attempts to depart with her. Recognizing Elphaba's potential, Madame Morrible decides to privately tutor her in sorcery. She also says that Elphaba has a chance to work with the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, something which she has dreamed of her whole life ("The Wizard and I").

Galinda is disdainful towards Elphaba, and Elphaba grows to loathe her just as much; they clash with each other constantly ("What Is This Feeling?"). In a history class taught by Doctor Dillamond, the only Animal professor at Shiz, he begins to suffer from discrimination, even from the students. Dillamond informs Elphaba of a conspiracy to stop all Animals from speaking. Elphaba vows that if she ever meets the Wizard, she will inform him of the conspiracy and help him stop it ("Something Bad").

Meanwhile, a roguish prince, Fiyero, begins attending Shiz. Galinda is charmed by Fiyero's good looks and shallow philosophy. Fiyero arranges a party for his fellow students. Boq, a Munchkin who has a crush on Galinda, tries to invite her as his date, who in turn convinces him to instead invite Nessarose out of pity, leaving her free to go with Fiyero. Nessarose becomes enamored with Boq and tells Elphaba to thank Galinda for her "help". At the party, Madame Morrible stops by to tell Galinda that Elphaba had asked her to admit Galinda into her sorcery class. Elphaba arrives, wearing a hat that Galinda gave her as a practical joke; the other students laugh at her. Galinda has a change of heart and decides to dance with Elphaba, and soon everyone joins them, finally allowing the girls to bond ("Dancing Through Life").

In their room, Galinda decides to give Elphaba a makeover ("Popular"). The next day, Dr. Dillamond tells the class that he is leaving Shiz because he is no longer permitted to teach. Elphaba is the only student who objects. A human professor introduces the students to the technical advantages of "the cage", which is designed to prevent any animal from speaking. Elphaba refuses to contain her anger, and, in the ensuing chaos, she escapes alongside Fiyero, taking with them the lion cub that was imprisoned within the cage. Elphaba and Fiyero share a private moment; he then leaves. Elphaba laments that Fiyero could never love her as much as he loves Galinda ("I'm Not That Girl"). Madame Morrible arrives and tells Elphaba that the Wizard wants to meet her. Boq, Nessarose, Fiyero, and Galinda say goodbye to Elphaba at the train station. Galinda tries to impress Fiyero by changing her name to Dr. Dillamond's pronunciation of her name, "Glinda", in solidarity with Dillamond, but Fiyero barely notices as he says goodbye to Elphaba. Elphaba invites Glinda to go with her to the Emerald City ("One Short Day").

Elphaba and Glinda meet the Wizard of Oz, who is not as scary as they expected ("A Sentimental Man"). He promises to grant Elphaba's request if she proves herself. Madame Morrible appears and explains she is the Wizard's new press secretary. She gives Elphaba the Grimmerie, a book of spells only the magically gifted can read. Elphaba is then asked to perform a levitation spell on the Wizard's monkey servant, Chistery. Her attempt allows him to fly, but only by making him painfully sprout wings. Elphaba discovers that the Wizard is behind the suppression of the Animals and that he is a fraud who uses simple parlor tricks and lies to stay in power. Shocked, she flees his chamber and Madame Morrible spreads a message throughout Oz that Elphaba is a wicked witch who cannot be trusted. Glinda finds Elphaba and begs her to go back and apologize; Elphaba refuses and declares she must do what is right. She offers to take Glinda with her, but Glinda declines, though she shows strong support over Elphaba's decision. The two friends bid farewell before the guards break in, and Elphaba repeats the levitation spell on a broom and flies away from the Emerald City ("Defying Gravity").

Act Two

Myra Ruiz as Elphaba in the original Brazilian production

Some time later, Elphaba's opposition of the Wizard's regime and the public's fear of her has earned her the title "The Wicked Witch of the West." Meanwhile, Glinda has become the lead spokesperson for the Wizard, given the title "Glinda the Good," and publicly positioned by Madame Morrible as the nation's defender against the Wicked Witch. A press conference to celebrate Fiyero's appointment as Captain of the Guard (a position he has accepted in the hopes of finding Elphaba) is hijacked by the public's panicked rumors about her, one of them claiming that she can be melted by water. Fiyero is furious at the absurdity of the rumors. Glinda unsuccessfully tries calming him by insisting that Elphaba does not want to be found. Fiyero is further shocked when, without his consent or knowledge, Morrible announces that he and Glinda are engaged. He abruptly leaves, angry with Glinda for not informing him of the announcement. She attempts to act cheerful but knows her dream life did not come as expected ("Thank Goodness").

Elphaba visits Nessarose, who is now the governor of Munchkinland following the death of their father. Nessa has taken away the Munchkins' few rights to prevent Boq from leaving her. Elphaba tries to convince Nessa to join the rebellion against the Wizard, but Nessa refuses; she is bitter and resentful that Elphaba never tried to use her powers to help her. Feeling guilty, Elphaba enchants Nessa's silver shoes, giving her the ability to walk. Nessa is thrilled and now believes Boq will truly love her. To Nessa's shock, Boq sees this as proof that she no longer needs him and declares he intends to tell Glinda of his love for her before she marries Fiyero. Furious and unwilling to let him go, Nessarose takes the Grimmerie in order to cast a love spell on Boq to make him fall in love with her. She pronounces the incantation wrong and accidentally shrinks his heart. She cries for Elphaba to save him and prevent her from having to "live a life of loneliness" ("The Wicked Witch of the East").^Note Elphaba casts another spell to save Boq's life, transforming him into a Tin Man who does not need a heart to live. Horrified, Boq flees in shock, and Nessa blames her sister.

Elphaba returns to the Emerald City to free the Wizard's monkey servants and is caught by him. The Wizard tries once again to convince Elphaba to work with him, explaining that he is simply a mediocre man who came into his position by chance and was led to stay by the citizens of Oz, who revered him ("Wonderful"), and also follows Elphaba's request to set the monkey servants free. She is almost won over until she discovers Dr. Dillamond, who has lost his ability to speak, and Elphaba vows to fight the Wizard to the end. Fiyero and the guards enter, followed by Glinda, but Fiyero helps Elphaba escape and decides to go with her, leaving a brokenhearted Glinda behind. She tells the Wizard and Madame Morrible a way they can capture Elphaba – spreading a rumor that Nessarose is in trouble, so she will be forced to show herself to save her. Unknown to Glinda, Morrible and the Wizard decide a mere rumor would not fool Elphaba, and Morrible proposes "a change in the weather". Alone, Glinda laments that Fiyero always loved Elphaba and it is unlikely he ever loved her ("I'm Not That Girl" (Reprise)).

