Wicked (musical)
Encyclopedia
Wicked is a musical
with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
and a book by Winnie Holzman
. It is based on the Gregory Maguire
novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
(1995), a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz
and L. Frank Baum
's classic story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
(1900). The musical is told from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz
: Elphaba
, the misunderstood girl with emerald-green skin, and Galinda, later Glinda, the beautiful, ambitious and popular blonde. Wicked tells the story in which these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West
and the Good Witch of the North
while struggling through opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love-interest, reactions to the Wizard's corrupt government, and, ultimately, Elphaba's public fall from grace. The plot begins before and continues after Dorothy
's arrival from Kansas
and includes references to locations, events, characters and situations from both the 1939 film and Baum's novel.
Produced by Universal Pictures
in coalition with Marc Platt
and David Stone, the Joe Mantello
-directed and Wayne Cilento
-choreographed original production of Wicked premiered on Broadway
at the Gershwin Theatre in October 2003, after completing pre-Broadway SHN
tryouts at San Francisco's Curran Theatre
in May 2003. Its original stars included Idina Menzel
as Elphaba, Kristin Chenoweth
as Glinda, and Joel Grey
as the Wizard. Despite drawing heavy criticism from The New York Times
and mixed critical reception elsewhere, the musical has proved to be a favorite among patrons. The success of the Broadway production has provoked the opening of five other North American productions, including two national tours, as well as a five-year strong West End
production and several international productions in the likes of Japan, Germany and Australia.
While the original production won three out of its ten Tony Award
nominations, garnered six Drama Desk Award
s and received one Grammy Award
, Wicked has since accrued one Laurence Olivier Award and six Helpmann Awards internationally. Since its 2003 debut, Wicked has broken box office records around the world, holding weekly-gross-takings records in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, St. Louis, and London. Attaining £100,000 in the first hour on sale, Wicked also set the record for the biggest West End opening. In the week ending January 2, 2011, the London, Broadway, and both North American touring productions simultaneously broke the record for the highest weekly gross. Both the West End production and the North American tour have been seen by over two million patrons each while the original production, having played 3,339 performances, celebrated its eighth anniversary on October 30, 2011, making Wicked the 14th longest-running Broadway show in history.
discovered writer Gregory Maguire
's 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
while on holiday and saw its potential for a dramatic adaptation. Maguire, however, had released the rights
to Universal
, who had planned to develop a live-action feature film. Schwartz met Maguire in Connecticut
in 1998 and persuaded him to release them for a stage production while making, what Schwartz called, an "impassioned plea" to Universal producer Marc Platt
to realize his potential adaptation. Persuaded too, 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 leading to Dorothy
's arrival. The story centers on Elphaba
, the misunderstood, smart, and fiery girl of emerald-green skin who grows up to become the notorious Wicked Witch of the West
and Galinda, the beautiful, blonde, popular girl who grows up to become Glinda the Good Witch of the North
. The story is divided into five different sections based on the plot location and presents events, characters and situations from L. Frank Baum
's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
(1900) and its 1939 film adaptation
in new ways. It sets 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, spinning an original stage piece rather than creating 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 story line of the stage adaptation "goes far afield" from the novel. As Holzman observed in an interview with Playbill
, "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." In addition to this change in focus, other 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, the complete cutting of Elphaba's years in the Vinkus and Doctor Dillamond not being murdered.
The book, lyrics, and score for the musical were developed through a series of readings. For these developmental workshops, Kristin Chenoweth
, the Tony Award
-winning actress whom Stephen Schwartz had in mind while composing the music for the character, joined the project as Glinda. Stephanie J. Block
originally read the role of Elphaba before fellow performer Idina Menzel
was cast in the role in late 2000. In early 2000, the creators recruited New York producer David Stone who began the transition of the workshop production into a full Broadway production. Joe Mantello
was brought in as director and Wayne Cilento
as choreographer while Tony Award-winning designer Eugene Lee
created the set and visual style for the production based on both 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 through more than 200 costumes, while lighting designer Kenneth Posner
used more than 800 individual lights to give each of the 54 distinct scenes and locations "its own mood." By April 2003, a full cast had been assembled and the show readied its public debut. On May 28, 2003, the first public performance of Wicked was held at the Curran Theatre
in San Francisco, as the start of SHN
pre-Broadway tryouts. After officially opening on June 10, 2003, it ran there for the month and finished on June 29, 2003.
Audience reaction was majorly positive and although critics tended to compliment the aesthetic and spectacle of the show, they disparaged the state of its book, score and choreography. Dennis Harvey of Variety commented positively of the "sleekly directed", "snazzily designed" and "smartly cast" production yet still disapproved of its "mediocre" book, "trite" lyrics and "largely generic" music while Karen D'Souza of the San Jose Mercury News wrote that "Style over substance is the real theme in this Emerald City." Noting mixed response, the creative team started making extensive changes, tweaking it before its transfer to Broadway. Winnie Holzman stated, "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 transformations. This included the excision of "Which Way is the Party?", the introductory song to the character Fiyero, which was subsequently replaced by "Dancing Through Life" in Schwartz' fear that the former failed to be a clear "statement of Fiyero's philosophy of life." In addition, there was concern that Menzel's Elphaba "got a little overshadowed" by Chenoweth's Glinda. San Francisco Chronicle critic Robert Hurwitt wrote, "Menzel's brightly intense Elphaba the Wicked Witch [needs] a chance of holding her own alongside Chenoweth's gloriously, insidiously bubbly Glinda", so the creative team set about making her character "more prominent." On the subject of 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. We learned a lot from the reviews, which were honest and constructive in the aggregate, unlike New York, where the critics make up their minds before they come to the theatre." On October 30, 2003, the musical opened on Broadway.
Wizard's corrupt government. It also displays her relationship with the beautiful and ambitious Galinda Upland, who ultimately becomes Glinda the Good Witch of the North.
"). The remainder of the plot forms an extended flashback
through the events of Glinda's and Elphaba's lives.
