On April 11—a few days before Broadway's longest-running production, Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, plays its final performance—the international hit musical Wicked celebrates another milestone.
The Stephen Schwartz-Winnie Holzman musical plays its 7,486th performance at the Gershwin Theatre, becoming the fourth longest-running production in Broadway history, surpassing another Lloyd Webber musical, Cats.
Click here for a list of Broadway's longest-running shows.
Wicked, which will also celebrate its 20th anniversary on Broadway in October, is the winner of over 100 international awards and has been performed in over 100 cities in 16 countries around the world. The musical has been translated into six languages, been seen by nearly 65 million people worldwide, and has amassed over $5 billion in global sales.
The musical is currently in its 17th year in London, and a U.K. tour will re-launch in Edinburgh this December. Wicked will return to Australia this summer (beginning performances in Sydney in August) and to Japan (beginning performances in Tokyo in October).
The current Broadway cast includes Alyssa Fox as Elphaba, McKenzie Kurtz as Glinda, Michele Pawk as Madame Morrible, John Dossett as The Wizard, James D. Gish as Fiyero, Kimber Elayne Sprawl as Nessarose, Michael Wartella as Boq, and William Youmans as Dr. Dillamond.
Wicked began previews on Broadway October 8, 2003, with an official opening October 30. The original cast included Tony winners Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth as, respectively, the green-faced, misunderstood Elphaba and the curly-locked Glinda.
READ: 11 Elphabas Reflect on Playing Broadway's Not-So-Wicked Witch
Wicked, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman, is based on the novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire.
The Joe Mantello-helmed production features musical staging by Wayne Cilento, scenic design by Eugene Lee, costume design by Susan Hilferty, lighting design by Kenneth Posner, sound design by Tony Meola, projections by Elaine J. McCarthy, wig and hair design by Tom Watson, music supervision and arrangements by Stephen Oremus, orchestrations by William David Brohn, and dance arrangements by James Lynn Abbott. Casting is by the Telsey Office.
Wicked won 2004 Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical (Menzel), Best Costume Design (Hilferty), and Best Scenic Design (Lee).
The musical, which reopened on Broadway September 14, 2021, following the pandemic shutdown, is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Stage Productions, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt, and David Stone.
Alyssa Fox in Wicked
William Youmans
Kimber Elayne Sprawl in Wicked
John Dossett
Michele Pawk in Wicked