Hidden away in the forest, Elphaba and Fiyero confess their love for each other ("As Long As You're Mine"). Their happiness is interrupted when Elphaba senses Nessarose is in danger. She is correct; a house has fallen out of the sky and crushed Nessarose to death. Elphaba arrives at the scene and finds Glinda has given Nessarose’s shoes to the house's occupant, Dorothy Gale. After a fight between the two, the Wizard's guards arrive. Fiyero arrives and holds Glinda hostage to allow Elphaba to flee. Glinda pleads for the guards not to harm him, but they do not listen. At Kiamo Ko castle, Elphaba casts a spell to make Fiyero invincible to any weapon. However, he presumably died and Elphaba accepts that every good thing she did was always seen as evil, and that she is a Wicked Witch ("No Good Deed").

Meanwhile, the citizens of Oz, led by Madame Morrible and Boq, set off to capture Elphaba. Glinda realizes Madame Morrible summoned the tornado that caused the house to crush Nessarose. Morrible threatens her, alleging that she is not as virtuous as she pretends to be. Glinda flees in horror as the crowd calls for the Wicked Witch's death ("March of the Witch Hunters"). Meanwhile, Elphaba has captured Dorothy, refusing to release her until she relinquishes Nessarose's shoes. Glinda arrives to warn Elphaba of the danger she is in and tries to convince her to let Dorothy go, but Elphaba refuses. She softens, however, upon receiving a letter from a monkey servant, and without revealing the contents of the letter, she convinces Glinda not to try to clear her name for fear that the people would turn against her, too. Elphaba then gives the Grimmerie to Glinda, and they embrace for the last time before sharing a tearful goodbye ("For Good"), parting as friends. As the citizens of Oz arrive to kill Elphaba, she tells Glinda to hide. Glinda watches from the shadows as Dorothy throws a bucket of water on Elphaba, melting her. The only remains of her are her pointy hat and the bottle of Green Elixir that belonged to her mother.

Back in the Emerald City, Glinda confronts the Wizard with the Elixir, which he recognizes as his own. He was the man Elphaba's mother had an affair with, therefore her biological father, and the Elixir was the cause of her green skin. As the Wizard agonizes, Madame Morrible laments that this was why Elphaba was so powerful, as she was a child of both worlds. Glinda banishes the Wizard from Oz and arrests Madame Morrible for murdering Nessarose. Meanwhile, Fiyero (who has become a scarecrow due to Elphaba's spell) arrives at the spot where she supposedly melted. He knocks on the floor, and Elphaba steps out from a trap door, having faked her death to protect herself. They embrace, and Elphaba laments that she will never be able to see Glinda again. Meanwhile, Glinda informs everyone that the Wicked Witch is dead and that she would like to earn her title as "Glinda the Good". As Oz celebrates and Glinda mourns her best friend quietly, Elphaba and Fiyero leave Oz together ("Finale").

Casts

Original casts

Character	San Francisco	Broadway	First US Tour	Chicago	West End	Los Angeles	Melbourne	First UK/Ireland Tour	International Tour
	2003		2005		2006	2007	2008	2013	2016
Elphaba	Idina Menzel		Stephanie J. Block	Ana Gasteyer	Idina Menzel	Eden Espinosa	Amanda Harrison	Nikki Davis-Jones	Jacqueline Hughes
Glinda	Kristin Chenoweth		Kendra Kassebaum	Kate Reinders	Helen Dallimore	Megan Hilty	Lucy Durack	Emily Tierney	Carly Anderson
Fiyero	Norbert Leo Butz		Derrick Williams	Kristoffer Cusick	Adam Garcia	Kristoffer Cusick	Rob Mills	Liam Doyle	Bradley Jaden
Madame Morrible	Carole Shelley		Carol Kane	Rondi Reed	Miriam Margolyes	Carol Kane	Maggie Kirkpatrick	Marilyn Cutts	Kim Ismay
Nessarose	Michelle Federer		Jenna Leigh Green	Heidi Kettenring	Katie Rowley Jones	Jenna Leigh Green	Penny McNamee	Carina Gillespie	Emily Shaw
Boq	Kirk McDonald	Christopher Fitzgerald	Logan Lipton	Telly Leung	James Gillan	Adam Wylie	Anthony Callea	George Ure	Iddon Jones
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz	Robert Morse	Joel Grey	David Garrison	Gene Weygandt	Nigel Planer	John Rubinstein	Rob Guest	Dale Rapley	Steven Pinder
Doctor Dillamond	John Horton	William Youmans	Timothy Britten Parker	Steven Skybell	Martin Ball	Timothy Britten Parker	Rodney Dobson

Notable replacements

Broadway (2003–)

• Elphaba: Shoshana Bean, Eden Espinosa, Ana Gasteyer, Julia Murney, Stephanie J. Block, Kerry Ellis, Marcie Dodd, Nicole Parker, Dee Roscioli, Mandy Gonzalez, Teal Wicks, Jackie Burns, Willemijn Verkaik, Lindsay Mendez, Caroline Bowman, Rachel Tucker, Jennifer DiNoia, Jessica Vosk, Lindsay Pearce, Talia Suskauer, Alyssa Fox, Mary Kate Morrissey
• Glinda: Jennifer Laura Thompson, Megan Hilty, Kate Reinders, Kendra Kassebaum, Annaleigh Ashford, Alli Mauzey, Erin Mackey, Katie Rose Clarke, Chandra Lee Schwartz, Jenni Barber, Kara Lindsay, Amanda Jane Cooper, McKenzie Kurtz, Alexandra Socha, Carrie St. Louis
• Fiyero: Kristoffer Cusick, Taye Diggs, Joey McIntyre, Sebastian Arcelus, Aaron Tveit, Kevin Kern, Andy Karl, Kyle Dean Massey, Richard H. Blake, Derek Klena, Justin Guarini, Ashley Parker Angel, Curt Hansen, Ryan McCartan
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Sean McCourt, George Hearn, Ben Vereen, David Garrison, Lenny Wolpe, P. J. Benjamin, Tom McGowan, Fred Applegate, Peter Scolari, Kevin Chamberlin, Michael McCormick, Cleavant Derricks, John Dossett, Brad Oscar
• Madame Morrible: Rue McClanahan, Carol Kane, Jayne Houdyshell, Miriam Margolyes, Rondi Reed, Mary Testa, Michele Lee, Judy Kaye, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Isabel Keating, Nancy Opel, Alexandra Billings, Michele Pawk, Donna McKechnie
• Nessarose: Jenna Leigh Green, Catherine Charlebois, Kelli Barrett, Arielle Jacobs
• Boq: Randy Harrison, Robb Sapp, Alex Brightman, Taylor Trensch, Robin de Jesús
• Doctor Dillamond: Sean McCourt, Timothy Britten Parker, K. Todd Freeman, Michael Genet, Martin Moran, Jamie Jackson, Clifton Davis