At Shiz University, the pair first meet. Elphaba is hardly surprised that all the students, including the popular but shallow Glinda (then Galinda), revile her ("Dear Old Shiz"). The only reason that Elphaba is sent to Shiz is to take care of her beautiful, wheelchair-bound younger half-sister Nessarose
, who is presented with a bejeweled pair of Silver Shoes
, being her father's favorite. Despite Elphaba and Galinda's instant mutual loathing, Madame Morrible, Shiz's headmistress, makes them roommates. Elphaba had been excluded from Madame Morrible's Sorcery Seminar, but when Elphaba reveals an innate magical talent in sudden anger, Morrible notes that her talents may be of use to the Wizard of Oz. Elphaba dreams of what she and the Wizard could accomplish together ("The Wizard and I
"). Galinda and Elphaba later write home about their unfortunate room-mate assignments ("What is this Feeling?
"). The students gather in a history class taught by Doctor Dillamond, a Goat and Shiz's only Animal professor, who keeps mispronouncing Galinda's name as "Glinda". After dismissing the class upon the discovery of an anti-Animal slogan on the blackboard, Doctor Dillamond confides in Elphaba that something is causing the Animals of Oz to lose their powers of speech ("Something Bad"). Elphaba believes that the Wizard is the only one who can help.
Fiyero, a Winkie
prince, then arrives at Shiz and immediately impresses his own brand of mindless, cavalier and carefree living on the students ("Dancing Through Life"). Besotted with Galinda, a Munchkin
named Boq
asks her to accompany him to a party at the Ozdust Ballroom, but having felt "perfect together" with Fiyero, Galinda asks him to invite Nessarose instead. Later, Galinda discovers a black pointed hat in a box and gives it to Elphaba as a mock present. In return, Elphaba asks Madame Morrible to reconsider Galinda in her Sorcery Seminar. When, however, Elphaba arrives to the party wearing the hat, she is only ridiculed. Defiant, she proceeds to dance alone without musical accompaniment. Feeling guilty, Galinda joins her, marking the start of their friendship. Meanwhile, Boq convinces Nessarose that it was not pity that prompted him to ask her out, but the fact that she is "so beautiful", not realizing the full extent of Nessarose's affections towards him. Back in their dorm, Elphaba tells Galinda that her mother had been fed milk-flowers to prevent her second child from being born green-skinned; the milk-flowers instead caused Nessarose to be born crippled, while her mother died in childbirth. Feeling sympathetic, Galinda decides to give Elphaba a makeover, making her admirable to fellow students ("Popular"). The next day, Doctor Dillamond is abruptly taken away by Ozian officials. The new history teacher arrives with a caged lion cub as the subject of an in-class experiment, revealing that Animals are to be kept in cages and never to speak. Outraged, Elphaba and Fiyero steal the cub and set it free. Elphaba feels that she could love Fiyero yet she feels more alone than ever ("I'm Not that Girl
"). Madame Morrible finds her, announcing that Elphaba has been granted an audience with the Wizard in the Emerald City
.
At the train station, Galinda, Fiyero, Nessarose and Boq see Elphaba off, all happy for her. When it becomes apparent that Boq is not genuinely interested in Nessarose, Galinda feels guilty and suggests that Boq is not the right person for Nessarose, who in turn insists that it is herself "that's not right." Elphaba expresses concern about leaving her younger sister but protesting Nessarose insists she will manage without her and leaves. In an attempt to impress Fiyero, Galinda announces that she will change her name to "Glinda" in honor of Doctor Dillamond's persistent mispronunciation. Fiyero fails to notice and leaves. Glinda breaks into tears. Feeling bad for Glinda, Elphaba invites her along to see the Wizard. After a day of sightseeing in the Emerald City ("One Short Day
"), Elphaba and Glinda meet the Wizard. Eschewing the special effects he employs for the benefit of most visitors, he invites Elphaba to join him ("A Sentimental Man"). As a test, he asks that Elphaba give his monkey servant, Chistery, the ability to fly using the Grimmerie – an ancient book of spells. Elphaba demonstrates an intrinsic understanding of the lost language contained in the book, and successfully gives Chistery wings. The Wizard then reveals a cage full of winged monkeys, proving the extent of Elphaba's powers, and remarks that they will make good spies to report any subversive Animal activity. Realizing that she has been used and that the fraudulent Wizard and Madame Morrible are responsible for the Animals in Oz losing their power of speech, a horrified Elphaba runs away with the Grimmerie, Glinda goes after her, pursued by the palace guards. She runs to the tallest tower, where they hear Madame Morrible declaring to Oz that Elphaba is a "Wicked Witch" and not to be trusted. Elphaba enchants a broomstick to fly and almost convinces Glinda to join her in her cause, but Glinda cannot resist the call of popularity as one of the Wizard's assistants, and refuses. Leaving Glinda behind and escaping the guards, Elphaba flies off towards the western sky, promising to fight the Wizard with all her power ("Defying Gravity
").
Meanwhile, Elphaba arrives at her old home, the Governor's residence in Munchkinland, seeking refuge. Nessarose is the Governor now, and laments that her father "died of shame" after Elphaba rebelliously defied the Wizard. She criticizes Elphaba for not using her new-found powers to help her own sister. Guilty, Elphaba enchants Nessarose's jeweled shoes, turning them into the ruby slippers
and enabling her to walk. Boq is summoned, and he bemoans that Nessarose is as "wicked" as Elphaba for stripping the Munchkins of their rights and prohibiting them from leaving Munchkinland. Nessarose explains that she did this to keep Boq with her, but is sure that he will stay with her of his own accord now that she is no longer crippled. However, Boq insists that he should now be free to pursue Glinda instead, going so far as to brandish a knife when his "Madame Governor" refuses to let him go. Hurt and angry, Nessarose attempts to cast a spell from the Grimmerie to make Boq lose his heart to her, but accidentally makes his heart shrink instead. While Elphaba attempts to save him, Nessarose reflects on how being "alone and loveless" has led to her wicked actions, and fears that she deserves her infamous new title ("The Wicked Witch of the East"). Elphaba says that nothing will ever be enough for her younger sister and leaves her for good, despite Nessarose's frantic pleas for her sister to stay. Boq is horrified to discover that Elphaba has transformed him into a Tin Man, so he could live without a heart, and a desperate Nessarose lays the entire blame on her sister while Boq runs away in horror.