1st US National Tour (2005–2009)

• Elphaba: Julia Murney, Shoshana Bean, Dee Roscioli, Victoria Matlock, Carmen Cusack, Donna Vivino, Eden Espinosa
• Glinda: Erin Mackey, Katie Rose Clarke, Annaleigh Ashford
• Fiyero: Kristoffer Cusick, Sebastian Arcelus, Richard H. Blake, Kyle Dean Massey
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Lee Wilkof, Lenny Wolpe, P. J. Benjamin, Stuart Zagnit, Fred Applegate
• Madame Morrible: Carole Shelley, Alma Cuervo
• Nessarose: Deedee Magno Hall, Marcie Dodd

West End (2006–)

• Elphaba: Kerry Ellis, Alexia Khadime, Rachel Tucker, Louise Dearman, Willemijn Verkaik, Jennifer DiNoia, Emma Hatton, Alice Fearn, Lucie Jones
• Glinda: Dianne Pilkington, Louise Dearman, Gina Beck, Savannah Stevenson, Suzie Mathers, Sophie Evans, Lucy St. Louis
• Fiyero: Oliver Tompsett, Lee Mead, Mark Evans, Matt Willis, Ben Freeman, Bradley Jaden, David Witts, Alistair Brammer
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Desmond Barrit, Clive Carter, Sam Kelly, Tom McGowan, Mark Curry, Martin Ball, Andy Hockley, Gary Wilmot, Michael Fenton Stevens
• Madame Morrible: Susie Blake, Harriet Thorpe, Julie Legrand, Louise Plowright, Liza Sadovy, Anita Dobson, Kim Ismay, Sophie-Louise Dann
• Nessarose: Caroline Keiff, Natalie Anderson
• Doctor Dillamond: Paul Clarkson, Steven Pinder, Chris Jarman

Melbourne/Australian tour (2008–2015)

• Elphaba: Jemma Rix, Pippa Grandison
• Glinda: Suzie Mathers
• Fiyero: David Harris
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Bert Newton, Reg Livermore, Simon Gallaher
• Madame Morrible: Geraldine Turner

1st UK/Ireland tour (2013–2015)

• Elphaba: Ashleigh Gray
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz/Doctor Dillamond: Steven Pinder

Musical numbers

"No One Mourns the Wicked" redirects here. For the TV episode, see list of Rizzoli & Isles episodes#Season 4 (2013–14).

Act I

• "No One Mourns the Wicked" — Glinda and Citizens of Oz
• "Dear Old Shiz" — Students and Glinda
• "The Wizard and I" — Madame Morrible and Elphaba
• "What Is This Feeling?" — Glinda, Elphaba and Students
• "Something Bad" — Doctor Dillamond and Elphaba
• "Dancing Through Life" — Fiyero, Glinda, Boq, Nessarose, Elphaba and Students
• "Popular" — Glinda
• "I'm Not That Girl" — Elphaba
• "One Short Day" — Elphaba, Glinda and Ozians
• "A Sentimental Man" — The Wizard
• "Defying Gravity" — Elphaba, Glinda and Ozians

Act II

• "No One Mourns the Wicked" (Reprise) — Ensemble
• "Thank Goodness" — Glinda, Madame Morrible and Citizens of Oz
• "The Wicked Witch of the East" — Elphaba, Nessarose and Boq ^Note
• "Wonderful" — The Wizard and Elphaba
• "I'm Not That Girl" (Reprise) — Glinda
• "As Long As You're Mine" — Elphaba and Fiyero
• "No Good Deed" — Elphaba
• "March of the Witch Hunters" — Boq and Ozians
• "For Good" — Elphaba and Glinda
• "Finale" — Glinda, Elphaba and Ozians

^Note: "The Wicked Witch of the East" is the only major piece not to be featured on the cast recording, as the producers felt "the song included too much dialogue and would give some of the plot away to people who have not seen the show."

Music and recordings

Music analysis

The score of Wicked is heavily thematic, bearing in some senses more resemblance to an opera than a traditional musical score. While many musical scores employ new motifs and melodies for each song with little overlap, Schwartz integrated a handful of leitmotifs throughout the production. Some of these motifs indicate irony—for example, when Glinda presents Elphaba with a "ghastly" hat in "Dancing Through Life", the score reprises a theme from "What Is This Feeling?" a few scenes earlier.

Two musical themes in Wicked run throughout the score. Although Schwartz rarely reuses motifs or melodies from earlier works, the first—Elphaba's theme—came from The Survival of St. Joan, on which he worked as musical director. "I always liked this tune a lot and I never could figure out what to do with it," he remarked in an interview in 2004. The chord progression that he first penned in 1971 became a major theme of the show's orchestration. By changing the instruments that carry the motif in each instance, Schwartz enables the same melody to convey different moods. In the overture, the tune is carried by the orchestra's brass section, with heavy percussion. The result is, in Schwartz' own words, "like a giant shadow terrorizing you." When played by the piano with some electric bass in "As Long As You're Mine", however, the same chord progression becomes the basis for a romantic duet. And with new lyrics and an altered bridge, the theme forms the core of the song "No One Mourns the Wicked" and its reprises.

Schwartz uses the "Unlimited" theme as the second major motif running through the score. Although not included as a titled song, although written by Alan Vaytsman, the theme appears as an interlude in several of the musical numbers. In a tribute to Harold Arlen, who wrote the score for the 1939 film adaptation, the "Unlimited" melody incorporates the first seven notes of the song "Over the Rainbow." Schwartz included it as an inside joke:

According to copyright law, when you get to the eighth note, then people can come and say, 'Oh you stole our tune.' And of course obviously it's also disguised in that it's completely different rhythmically. And it's also harmonized completely differently.... It's over a different chord and so on, but still it's the first seven notes of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'.

Schwartz further obscured the motif's origin by setting it in a minor key in most instances. This also creates contrast in the songs in which it forms a part, for example in "Defying Gravity", which is written primarily in the key of D-flat major. In the song "The Wicked Witch of the East", however, when Elphaba finally uses her powers to let her sister walk, the "Unlimited" theme is played in a major key.

Recordings

See also: Wicked (musical album)

A cast recording of the original Broadway production was released on December 16, 2003, by Universal Music. All of the songs featured on stage are present on the recording with the exception of "The Wizard and I (Reprise)", "A Sentimental Man (Reprise)" and "The Wicked Witch of the East". The short reprise of "No One Mourns the Wicked" that opens Act II is attached to the beginning of "Thank Goodness". The music was arranged by Stephen Oremus, who was also the conductor and musical director, and James Lynn Abbott, with orchestrations by William David Brohn. The recording received the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album in 2005 and was certified platinum by the RIAA on November 30, 2006. The album was certified double platinum on November 8, 2010. A fifth-anniversary special edition of the original Broadway cast recording was released on October 28, 2008, with a bonus CD including tracks from the Japanese and German cast recordings, "Making Good"—a song later replaced by "The Wizard and I"—sung by Stephanie J. Block with Schwartz at the piano, "I'm Not That Girl" by Kerry Ellis (featuring Brian May on guitar), Menzel's dance mix of "Defying Gravity" and "For Good" sung by LeAnn Rimes and Delta Goodrem.

A German recording of the Stuttgart production was released on December 7, 2007, featuring a track listing and arrangements identical to those of the Broadway recording. The Japanese cast recording was released on July 23, 2008, featuring the original Tokyo cast. It is notable for being the first (and so far the only) Cast Album of the show that includes Glinda's Finale dialogue.

Productions

Original Broadway production (2003–present)

The original Broadway production has been at the Gershwin Theatre since its opening in 2003.

Wicked officially opened on June 10, 2003, at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco, after previews began on May 28. The cast included Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda, Idina Menzel as Elphaba, Robert Morse as the Wizard, Norbert Leo Butz as Fiyero, Michelle Federer as Nessarose, Carole Shelley as Madame Morrible, John Horton as Doctor Dillamond, and Kirk McDonald as Boq. Stephanie J. Block, who originally read the role of Elphaba during the show's workshop stage, was Menzel's standby during tryouts, but left before the show moved to Broadway. She would then lead the 1st National Tour opposite Kendra Kassebaum as Glinda. The tryout closed on June 29, 2003, and after extensive retooling, the musical began previews on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre on October 8, 2003, and made its official premiere on October 30. Most of the original production team and cast members remained with the show. Principal casting changes included Joel Grey as the Wizard, William Youmans as Doctor Dillamond and Christopher Fitzgerald as Boq.

On March 12, 2020, the show temporarily suspended production due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Performances resumed on September 14, 2021, with Lindsay Pearce as Elphaba and Ginna Claire Mason as Glinda. Chenoweth made a pre-curtain speech before the grand reopening of the show.

North American productions (2005–present)

On 31 March 2005, the first national tour of Wicked (called the "Emerald City Tour" by the producers) started in Toronto, Ontario, and went on to visit numerous cities throughout the United States and Canada. The original touring cast included Kendra Kassebaum as Glinda, Stephanie J. Block as Elphaba, Derrick Williams as Fiyero, Jenna Leigh Green as Nessarose, Carol Kane as Madame Morrible, Timothy Britten Parker as Doctor Dillamond, Logan Lipton as Boq, and David Garrison as the Wizard. The tour concluded at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles on March 15, 2015, with Jennifer DiNoia as Elphaba and Chandra Lee Schwartz as Glinda

A sit-down production of Wicked ran at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco, California for more than a year.

Following a limited engagement of the first national tour from April 29 to June 2005, a sit-down production of Wicked opened at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago immediately following the tour, using the original set of the tour. The cast included Ana Gasteyer as Elphaba, Kate Reinders as Glinda, Rondi Reed as Madame Morrible, Kristoffer Cusick as Fiyero, Telly Leung as Boq, Heidi Kettenring as Nessarose and Gene Weygandt as the Wizard. The production closed on January 25, 2009 with Dee Roscioli as Elphaba and Annaleigh Ashford as Glinda.

An open-ended production also appeared in Los Angeles, California, at the Pantages Theatre. Performances began on February 10, 2007, with an official opening on February 21. The cast included Megan Hilty as Glinda, Eden Espinosa as Elphaba, Carol Kane as Madame Morrible, Timothy Britten Parker as Doctor Dillamond, Jenna Leigh Green as Nessarose, Adam Wylie as Boq, Kristoffer Cusick as Fiyero, and John Rubinstein as the Wizard. The show closed on January 11, 2009 with the same leads, after 791 performances and 12 previews.

A San Francisco production of Wicked officially opened February 6, 2009, at SHN's Orpheum Theatre. The cast included Teal Wicks as Elphaba, Kendra Kassebaum as Glinda, Nicolas Dromard as Fiyero, Carol Kane as Madame Morrible, David Garrison as the Wizard, Deedee Magno Hall as Nessarose, Tom Flynn as Doctor Dillamond, and Eddy Rioseco as Boq. The production closed on September 5, 2010, with Marcie Dodd as Elphaba and Alli Mauzey as Glinda, after 660 performances and 12 previews.

The second national tour of Wicked (called the "Munchkinland Tour") began on 12 March 2009 at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall in Fort Myers, Florida. The original cast starred Marcie Dodd as Elphaba, Heléne Yorke as Glinda, Colin Donnell as Fiyero, and Tom McGowan as the Wizard. The production was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed performances on August 3, 2021, with Talia Suskauer as Elphaba, Allison Bailey as Glinda and Curt Hanson as Fiyero. The production celebrated its 5,000th performance on July 30, 2022.

London (2006–present)

Since its opening, the London production has played at the Apollo Victoria Theatre

The original West End (London) production began previews at the Apollo Victoria Theatre on September 7 2006, with an opening night on September 27. The show celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2016 with a special curtain call featuring former West End cast members. The British production was tailored slightly for a British audience, including minor creative changes to dialogue, choreography and special effects. A majority of them were later incorporated into all productions of Wicked, including the Broadway production and the two US national tours.

The London production reunited the show's original creative team. Original London cast members included the return of Idina Menzel as Elphaba, Helen Dallimore as Glinda, Miriam Margolyes as Madame Morrible, Adam Garcia as Fiyero, Martin Ball as Doctor Dillamond, James Gillan as Boq, Katie Rowley Jones as Nessarose and Nigel Planer as the Wizard. After her limited engagement, which ended on December 30, 2006, Menzel was succeeded on January 1, 2007 by Kerry Ellis, who became the first British actress to play Elphaba.

The production suspended performances on March 16, 2020, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. It resumed performances on September 15, 2021, in time for the production's 15th anniversary. Sophie Evans reopened the show in the role of Glinda and left when the cast changed on January 30, 2022. Helen Woolf returned from maternity leave then and Lucie Jones took over as Elphaba.

The musical became the 10th longest-running show in West End history during its 6,762nd performance on April 24, 2024.

UK/Ireland tours (2013–present)

Wicked began its first UK/Ireland tour on September 12, 2013, at the Palace Theatre in Manchester. It then toured the UK and Ireland before concluding the run in Salford on July 25, 2015.

A second UK/Ireland tour began in December 2017, opening at the Theater 11 in Zurich, then making it first official UK/Ireland Tour stop in January 2018 at the Bristol Hippodrome. The tour ended at the Palace Theatre in Manchester in January 2019. The cast included Amy Ross as Elphaba, Helen Woolf as Glinda, Aaron Sidwell as Fiyero, and Steven Pinder as the Wizard/Doctor Dillamond.