Returning to the Wizard's palace, Elphaba tries to free the remaining winged monkeys. The Wizard attempts to regain her favor by agreeing to set them free, recounting how the Ozians hailed him as the Wonderful Wizard when he first came to Oz in a balloon from America. He explains that she could, likewise, be hailed by everyone if she joins him ("Wonderful"). Upon discovering the now-speechless Doctor Dillamond amongst the monkeys, however, Elphaba rejects his offer. While attempting to escape, she bumps into Fiyero, who runs away with her, confirming that he loves her in return. Glinda sees this and is crestfallen that she has been betrayed by those closest to her (reprise of "I'm Not that Girl"). When Glinda states that Elphaba can be lured by spreading a rumor that Nessarose is in danger, the fiendish Madame Morrible creates a cyclone that brings Dorothy
's house to Oz and crushes Nessarose to death. While Fiyero and Elphaba express their love in a dark forest ("As Long as You're Mine
"), Elphaba senses that her sister is in danger. Before she leaves Fiyero offers her a hiding place where she'll be safe. She flies off to help, but is too late, arriving just as Glinda sends Dorothy and Toto off along the Yellow Brick Road
. The palace guards capture Elphaba, but Fiyero intervenes, allowing Elphaba to escape before surrendering himself. The guards take him to a nearby cornfield to be tortured until he tells them of Elphaba's whereabouts. At her castle, Elphaba tries to cast any spell she can to save Fiyero, but thinking she has failed, she begins to accept her reputation as "wicked" ("No Good Deed
").
Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Boq – now the Tin Man
– and the Cowardly Lion
are sent to kill Elphaba ("March of the Witch Hunters"). It is revealed that the Cowardly Lion is the lion cub Elphaba set free; Boq claims that she turned him into a coward by not letting him fight his own battles. Meanwhile, Elphaba captures Dorothy, refusing to release her until she relinquishes Nessarose's ruby slippers – the only things left of her dead sister. Glinda travels to Elphaba's castle to warn her of the trouble and persuade her to let Dorothy go. Although Elphaba refuses, the two women forgive each other for all grievances, acknowledging they have both made mistakes. Elphaba makes Glinda promise not to clear her name and to take charge in Oz, allowing her to disappear. The two friends embrace for the last time before saying goodbye forever ("For Good
"). Immediately after, when Dorothy throws a bucket of water on Elphaba, the witch appears to melt away. Glinda, not quite sure what has happened, sees that all that remains of her friend is her black hat and a vial of green elixir. Back at the Emerald City, Glinda reminds the Wizard that he has an identical bottle, and it is revealed that the Wizard is Elphaba's father, being the stranger whom her mother had an affair with. Madame Morrible surmises that Elphaba had special powers because she was a child of both Oz and the outside world. Glinda orders the Wizard to leave Oz in his balloon and sends Madame Morrible to prison, before preparing to face the citizens of Oz, returning to the opening scene of the show.
Meanwhile, Fiyero had in fact been turned into the Scarecrow
when Elphaba had cast spells, therefore saving him from the Ozian guards' spears in the cornfield. He opens a trap door in Elphaba's castle, down which she had descended, only pretending to die for the benefit of the others. While Elphaba and Fiyero leave Oz forever, Glinda continues her bittersweet celebration with the citizens of Oz. They gaze up at the sky, individually appreciating their true friendship and acknowledging that they have changed for the better because they knew each other ("Finale").
Act II
Wicked officially opened on June 10, 2003 at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco, after previews began on May 28, in a pre-Broadway tryout presented by SHN. 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
while Stephanie J. Block, who originally read the role of Elphaba in workshop development, served as an ensemble member and understudied the lead role. 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, with the exception of some minor ensemble changes and the replacement of Robert Morse with Joel Grey
as the Wizard, John Horton with William Youmans
as Doctor Dillamond and Kirk McDonald with Christopher Fitzgerald
as Boq while Eden Espinosa
and Laura Bell Bundy
were added as standbys
for Elphaba and Glinda respectively. Since its opening in 2003, the Broadway production has included a variety of cast members in a number of different roles.
temporarily took her place. Previews were therefore postponed until the following day. After some delay, Block made her debut on March 25, and the tour officially opened on March 31. The original touring cast also included Kendra Kassebaum
as Glinda, 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. Like the Broadway production, the first national North American tour has had a large number of different actors play the eight principal characters since its opening. In 2009, a second national tour of North American began. While previews began on March 7, 2009 at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall in Fort Myers, Florida
, the production officially opened on March 12, 2009. Like the first, this touring production has since visited numerous cities throughout North America. The original cast starred Marcie Dodd
as Elphaba, Helene Yorke as Glinda, Colin Donnell as Fiyero, Kristine Reese as Nessarose, Marilyn Caskey as Madame Morrible, David deVries as Doctor Dillamond, Ted Ely as Boq, and Tom McGowan
as the Wizard. Notable cast replacements have included Don Amendolia
as the Wizard and Vicki Noon
as Elphaba.
The success of the North American tours and original Broadway production provoked Chicago, Los Angeles
and San Francisco to produce their own sit-down productions. While the original touring cast intended to play a limited engagement from April 29 to June 12, 2005 at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago, producers decided to extend it to an open-ended run, making it the first non-Broadway sit-down production of Wicked. Opening at the same Chicago theatre the day after the touring production had finished, the original Chicago 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. Notable cast replacements included Kristy Cates
, Dee Roscioli
, and Lisa Brescia
as Elphaba; Erin Mackey
, Kate Fahrner
, and Annaleigh Ashford
as Glinda; Brad Bass
as Fiyero; Barbara Robertson
as Madame Morrible; and William Youmans
as Doctor Dillamond. The production closed on January 25, 2009, after over 1,500 performances. The touring production returned to Chicago for a special engagement at the Cadillac Palace Theatre
from December 1, 2010 to January 23, 2011. Former Chicago cast members Barbara Robertson as Madame Morrible and Gene Weygandt as the Wizard reprised their roles.
An open-ended production ran in Los Angeles, California at the Pantages Theatre
. Performances began on February 10, 2007, with an official opening on February 21. Megan Hilty
and original Broadway standby Eden Espinosa were Glinda and Elphaba respectively while Carol Kane was Madame Morrible, Timothy Britten Parker was Doctor Dillamond, Jenna Leigh Green was Nessarose, Adam Wylie
was Boq, Kristoffer Cusick was Fiyero, and John Rubinstein
was the Wizard. Notable cast replacements included Caissie Levy
and Teal Wicks
as Elphaba; Erin Mackey as Glinda; Jo Anne Worley
as Madame Morrible; David Garrison as the Wizard; and Marcie Dodd as Nessarose. The production closed on January 11, 2009, after 791 performances and 12 previews. The first North American touring production will return to the Pantages Theatre for a limited engagement from November 30, 2011 until January 22, 2012. Additionally, the San Francisco production of Wicked officially opened February 6, 2009, at SHN's Orpheum Theatre, following previews from January 27. 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. Notable cast replacements included Eden Espinosa and Marcie Dodd as Elphaba, Alli Mauzey
as Glinda, Lee Wilkof
and Tom McGowan as the Wizard, and Patty Duke
as Madame Morrible. The production closed on September 5, 2010, after 672 performances and 12 previews.
The West End
production opened on September 27, 2006 at the Apollo Victoria Theatre
, after previews started on September 7, 2006. Having ran for over five years, this production is currently booking until October 27, 2012 after celebrating its fifth anniversary on September 27, 2011 with a special curtain call featuring former West End cast members. This production was tailored slightly for a British audience, including minor creative changes to dialogue, choreography, and special effects. Most of these changes were later incorporated into all productions of Wicked. The West End production reunited the show's original creative team with Idina Menzel, who reprised the role of Elphaba from the original Broadway production. Original London cast members included 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 Menzel's three-month run in the production, she was replaced by Kerry Ellis
, who later transferred to the Broadway production. Ellis' replacement, Alexia Khadime
, became the first woman of black race to assume the lead role of Elphaba. Other notable replacements have included Rachel Tucker
as Elphaba; Dianne Pilkington
and Louise Dearman
as Glinda; Oliver Tompsett
, Lewis Bradley
and Lee Mead
as Fiyero; Caroline Keiff
and Natalie Anderson
as Nessarose; Susie Blake
, Harriet Thorpe
and Julie Legrand as Madame Morrible; and Desmond Barrit
, Sam Kelly
and Clive Carter
as the Wizard. Upcoming replacements include Gina Beck
as Glinda and Matt Willis
as Fiyero.
in Osaka
, Japan
. Australian Jemma Rix
was part of the original cast, alternating the role of Elphaba with Jillian Giaachi and Taylor Jordan. The show, which opened on July 12, 2006, featured the preliminary storyline of Act 1 but Fiyero, Madame Morrible, Boq, Nessarose and Doctor Dillamond were absent and there were considerable changes in sets and costumes. The final performance took place on January 11, 2011. The first replicated non-English production opened in Tokyo
, Japan, on June 17, 2007 with Hamada Megumi as Elphaba and Numao Miyuki as Glinda. The production closed on September 6, 2009, in preparation for its transfer to Osaka. After opening on October 11, 2009, the Osaka production closed on February 13, 2011, featuring Ebata Masae as Elphaba with Tomada Asako as Glinda. The production then moved again to Fukuoka
on April 2, 2011 where its original stars were Ebata Masae (Elphaba) and Numao Miyuki (Glinda). After its closure in Fukuoka on August 28, 2011, the production re-located to Nagoya with performances beginning September 23. It stars Masae and Asako as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively.
Renamed Wicked: Die Hexen von Oz (German: 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, Lucy Scherer played Glinda, Mark Seibert played Fiyero, Angelika Wedekind was Madame Morrible, Nicole Radeschnig was Nessarose, Stefan Stara was Boq, Michael Gunther was Doctor Dillamond, and Carlo Lauber played the Wizard. The production closed on January 29, 2010, and transferred to Oberhausen
where previews began at the Metronom Theater am CentrO on March 5, 2010, with an opening night of March 8. The cast featured Willemijn Verkaik as Elphaba, Joana Fee Würz as Glinda, Barbara Raugnegger as Madame Morrible, Mathias Edenborn as Fiyero, Janine Tippl as Nessarose, Ben Darmanin as Boq, Thomas Wissmann as Doctor Dillamond, and Carlo Lauber as the Wizard. Willemijn Verkaik left the role of Elphaba on February 27, 2011, after being consistently billed as lead for almost three and a half years between the Stuttgart and Oberhausen productions. The Oberhausen production closed on September 2, 2011.
An Australian production officially opened on July 12, 2008, with previews commencing June 27 at the Regent Theatre
in Melbourne
. Amanda Harrison
and Lucy Durack
played Elphaba and Glinda respectively, with Maggie Kirkpatrick
as Madame Morrible, Rob Guest
as the Wizard, Rob Mills
as Fiyero, Anthony Callea
as Boq, Penny McNamee as Nessarose and Rodney Dobson as Doctor Dillamond. However, Rob Guest, who played the Wizard, died suddenly on October 2, 2008, after suffering a stroke two days earlier. Australian personality Bert Newton
was brought in as his replacement six weeks later. In addition, Carmen Cusack
, from the first North American tour and Chicago companies, made her Australian debut as the temporary standby for Elphaba while Amanda Harrison was on extended leave and regular standby Jemma Rix was performing as lead. The Melbourne production closed on August 9, 2009, after 464 performances. The production then transferred to Sydney's Capitol Theatre
. Previews began there on September 5, 2009, with the official opening on September 12, 2009. Most of the Melbourne cast transferred but understudy James D. Smith took over as Boq. Notable cast replacements included Jemma Rix, Pippa Grandison
and Patrice Tipoki alternating as Elphaba and Tim Campbell as Fiyero. Part way through the Sydney season, Elisa Colla replaced Penny McNamee as Nessarose. The production closed on September 26, 2010, after 412 performances and 8 previews.
Following successful seasons in Melbourne and Sydney, an Australian tour began 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. The touring production then moved to the Festival Centre in Adelaide
, running from April 14 until June 4, 2011, and recently played its final leg at the Burswood Theatre in Perth
, starting on June 19, 2011. The cast includes Sydney alumi Lucy Durack as Glinda, Jemma Rix as Elphaba, Maggie Kirkpatrick as Madame Morrible, Bert Newton as the Wizard, Elisa Colla as Nessarose, Rodney Dobson as Doctor Dillamond and James D. Smith as Boq while Wicked newcomer David Harris plays Fiyero. The Perth engagement finished on September 11, 2011, wrapping up more than 3 years of performances in Australia. This production will then transfer to Singapore
's Grand Theater in Marina Bay Sands from December 7, 2011 onwards, beginning an open-ended Asian tour. Other confirmed destinations include Seoul
and Taipei
. The tour is set for an engagement in New Zealand
by 2013. Jemma Rix will play Elphaba, while Australian understudy Suzie Mathers takes over as Glinda. They will be joined by David Harris (Fiyero), Bert Newton (The Wizard), James D. Smith (Boq) and Elisa Colla (Nessarose), who all reprise their roles. Joining them is Glen Hogstrom, who replaces Rodney Dobson in the role of Doctor Dillamond and Anne Wood, who replaces Maggie Kirkpatrick in the role of Madame Morrible.