A third UK/Ireland tour began on 7 December 2023 at the Edinburgh Playhouse, in Edinburgh where it played to 14 January 2024. It then toured the UK and Ireland before ending its run at the Palace Theatre in Manchester in January 2025. Laura Pick returned to lead the tour as Elphaba with Sarah O'Connor as Glinda and Carl Man as Fiyero. Simeon Truby played the Wizard/Dillamond with Donna Berlin as Madame Morrible, Jed Berry as Boq and Megan Gardiner as Nessarose.

Mexican production (2013–2015)

In 2013, for Wicked 10th anniversary, the first Spanish adaptation of the show was announced to open in Mexico City, with book and lyrics fully translated by Marco Villafán, titled Wicked, la historia jamas contada de las brujas de Oz. Ana Cecilia Anzaldúa and Danna Paola were alternating in the role of Elphaba with Cecilia de la Cueva as Glinda. Danna Paola made her stage debut becoming the youngest actress to ever portray Elphaba, at just 18 years old. The show was produced by OCESA Teatro, and opened on 17 October 2013 at the Teatro Telcel, closing in January 2015.

In late August 2024, with the release of the new Wicked movie, it was announced that Danna Paola and Cecilia de la Cueva will dub the voices and singing of Elphaba and Glinda respectively, in Spanish, reprising the roles they both played on stage in 2013.

German productions (2007–2011; 2021–2022)

Renamed Wicked: Die Hexen von Oz (Wicked: The Witches of Oz), the German production of Wicked began previews on November 1, 2007, and opened on November 15, at the Palladium Theater in Stuttgart. Willemijn Verkaik played Elphaba and Lucy Scherer Glinda. The show was produced by Stage Entertainment and closed on January 29, 2010, transferring to Oberhausen where previews began at the Metronom Theater on March 5, 2010, with an opening night of March 8. The show closed on September 2, 2011.

On September 5, 2021, a brand new production of Wicked opened at the Neue Flora Theatre in Hamburg, produced by Stage Entertainment again, which previously had presented the show in Stuttgart, Oberhausen, and The Hague. Vajèn van den Bosch and Jeannine Wacker were cast as Elphaba and Glinda respectively.

Australian and New Zealand productions

Australian productions have played at the Regent Theatre, Melbourne (left) and the Capitol Theatre, Sydney (right)

An Australian production of the show officially opened on July 12, 2008, with previews commencing June 27 at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne.

Amanda Harrison was originally cast as Elphaba, with Lucy Durack as Glinda. The original cast consisted of Rob Mills as Fiyero, Anthony Callea as Boq, Rob Guest as the Wizard, Maggie Kirkpatrick as Madame Morrible, Penny McNamee as Nessarose and Rodney Dobson as Doctor Dillamond. Guest unexpectedly died of a stroke months into the Melbourne season, with the role being taken up by Bert Newton.

Closing in Melbourne August 9, 2009, the show transferred to Sydney's Capitol Theatre. Previews began on September 5, 2009, with the official opening on September 12. Shortly into the run, Harrison was forced to leave the role of Elphaba due to an illness, so current standby Jemma Rix and Australian theatre veteran Pippa Grandison began to share the role, each appearing in four shows per week. Eventually, it was confirmed that Harrison would not be returning to the cast.

Closing in Sydney September 26, 2010, the production then embarked on a national Australian tour starting at the QPAC Lyric Theatre in Brisbane. After a two-week delay due to the Queensland floods, performances began January 25, 2011, and ran until April 2. Rix became the sole lead Elphaba with David Harris joining as the new Fiyero. The touring production then moved to the Festival Centre in Adelaide, running from April 14 until June 4, 2011, with the final leg of the tour playing the Burswood Theatre in Perth, from June 19 to September 11, 2011, after three years of performances in Australia.

The show made its premiere in New Zealand in 2013, with previews taking place on September 17, and official opening night on September 21. The Auckland run concluded on November 24, 2013, where it played the Civic Theatre. The cast then moved on to the Main Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila on a limited run from January 22 through March 9, 2014 after having been extended from its original closing date.

At the time of the Wicked's 10th Anniversary on Broadway (2013), the show announced it would return to Australia for a commemorative national tour, beginning in Melbourne on May 10, 2014. Durack returned as Glinda, and Rix as Elphaba. The final cast included Mathers (who had returned once Durack announced her pregnancy) as Glinda, Rix as Elphaba, Steve Danielsen as Fiyero, Simon Gallaher as the Wizard, Edward Grey as Boq, Emily Cascarino as Nessarose, Glen Hogstrom as Doctor Dillamond and original cast member Maggie Kirkpatrick as Madame Morrible. After seven years and close to 2,000 performances across 8 different cities internationally, Wicked closed indefinitely at the Burswood Theatre in Perth on June 28, 2015.

In 2023, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the original Broadway production the show returned to Australia once again, to the Sydney Lyric Theatre where it opened on September 7. The cast included Sheridan Adams as Elphaba, Courtney Monsma as Glinda, Robyn Nevin as Madame Morrible, Todd McKenney as the Wizard, Liam Head as Fiyero, Adam Murphy as Dr. Dillamond, Shewit Belay as Nessarose, and Kurtis Papadinis as Boq. In October 2023, it was announced that the production would return to the Regent Theatre in Melbourne opening on March 7. In March 2024, the production announced that they would then be transferring to the QPAC Lyric Theatre in Brisbane in September 2024 and in May 2024, they confirmed that it would tour to the Crown Theatre in Perth from December 2024. In August 2024, it was announced that following the conclusion of the Australian tour in late January 2025, the production will transfer to Singapore at the Sands Theatre in Marina Bay opening from March 19, 2025.

International tour (2016–2018)

Wicked's international tour opened on July 13, 2016, at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford, England. Jacqueline Hughes starred as Elphaba, with Carly Anderson as Glinda and Bradley Jaden as Fiyero. Alongside them Steven Pinder as the Wizard and Doctor Dillamond and Kim Ismay as Madame Morrible. Bradford was the only UK stop of the tour, which then performed in Singapore and in other cities worldwide. Jodie Steele was standby for Elphaba in this production.

Other international productions

A full Japanese production of Wicked by the Shiki Theatre Company opened in Tokyo, Japan, on June 17, 2007, and subsequently moved to Osaka, Fukoka and Nagoya, before closing in Sapporo on November 6, 2016. The company produced a Japanese revival of the show in 2023-2024, to celebrate their 70th anniversary. An Asian tour began at Singapore's Grand Theater on December 6, 2011, with Australian actresses Suzie Mathers as Glinda and Jemma Rix as Elphaba. It closed on October 6, 2012.