A brand new production, notable for not being a replica of the original Broadway staging, opened at the City Theatre in Helsinki
, Finland
on August 26, 2010 after a preview performance took place on August 24. Directed by Hans Berndtsson, the production stars Maria Ylipää as Elphaba, Anna-Maija Tuokko as Glinda, Tuukka Leppänen as Fiyero, Ursula Salo as Madame Morrible, Vuokko Hovatta as Nessarose, Antti Lang as Boq, Heikki Sankari as Doctor Dillamond, and Eero Saarinen as the Wizard. The second non-replicated production ran in Copenhagen
, Denmark
from January 12 until May 29, 2011, and was presented by Det Ny Teater. The cast included Annette Heick as Glinda, Maria Lucia Heiberg Rosenberg as Elphaba, John Martin Bengtsson as Fiyero, Marianne Mortensen as Madame Morrible, Anais Lueken as Nessarose, Kim Hammelsvang Henriksen as Boq, Kristian Boland as Doctor Dillamond and Steen Springborg as the Wizard.
A Dutch-language production began previews at the Circus Theater in Scheveningen, The Netherlands on October 26, 2011. The official opening took place on November 6. Willemijn Verkaik reprises her role of Elphaba from the German productions, becoming the first actress to play the role in two different languages. She is joined by Chantal Janzen
as Glinda, Jim Bakkum
as Fiyero, Pamela Teves as Madame Morrible, Christanne de Bruijn as Nessarose, Niels Jacobs as Boq, Jochem Feste Roozemond as Doctor Dillamond and Bill van Dijk in the role of the Wizard.
In December 2011, a Singapore production will open at the Marina Bay
resorts, which previously hosted The Lion King
. With Jemma Rix as Elphaba and Suzie Mathers as Glinda.
, bearing in some senses more resemblance to a film score
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 leitmotif
s throughout the production. Some of these motifs indicate irony – for example, when Galinda presents Elphaba with a "ghastly" hat in "Dancing through Life", the score reprises a theme from "What is this Feeling?" a few scenes earlier, in which Elphaba and Glinda had espoused their mutual loathing.
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, 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 as, "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.
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)" 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.
in 2006, Schwartz commented, "What can I say? Reviews are reviews.... I know we divided the critics. We didn't divide the audience, and that's what counts."
International productions have opened to similarly ambivalent critical reception. 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 gave extremely negative remarks to his viewing of the London production, calling the attempt at topical political allegory "well-meaning but also melodramatic, incoherent and dreadfully superficial" while deploring the acting, songs and book, concluding that "the production manages to feel at once overblown and empty."
Since its opening in 2003, the original Broadway production of Wicked has broken the house record at the Gershwin Theatre twenty times during the course of its run. It regularly grosses in excess of $1.6 million each week,habitually making it one of the two highest weekly grossing shows. For the week ending January 2, 2011, the Broadway production of Wicked grossed over $2.2 million, the highest one-week box office take in Broadway history. However, 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. Similarly, in the week ending March 4, 2007, the Los Angeles production grossed $1,786,110, becoming the highest-grossing attraction in Los Angeles theatre history, taking another record from The Producers, which had set the record in June 2003 at the same Los Angeles theatre. The Broadway production of Wicked broke its own record in November 2006, reaching $1,715,155 and set another new record, grossing $1,839,950, during the 2007 Christmas holiday season. Over the same period, the show also broke its own weekly gross records in Los Angeles ($1,949,968), Chicago ($1,418,363), and in St Louis ($2,291,608), as the seven worldwide productions of the show grossed a collective $11.2 million. About the Chicago production, producer David Stone told Variety
, "we thought it 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." While the Chicago production opened to gross $1,400,000 in its first week, it continually set records and became the longest-running Broadway musical in Chicago history.
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. In addition, over 2.2 million saw the touring production in its first two years, and it grossed over $155 million The tour has played to capacity crowds at almost every performance, with tickets for four-week engagements selling out in as little as seven hours while the Los Angeles production set the single-week record with a gross of $2,579,944 with nine performances during the week ending January 4, 2009. During the final week of its run, the same production again played at capacity, grossing $2,291,511, breaking its own record for a regular eight-performance week. The Los Angeles production grossed over $145 million and was seen by more than 1.8 million patrons. For the week ending November 29, 2009, Wicked became the first Broadway show in history to gross over $2 million for one week of performances, with a gross of $2,086,135. It broke its own record twice during that Christmas season, reaching a gross of $2,125,740 for the week ending January 3, 2010. The show's three other North American productions also broke house records in San Francisco ($1,485,692), Providence ($1,793,764) and Schenectady ($1,657,139), bringing the musical's one-week North American box office gross to $7,062,335. According to the San Francisco producer SHN, "More than 1 million people have seen this production of the show, which has grossed more than $75 million", as of April 2010. While the Broadway production of Wicked welcomed its 5 millionth audience member on September 29, 2010, the year of 2010 saw even more records broken. In the week ending October 17, 2010, Wicked became only the third musical in Broadway history to pass $500 million in total gross. By seats sold, it ranks tenth of all time. The week of November 28, 2010, the production earned $2,150,665 in addition to reaching a gross of $2,228,235 during the Christmas and New Year's weekend of that year.
Similar to the original North American productions of Wicked, subsequent international productions have equated the extremely positive reception at the box-office. Although West End theatres do not publish audited weekly grosses, the London production of Wicked claims to hold the record for highest reported one-week gross at £761,000, achieved in the week ending December 30, 2006. On June 23, 2008, the producers reported that over 1.4 million people had seen the London production since its opening, and grosses had topped £50 million. The same reports stated that the show has 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 London theatre history. Over 20,000 theatregoers attended the nine performances of Wicked that week. Similarly, the Melbourne production broke Australian box-office records, selling 24,750 tickets in three hours during pre-sales and grossing over $1.3 million worth in ticket sales 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.
Wicked celebrated its 1,000th performance on Broadway on March 23, 2006. The production, having played 3,299 performances, still runs today and currently stands as the 14th longest-running Broadway show in history. Several other productions have also reached the 1,000th performance figure, including the first North American touring company on August 15, 2007, the Chicago company on November 14, 2007, the West End company on February 14, 2009, the Australian company on May 7, 2011 and the second North American touring company on August 4, 2011. As of September 2011, Wickeds North American and international companies have cumulatively grossed nearly $2.4 billion and have been seen by nearly 30 million people worldwide.
– an original Broadway production cast member who played the Witch's Father, among other roles, in addition to understudying the Wizard and Doctor Dillamond, before taking over the latter principal role – and Anthony Galde who has been a swing
in the Broadway company since 2004. 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 McCourt and Galde. 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 in to 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.
while, for filming purposes, the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles doubled for the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway in an episode of Ugly Betty
titled "Something Wicked This Way Comes
" where Betty
, the show's protagonist, goes to see Wicked on a date and accidentally stops the show. In the episode previous to this, "Brothers", Betty gets tickets to see Wicked and discusses with a friend how much she relates to Elphaba's outcast status in a popularity and beauty-oriented environment. In addition, The Simpsons
episode "Donnie Fatso
" sees Homer Simpson
and Moe Szyslak
accidentally sneak into a Springfield production of the show.
The South Park
episode Broadway Bro Down
features Wicked and other musicals and have these shows contain subliminal messaging
. In the episode these messages persuade women into performing oral sex
upon their spouse or boyfriend.
"Defying Gravity" was covered on the television series Glee
in the "Wheels
" episode where two of the characters – the main female Rachel Berry (played by Lea Michele
) and a supporting male character Kurt Hummel
(played by Chris Colfer
) – competed for a lead role by singing the song. In a later episode titled "New York
", the two duet on the Gershwin stage and sing "For Good". A clip of the song "Popular" plays in the 2009 movie Zombieland
while the actor and musician John Barrowman
sang a version of "The Wizard and I" (retitled "The Doctor and I) on his 2008 UK tour, with adapted lyrics referring to his Doctor Who
and Torchwood
character Jack
's affection for The Doctor
. While Kerry Ellis' version of "I'm Not that Girl" appeared on the celebratory fifth-anniversary edition of the original Broadway cast recording, Ellis, who played Elphaba in the West End and the Broadway productions of Wicked, also recorded her own rock version of "Defying Gravity". Both songs were produced by British musician Brian May and featured him on guitar and were featured on her extended play Wicked in Rock
(2008) and her debut album Anthems
(2010). She performed her version of "Defying Gravity" at the 2008 Royal Variety Performance
alongside May on guitar. A dance remix of her rock version of "Defying Gravity" was later released in 2011. Rapper Drake
sampled the musical's song "Popular" in his song of the same name.
Media as diverse as the anime series Red Garden
, the daytime drama Passions
and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer graphic novels
have all parodied Wickeds songs and characters. At the start of the second of three episodes of the miniseries, Tin Man
(another adaptation of Baum's Ozian universe), protagonist DG refers to her father as "Popsicle" vice the more common names "Pop" or "Pappi", echoing Galinda in her letter home at the start of "What is this Feeling?". Also, in the second episode of the ABC Family
drama series Huge
, one of the characters wears a "Shiz University" athletic Dept t-shirt, while Wicked and its "long lines" have been mentioned in the Nickelodeon series iCarly
. The Broadway musical Shrek the Musical parodies the show's Act I finale with "What's Up, Duloc?"; character Lord Farquaad re-enacts "Defying Gravity" by proclaiming "No one's gonna bring me down" followed by the legato
belt
while atop his castle.
s 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 Tony Awards 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 won 6 Drama Desk Award
s out of 11 nominations, including Outstanding Musical
, Book
, Director
and Costume Design
in addition to winning 4 Outer Critics Circle Award
s out of 10 nominations. The original Broadway cast recording also received the 2005 Grammy Award
for Best Musical Show Album
. Since its opening in 2003, the Broadway production of Wicked has accrued 32 awards out of 63 nominations, being consecutively nominated every year for at least one award.
Similarly, subsequent productions of the musical have equated in abundant success. The North American tours have garnered 12 awards out of 14 nominations while the Chicago production was nominated for 5 Joseph Jefferson Awards
. The West End production has received 5 Laurence Olivier Award nominations and despite not winning any in 2007, it won the Audience Award for Most Popular Show
at the 2010 award ceremony. The original Australian production received 6 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.
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Stephen Schwartz (composer)
Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell , Pippin and Wicked...
and a book by Winnie Holzman
Winnie Holzman
Winnie Holzman is an American dramatist, screenwriter and poet. She created the ABC television series My So-Called Life, which earned her an Emmy Award nomination for writing in 1995...
. It is based on the Gregory Maguire
Gregory Maguire
Gregory Maguire is an American writer. He is the author of the novels Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, and many other novels for adults and children...
novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, is a parallel novel published in 1995 written by Gregory Maguire and illustrated by Douglas Smith. It is a revisionist look at the land and characters of Oz from L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, its sequels, and the...
(1995), a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
and L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
's classic story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
(1900). The musical is told from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz
Land of Oz
Oz is a fantasy region containing four lands under the rule of one monarch.It was first introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, one of many fantasy countries that he created for his books. It achieved a popularity that none of his other works attained, and after four years, he...
: Elphaba
Elphaba
Elphaba Thropp is a fictional character in Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, as well as in the Broadway and West End adaptations, Wicked. In the original L. Frank Baum book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West is unnamed and little...
, the misunderstood girl with emerald-green skin, and Galinda, later Glinda, the beautiful, ambitious and popular blonde. Wicked tells the story in which these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked Witch of the West
The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character and the most significant antagonist in L. Frank Baum's children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
and the Good Witch of the North
Good Witch of the North
The Good Witch of the North is a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by American author L. Frank Baum. She is the elderly and mild-mannered Ruler of the Gillikin Country...
while struggling through opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love-interest, reactions to the Wizard's corrupt government, and, ultimately, Elphaba's public fall from grace. The plot begins before and continues after Dorothy
Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale is the protagonist of many of the Oz novels by American author L. Frank Baum, and the best friend of Oz's ruler Princess Ozma. Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels...
's arrival from Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
and includes references to locations, events, characters and situations from both the 1939 film and Baum's novel.