Renault Theater, stage of the Brazilian version of Wicked in São Paulo

A Dutch-language production began previews at the Circustheater in The Hague on October 26, 2011, and was produced by Joop van den Ende Theaterproducties/Stage Entertainment. Official opening took place on November 6. Willemijn Verkaik reprised her role of Elphaba from the German productions, becoming the first actress to play the role in two different languages. The first Korean-language production began performances in Seoul on November 22, 2013. It ran at the Charlotte Theater until October 5, 2014. In November 2015, the company "Time For Fun", a leading company in the entertainment market in Latin America, announced the first Portuguese adaptation of the musical to open in Brazil. The show debuted in March 2016 at the Renault Theatre in São Paulo and is performed on the largest stage that the musical has been mounted on yet. The production closed on December 18, 2016.

At the end of 2020, while all Wicked productions worldwide were halted due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, a third Korean production of the show was announced on November 14. The show started previews in Seoul's Blue Square Theater three months later on February 12, 2021, and was the first Wicked performance worldwide after the COVID-19 shutdown. The production opened on February 16, 2021, and played until May 2, 2021. It then transferred to Busan's Dream Theater, where it ran from May 20, 2021, until its closing date on June 27, 2021.

Non-replica productions

A condensed thirty-minute version of Wicked played at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, Japan in 2006. Australian actress Jemma Rix was once again part of the original cast of the show, alternating the role of Elphaba with Jillian Giaachi and Taylor Jordan. The show opened on July 12, 2006, and featured the preliminary storyline of Act 1 but the characters of Fiyero, Madame Morrible, Boq, Nessarose and Doctor Dillamond were absent, with considerable changes in the show's sets and costumes. It closed on January 11, 2011.

Another new staging opened at the City Theatre in Helsinki, Finland, on August 26, 2010. Directed by Hans Berndtsson and choreographed by Rebecca Evanne, the cast included Maria Ylipää as Elphaba and Anna-Maija Tuokko as Glinda.

The second European production ran in Copenhagen, Denmark from January 12 until May 29, 2011, and was presented by Det Ny Teater. It starred Maria Lucia Heiberg Rosenberg as Elphaba and Annette Heick as Glinda.

A revival in Brazil had a limited run, starting March 9, 2023, at the Santander Theater, in São Paulo, produced by Atelier de Cultura. Lead actresses from the 2016 run Myra Ruiz and Fabi Bang reprised their roles as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively. Their co-stars included Tiago Barbosa as Fiyero, Marcelo Médici as The Wizard, Diva Menner as Madame Morrible, Cleto Baccic as Doctor Dillamond, Nayara Venancio as Nessarose and Dante Paccola as Boq. Ruiz and Bang will be voicing Elphaba and Glinda in the 2024 film adaptation of the show.

A new Danish production starred Johanne Milland as Glinda and Nanna Rossen as Elphaba. It opened September 16, 2024 at Fredericia Musicalteater. The production transferred to the Tivoli Concert Hall from October 11 until 19 before returning to Fredericia Musicalteater for the remainder of its run. The production also starred Diluckshan Jeyaratnam as Fiyero, Anders Gjellerup Koch as The Wizard, Cecilie Thiim as Madame Morrible, Christian Lund as Dr. Dillamond, Marie Louise Hansen as Nessarose, and Jens Kau Wahlers Nielsen as Boq.

A Polish production is set to open at ROMA Musical Theatre in Warsaw in the spring of 2025. It will be directed by Wojciech Kępczyński and translated by Michał Wojnarowski.

The second Spanish-language production of the musical, is set to open in the Nuevo Teatro Alcalá in Spain on Fall 2025, it will be produced by SOM Produce

Reception

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Wicked (musical)

The original Broadway production of Wicked was nominated for ten Tony Awards in 2004, including Best Musical, Book, Orchestrations, Original Score, Choreography, Costume Design, Lighting Design, Scenic Design while receiving two nominations for Best Actress – for Menzel and Chenoweth. Menzel won the Best Actress award, and the show also won the Award for Best Scenic Design and Best Costume Design, notably losing Best Book, Original Score and ultimately Best Musical to Avenue Q. The same year, the show also won 6 Drama Desk Awards out of 11 nominations, including Outstanding Musical, Book, Director, and Costume Design.

Subsequent productions have received awards and nominations as well. The West End production received five Laurence Olivier Award nominations, including Best Director, Best Set Design and Best Costume Design and later won the Audience Award for Most Popular Show at the 2010 and 2015 Olivier Awards. The original Australian production received six Helpmann Awards out of 12 nominations, including Best Musical. Wicked was named the Best Musical of the Decade by Entertainment Weekly magazine and hailed "a cultural phenomenon" by Variety magazine. While not technically an "award", the character of Elphaba was named 79th on Entertainment Weekly's list of The 100 Greatest Characters of the Past 20 Years.

Critical reception

Touring cast members in the curtain call at a show in Omaha, Nebraska

In its out-of-town tryout in San Francisco, audience reaction was generally positive, and although critics tended to compliment the aesthetic and spectacle of the show, they disparaged the book, score, and choreography. Dennis Harvey of Variety praised the production as "sleekly directed", "snazzily designed", and "smartly cast", but disliked its "mediocre" book, "trite" lyrics, and "largely generic" music. Karen D'Souza of the San Jose Mercury News wrote that "style over substance is the real theme in this Emerald City".

The Broadway production opened on October 30, 2003, to mixed reviews. However, Chenoweth and Menzel received acclaim for their performances. Richard Zoglin of Time wrote: "If every musical had a brain, a heart and the courage of Wicked, Broadway really would be a magical place." Elysa Gardner of USA Today described it as "the most complete, and completely satisfying, new musical I've come across in a long time". Conversely, Ben Brantley in the New York Times loved the production but panned the show itself, calling it a "sermon" that "so overplays its hand that it seriously dilutes its power", with a "generic" score. He noted that Glinda is such a showy role that the audience ends up rooting for her rather than the "surprisingly colorless" Elphaba, who is "nominally" the hero. Despite these mixed reviews, interest in Wicked spread quickly by word-of-mouth, leading to record-breaking success at the box office. Speaking to The Arizona Republic in 2006, Schwartz said, "What can I say? Reviews are reviews.... I know we divided the critics. We didn't divide the audience, and that's what counts."