Produced by Universal Pictures
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
in coalition with Marc Platt
Marc E. Platt
Marc E. Platt , also credited as Marc Platt, is an American film, television and theatre producer.-Life and career:Platt was raised in Pikesville, Maryland. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1979. He was an avid member of the Penn Glee Club during his time at the university...
and David Stone, the Joe Mantello
Joe Mantello
Joseph Mantello is an American actor and director best known for his work on Broadway productions of Wicked, Take Me Out and Assassins, as well as earlier in his career being one of the original Broadway cast of Angels in America...
-directed and Wayne Cilento
Wayne Cilento
Wayne Louis Cilento is an American dancer and choreographer. He is best known for originating the role of "Mike" in the Broadway show A Chorus Line, and later becoming one of Broadway's most prolific choreographers.-Early life:...
-choreographed original production of Wicked premiered on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
at the Gershwin Theatre in October 2003, after completing pre-Broadway SHN
SHN (theatres)
SHN is a theatrical production company in San Francisco. Under the leadership of commercial Broadway producers Carole Shorenstein Hays and Robert Nederlander, SHN has evolved from its inception in 1977 as a promoter of short engagements of national tours in one theatre to become the pre-eminent...
tryouts at San Francisco's Curran Theatre
Curran Theatre
The Curran Theatre is located in San Francisco and was named by its first owner, Homer Curran. The theatre is currently owned by Carole Shorenstein Hays and is operated by SHN - Overview :...
in May 2003. Its original stars included Idina Menzel
Idina Menzel
Idina Kim Menzel is an American actress, singer and songwriter. She is widely known for originating the roles of Maureen in Rent and Elphaba in Wicked.-Early life:...
as Elphaba, Kristin Chenoweth
Kristin Chenoweth
Kristin Chenoweth is an American singer and actress, with credits in musical theatre, film and television. She is best known on Broadway for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown , for which she won a Tony Award, and for originating the role of Glinda in the musical...
as Glinda, and Joel Grey
Joel Grey
Joel Grey is an American stage and screen actor, singer, and dancer, best known for his role as the Master of Ceremonies in both the stage and film adaptation of the Kander & Ebb musical Cabaret. He has won the Academy Award, Tony Award and Golden Globe Award...
as the Wizard. Despite drawing heavy criticism from The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and mixed critical reception elsewhere, the musical has proved to be a favorite among patrons. The success of the Broadway production has provoked the opening of five other North American productions, including two national tours, as well as a five-year strong West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
production and several international productions in the likes of Japan, Germany and Australia.
While the original production won three out of its ten Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nominations, garnered six Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
s and received one Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
, Wicked has since accrued one Laurence Olivier Award and six Helpmann Awards internationally. Since its 2003 debut, Wicked has broken box office records around the world, holding weekly-gross-takings records in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, St. Louis, and London. Attaining £100,000 in the first hour on sale, Wicked also set the record for the biggest West End opening. In the week ending January 2, 2011, the London, Broadway, and both North American touring productions simultaneously broke the record for the highest weekly gross. Both the West End production and the North American tour have been seen by over two million patrons each while the original production, having played 3,339 performances, celebrated its eighth anniversary on October 30, 2011, making Wicked the 14th longest-running Broadway show in history.
Inception and development
Composer and lyricist Stephen SchwartzStephen Schwartz (composer)
Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell , Pippin and Wicked...
discovered writer Gregory Maguire
Gregory Maguire
Gregory Maguire is an American writer. He is the author of the novels Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, and many other novels for adults and children...
's 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, is a parallel novel published in 1995 written by Gregory Maguire and illustrated by Douglas Smith. It is a revisionist look at the land and characters of Oz from L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, its sequels, and the...
while on holiday and saw its potential for a dramatic adaptation. Maguire, however, had released the rights
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
to Universal
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, who had planned to develop a live-action feature film. Schwartz met Maguire in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
in 1998 and persuaded him to release them for a stage production while making, what Schwartz called, an "impassioned plea" to Universal producer Marc Platt
Marc E. Platt
Marc E. Platt , also credited as Marc Platt, is an American film, television and theatre producer.-Life and career:Platt was raised in Pikesville, Maryland. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1979. He was an avid member of the Penn Glee Club during his time at the university...
to realize his potential adaptation. Persuaded too, 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
Land of Oz
Oz is a fantasy region containing four lands under the rule of one monarch.It was first introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, one of many fantasy countries that he created for his books. It achieved a popularity that none of his other works attained, and after four years, he...
, in the years leading to Dorothy
Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale is the protagonist of many of the Oz novels by American author L. Frank Baum, and the best friend of Oz's ruler Princess Ozma. Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels...
's arrival. The story centers on Elphaba
Elphaba
Elphaba Thropp is a fictional character in Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, as well as in the Broadway and West End adaptations, Wicked. In the original L. Frank Baum book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West is unnamed and little...
, the misunderstood, smart, and fiery girl of emerald-green skin who grows up to become the notorious Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked Witch of the West
The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character and the most significant antagonist in L. Frank Baum's children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
and Galinda, the beautiful, blonde, popular girl who grows up to become Glinda the Good Witch of the North
Good Witch of the North
The Good Witch of the North is a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by American author L. Frank Baum. She is the elderly and mild-mannered Ruler of the Gillikin Country...
. The story is divided into five different sections based on the plot location and presents events, characters and situations from L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
(1900) and its 1939 film adaptation
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
in new ways. It sets 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
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
-winning writer Winnie Holzman
Winnie Holzman
Winnie Holzman is an American dramatist, screenwriter and poet. She created the ABC television series My So-Called Life, which earned her an Emmy Award nomination for writing in 1995...
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, spinning an original stage piece rather than creating 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 story line of the stage adaptation "goes far afield" from the novel. As Holzman observed in an interview with Playbill
Playbill
Playbill is a monthly U.S. magazine for theatregoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most Playbills are printed for particular shows to be distributed at the door...
, "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." In addition to this change in focus, other 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, the complete cutting of Elphaba's years in the Vinkus and Doctor Dillamond not being murdered.
The book, lyrics, and score for the musical were developed through a series of readings. For these developmental workshops, Kristin Chenoweth
Kristin Chenoweth
Kristin Chenoweth is an American singer and actress, with credits in musical theatre, film and television. She is best known on Broadway for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown , for which she won a Tony Award, and for originating the role of Glinda in the musical...