The West End production opened to a slightly more upbeat response. The majority of critics have appreciated the spectacle of the lavish production, and the "powerhouse" performances of actors in the roles of the two witches. However, contemporaries have characterized the production as overblown, occasionally preachy, and suffering from more hype than heart. Although Charles Spencer of The Daily Telegraph described it as "at times... a bit of a mess," he praised Holzman's script, described Kenneth Posner's lighting design as "magical" and lauded Menzel's Elphaba and Helen Dallimore's Glinda. Michael Billington of The Guardian gave it three out of five stars and remarked on the competence of all the lead actors; however, he complained that Wicked was "all too typical of the modern Broadway musical: efficient, knowing and highly professional but more like a piece of industrial product than something that genuinely touches the heart or mind." Paul Taylor of The Independent called the topical political allegory "well-meaning but also melodramatic, incoherent and dreadfully superficial" and criticized the acting, songs and book, concluding that "the production manages to feel at once overblown and empty".

A review of a Chinese production in the Shanghai Review of Books was very favorable.

Commercial reception

Playing at the Oriental Theatre for more than three years, the Chicago production continually broke box-office records.

Since its opening in 2003, the original Broadway production of Wicked has broken the house record at the Gershwin Theatre twenty times. It regularly grosses in excess of $1.6 million each week, making it one of the most lucrative productions on Broadway. With a $14 million capitalization, the Broadway production took 15 months to break even, earning back its initial investment by December 21, 2004. In its first year, it grossed more than $56 million. In the week ending January 1, 2006, Wicked broke the record, previously held by the musical The Producers, for the highest weekly box office gross in Broadway history, earning $1,610,934. It has gone on to break its own record numerous times, reaching $1,715,155 in November 2006, $2,086,135 for the week ending November 29, 2009 and over $2.2 million in the week ending January 2, 2011. In the first week of 2012, the Broadway production broke a record again, earning $2.7 million. In the final weekend of 2013, Wicked became the first musical to gross $3 million in one week.

Wicked's productions across North America and abroad have been equally financially successful. The Los Angeles production took the local weekly gross record, again from a performance of The Producers, bringing in $1,786,110 in the week ending March 4, 2007, with records also set in Chicago ($1,418,363), and St Louis ($2,291,608), to bring the collective gross of the seven worldwide productions to a world record-breaking $11.2 million. A new suite of records were set over Christmas 2010, with house records broken in San Francisco ($1,485,692), Providence ($1,793,764) and Schenectady ($1,657,139) as well as Broadway, bringing the musical's one-week gross in North America alone to $7,062,335.

Wicked played to more than 2 million visitors in Chicago with a gross of over $200 million, making it the highest-grossing show in Chicago history by June 2007. With an opening-week gross of $1,400,000, it continually set records and became the longest-running Broadway musical in Chicago history. Producer David Stone told Variety, "we thought it [the Chicago production] would run 18 months, then we'd spend a year in Los Angeles and six months in San Francisco... but sales stayed so strong that the producers created another road show and kept the show running in Chicago." The Los Angeles production grossed over $145 million and was seen by more than 1.8 million patrons. Over the 672 performances of the San Francisco production, Wicked sold over 1 million tickets with a cumulative gross of over $75 million. While its Broadway production welcomed its 5 millionth audience member on September 29, 2010.

The Los Angeles production played at the Pantages Theatre for almost two years, grossing more than $145 million.

Although West End theatres do not publish audited weekly grosses, the West End production of Wicked said it had set the record for highest one-week gross in December 2006, taking £761,000 in the week ending December 30. On June 23, 2008, the producers reported that over 1.4 million people had seen the London production, and grosses had topped £50 million. The same reports stated that the show had consistently been one of the two highest-grossing shows in the West End. For the week commencing December 27, 2010, the London production grossed £1,002,885, the highest single-week gross in West End theatre history, with over 20,000 people attending the nine performances of Wicked that week. The Melbourne production broke Australian box-office records, selling 24,750 tickets in three hours during pre-sales and grossing over $1.3 million on the first business day after its official opening. On April 27, 2009, the production passed the milestone of 500,000 patrons. When it transferred to Sydney, the production broke "all previous weekly box office records for a musical at the Capitol Theatre, grossing $1,473,775.70 in one week during October 2009.

By seats sold on Broadway, Wicked ranks tenth of all time. The show celebrated its 7,486th performance on Broadway on April 11, 2023 (the show's 20th anniversary year), surpassing Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats as the fourth longest-running Broadway show in history. Several other productions have also reached milestones such as the West End show in London, reaching 6512 performances on 22 September 2023, the North American tour surpassing 4,160 performances and the Australian run of the show, that reached 1,000 performances.

Marketing and promotion

The success of the Broadway production has led to the development of an auxiliary show for purposes of marketing and promotion titled Behind the Emerald Curtain. It was created by Sean McCourt—an original Broadway production cast member who played the Witch's Father—and Anthony Galde, who was a long-running swing in the Broadway company from 2004 to 2012. The tour features a ninety-minute behind-the-scenes look at the props, masks, costumes and sets used in the show, and includes a question-and-answer session with the cast members. The tour also featured in the Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago sit-down productions, and were each run by different long-serving cast members of the show. The tour provides a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into putting on the show every day. Participants get a first-hand account of what it is like to be a part of the massive production that Wicked is. To create Elphaba's green skin, 40 pots of the commercially available MAC Chromacake landscape green make-up are used per year. It is water-based for easy removal. As of 2021, it cost $800,000 a week to run the Broadway production.

Legacy and anniversary tributes

15th anniversary tribute special

In October 2018, an NBC broadcast, A Very Wicked Halloween: Celebrating 15 Years on Broadway, was hosted by Menzel and Chenoweth and featured Ariana Grande, Pentatonix, Adam Lambert, Ledisi, the current Broadway company of the musical and others, singing many of the musical numbers from Wicked to a live studio audience at the Marquis Theatre in New York. The concert special was directed by Glenn Weiss.

PBS special

On August 29, 2021, the PBS network aired a Wicked concert special, which was also hosted by Menzel and Chenoweth and featured Rita Moreno, Cynthia Erivo, Ariana DeBose, Gavin Creel, Ali Stroker, Amber Riley, Mario Cantone, Jennifer Nettles, Stephanie Hsu, Alex Newell, Isaac Cole Powell and Gabrielle Ruiz performing many of the musical numbers.

Film adaptation

See also: Wicked (2024 film) and Wicked Part Two

Official logo of the two-part film adaptation of the musical

A film adaptation of Wicked had been discussed since 2004. In July 2010, it was reported that J. J. Abrams, James Mangold, Ryan Murphy, and Rob Marshall were under consideration to direct. By July 2012, Universal Studios was reported to be producing the film, with Stephen Daldry as director and Winnie Holzman, who wrote the musical's book, to pen the screenplay. Universal announced in 2016 that the film would be released in theaters on December 20, 2019, with Daldry still attached to direct, and the script to be co-written by the musical's creators, Holzman and Schwartz. In May 2017, Schwartz stated that the film would feature "at least two" new songs. On August 31, 2018, Universal put the film on hold, due to production scheduling, and gave the film adaptation of Cats, which became a box office bomb, the release date formerly held by the film. On February 8, 2019, Universal announced a new release date of December 22, 2021, for the Wicked film. On April 1, 2020, Universal put the film on hold once again due to Universal shifting release dates amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and gave Sing 2 the 2021 release date. On October 20, 2020, it was announced that Daldry had left the production due to scheduling conflicts. In February 2021, Deadline reported that Jon M. Chu had signed on to direct the film adaptation. In July 2021, Schwartz stated that filming would begin in late 2021 in Georgia, but filming was later postponed to March 2022 and again to June 2022. In November 2021, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were cast as Glinda and Elphaba respectively, with production originally set to begin in mid 2022 in the United Kingdom.

In April 2022, it was announced the film would be released in two parts, the first on November 22, 2024, and the second on November 21, 2025. Jon M. Chu explained that it "became impossible to wrestle the story of 'Wicked' into a single film without doing some real damage to it", so he made the decision to make two movies, to allow for more time to get to know the characters and not make any omissions from the source material.

In June 2022, Stephen Schwartz added, while confirming that a new song will be written for one of the two films, that the song Defying Gravity will end the first film, replicating the end act one in the stage musical, as having any scene to follow "seemed hugely anti-climactic". He also stated that a decision was made to avoid cutting or omitting parts of the musical, as often happens when translating musicals from stage to screen, hoping this would be positively received by fans.

On July 18, 2022, it was revealed that with the filming process settled at the newly built Sky Studios in Elstree, England, rehearsals would begin in August with principal photography beginning in November. By September 2022, Jonathan Bailey was confirmed to have been cast as Fiyero. The following month, Jeff Goldblum was reported to be in final talks to play the Wizard.

In November 2022, Schwartz confirmed that part 2 of the movie will include two new songs "to meet the demands of the storytelling." Then, on December 7, 2022, it was revealed that Ethan Slater will be playing Boq, the following day it was announced that Michelle Yeoh will be playing Madame Morrible, and Goldblum the Wizard and on December 9, Keala Settle, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Aaron Teoh, Colin Michael Carmichael, and Marissa Bode were confirmed in the roles of Miss Coddle, Pfannee, ShenShen, Avaric, Nikidik, and Nessarose, respectively. Bode's casting as Nessarose makes her the first wheelchair-assisted actor to play the part and is also her feature film acting debut. On December 9, 2022, Chu confirmed on Twitter that filming had begun. In April 2024, Peter Dinklage had joined the cast as the voice of Dr. Dillamond.

Interpretations

Queer interpretations

Queer interpretations of Wicked have depicted Glinda and Elphaba as harboring homoromantic feelings for each other. The lyrics and placement of the song "What Is This Feeling?" evoke a tone reminiscent of common Golden Age duets between couples, such as “People Will Say We're in Love” from Oklahoma! and "If I Loved You" from Carousel. This has led to the interpretation of Elphaba and Glinda as a couple. The subsequent sequence in “Dancing Through Life,” has been likened to a modern version of the “lilting waltzes” seen in romantic scenes from musicals like My Fair Lady, West Side Story, and The Sound of Music. Moreover, the line “I think we've found the place where we belong!" from “One Short Day” is seen as reflective of the theme of finding acceptance, a sentiment many LGBT+ individuals aspire to achieve.

Additional arguments supporting a homoromantic interpretation of Wicked include Glinda's potential compulsory heterosexuality toward Fiyero and the suggestion that Glinda and Elphaba's relationship mirrors a common butch/femme pairing. Stephen Schwartz, the composer and lyricist of Wicked, has stated that rather than presenting the pair as rivals, the musical is essentially “a love story between two women." Gregory Maguire, the author of The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West and a gay man himself, prefers to leave the narrative open to interpretation.

Wicked capitalized on this interpretation and began selling "Friend of Elphaba" (a play on "Friend of Dorothy") merchandise during Pride Month. Critics of this interpretation have stated that the show stands as a testament that "friendships can be equally as important as romantic relationships" and does not require a romance, homosexual or heterosexual, to find power.

In popular culture

The success of Wicked has made several of the show's songs popular and has resulted in references to the show, characters, and songs in popular culture. The Broadway production has been featured in episodes of television programs, including Brothers & Sisters, Rules of Engagement, and The War at Home. For filming purposes, the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles doubled for the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway in Ugly Betty in the episode "Something Wicked This Way Comes" in which Betty, the show's protagonist, goes to see Wicked on a date.

Entertainer John Barrowman sang a version of "The Wizard and I" (retitled "The Doctor and I") on his 2008 tour of the UK, with adapted lyrics referring to his Doctor Who and Torchwood character Jack showing affection for The Doctor. Kerry Ellis, who played Elphaba in the West End and on Broadway, recorded "I'm Not That Girl" for the fifth anniversary edition of the original Broadway cast recording. She also recorded her own rock version of "Defying Gravity"; both were featured on her extended play Wicked in Rock (2008) and debut album Anthems (2010). A dance remix of her rock version of "Defying Gravity" was released in 2011. Louise Dearman, who has played both Elphaba and Glinda in the West End, released an acoustic version of "Defying Gravity" for the Wicked edition of her album Here Comes the Sun. Her former co-star and London Elphaba Rachel Tucker also covered "Defying Gravity" on her debut album The Reason (2013). Rapper Drake and singer Mika both sampled the musical's song in their songs "Popular" and "Popular Song" respectively.

"Defying Gravity" is featured in the Glee episode Wheels, where Rachel (Lea Michele) and Kurt (Chris Colfer) sing it separately in a competition for the lead solo from the first season. It was featured again in "100", the hundredth episode in the series. Media as diverse as the anime series Red Garden, the daytime drama Passions and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer graphic novels have all parodied Wicked's songs and characters.

The end of the song "Killer Instinct" in Bring It On the Musical parodies the closing notes of "No One Mourns the Wicked". The satiric musical The Book of Mormon also openly nods to Wicked, particularly in the song "You and Me (But Mostly Me)", presenting two rivals-to-friends and notably ending with Elder Cunnungham holding a tune reminding of the famous ending of Elphaba's "Defying Gravity". The Oscar-winning song "Let It Go" from the successful 2013 Disney feature film Frozen, that also won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, had been compared to "Defying Gravity" due to its similar theme and similar singing style, and was sung by the original Elphaba Idina Menzel. When Frozen came to Broadway, the song "Monster" (sung by Caissie Levy, who also played Elphaba) was compared to "No Good Deed"

External links

• Official production sites
  • North America
  • UK
• ​Wicked​ at the Internet Broadway Database
• Wicked at AllMusic
• ​Wicked​ at the Playbill Vault