, the Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
-winning actress whom Stephen Schwartz had in mind while composing the music for the character, joined the project as Glinda. Stephanie J. Block
Stephanie J. Block
Stephanie J. Block is an American actress and singer. She is most well known for her work on the Broadway stage. She has additionally been nominated for a Drama Desk Award and a Drama League Award. She released her debut solo album through PS Classics in June 2009...
originally read the role of Elphaba before fellow performer Idina Menzel
Idina Menzel
Idina Kim Menzel is an American actress, singer and songwriter. She is widely known for originating the roles of Maureen in Rent and Elphaba in Wicked.-Early life:...
was cast in the role in late 2000. In early 2000, the creators recruited New York producer David Stone who began the transition of the workshop production into a full Broadway production. Joe Mantello
Joe Mantello
Joseph Mantello is an American actor and director best known for his work on Broadway productions of Wicked, Take Me Out and Assassins, as well as earlier in his career being one of the original Broadway cast of Angels in America...
was brought in as director and Wayne Cilento
Wayne Cilento
Wayne Louis Cilento is an American dancer and choreographer. He is best known for originating the role of "Mike" in the Broadway show A Chorus Line, and later becoming one of Broadway's most prolific choreographers.-Early life:...
as choreographer while Tony Award-winning designer Eugene Lee
Eugene Lee (designer)
Eugene Lee was born in Beloit, Wisconsin, 1939. He attended Beloit Memorial High School. He has been resident designer at Trinity Rep since 1967. He has BFA degrees from the Art Institute of Chicago and Carnegie Mellon University, an MFA from Yale Drama School and three honorary Ph.Ds. Mr...
created the set and visual style for the production based on both W. W. Denslow
William Wallace Denslow
William Wallace Denslow – usually credited as W. W. Denslow – was an illustrator and caricaturist remembered for his work in collaboration with author L. Frank Baum, especially his illustrations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
's original illustrations for Baum's novels and Maguire's concept of the story being told through a giant clock. Costume designer Susan Hilferty
Susan Hilferty
Susan Hilferty is an American costume designer for theatre, opera, and film. She received the 2001 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Costume Design....
created a "twisted Edwardian" style through more than 200 costumes, while lighting designer Kenneth Posner
Kenneth Posner
Kenneth Posner is an American theatrical lighting designer, working on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in American regional theatre. His most notable designs include the musicals Wicked and Hairspray, two highly regarded musicals of the early 21st century...
used more than 800 individual lights to give each of the 54 distinct scenes and locations "its own mood." By April 2003, a full cast had been assembled and the show readied its public debut. On May 28, 2003, the first public performance of Wicked was held at the Curran Theatre
Curran Theatre
The Curran Theatre is located in San Francisco and was named by its first owner, Homer Curran. The theatre is currently owned by Carole Shorenstein Hays and is operated by SHN - Overview :...
in San Francisco, as the start of SHN
SHN (theatres)
SHN is a theatrical production company in San Francisco. Under the leadership of commercial Broadway producers Carole Shorenstein Hays and Robert Nederlander, SHN has evolved from its inception in 1977 as a promoter of short engagements of national tours in one theatre to become the pre-eminent...
pre-Broadway tryouts. After officially opening on June 10, 2003, it ran there for the month and finished on June 29, 2003.
Audience reaction was majorly positive and although critics tended to compliment the aesthetic and spectacle of the show, they disparaged the state of its book, score and choreography. Dennis Harvey of Variety commented positively of the "sleekly directed", "snazzily designed" and "smartly cast" production yet still disapproved of its "mediocre" book, "trite" lyrics and "largely generic" music while Karen D'Souza of the San Jose Mercury News wrote that "Style over substance is the real theme in this Emerald City." Noting mixed response, the creative team started making extensive changes, tweaking it before its transfer to Broadway. Winnie Holzman stated, "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 transformations. This included the excision of "Which Way is the Party?", the introductory song to the character Fiyero, which was subsequently replaced by "Dancing Through Life" in Schwartz' fear that the former failed to be a clear "statement of Fiyero's philosophy of life." In addition, there was concern that Menzel's Elphaba "got a little overshadowed" by Chenoweth's Glinda. San Francisco Chronicle critic Robert Hurwitt wrote, "Menzel's brightly intense Elphaba the Wicked Witch [needs] a chance of holding her own alongside Chenoweth's gloriously, insidiously bubbly Glinda", so the creative team set about making her character "more prominent." On the subject of 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. We learned a lot from the reviews, which were honest and constructive in the aggregate, unlike New York, where the critics make up their minds before they come to the theatre." On October 30, 2003, the musical opened on Broadway.
Synopsis
Wicked explores the concept that the Wicked Witch of the West, here known as Elphaba, is a misunderstood, victimized person whose behavior is merely a reaction against the charlatanCharlatan
A charlatan is a person practicing quackery or some similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, fame or other advantages via some form of pretense or deception....
Wizard's corrupt government. It also displays her relationship with the beautiful and ambitious Galinda Upland, who ultimately becomes Glinda the Good Witch of the North.
Act I
While the citizens of Oz celebrate the death of the Wicked Witch of the West, Glinda descends onto the stage in her bubble to confirm the circumstances of the Witch's melting. She recalls that the green-skinned Elphaba was conceived during an affair between the erstwhile Munchkin Governor's wife and a mysterious stranger with a bottle of green elixir. Everyone was repulsed by Elphaba from birth, so Glinda asks the Ozians to empathize ("No One Mourns the WickedNo One Mourns the Wicked
"No One Mourns the Wicked" is the opening musical number performed in the hit Broadway musical Wicked, composed by Stephen Schwartz.-Context:...
"). The remainder of the plot forms an extended flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
through the events of Glinda's and Elphaba's lives.
At Shiz University, the pair first meet. Elphaba is hardly surprised that all the students, including the popular but shallow Glinda (then Galinda), revile her ("Dear Old Shiz"). The only reason that Elphaba is sent to Shiz is to take care of her beautiful, wheelchair-bound younger half-sister Nessarose
Nessarose
Nessarose Thropp is the name of the woman who becomes the Wicked Witch of the East in Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, as well as in the Broadway adaptation, Wicked...
, who is presented with a bejeweled pair of Silver Shoes
Silver Shoes
The Silver Shoes are the magical shoes that appear in the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as Dorothy Gale's transport home. They were originally owned by the Wicked Witch of the East but passed to Dorothy when her house landed on the Witch...
, being her father's favorite. Despite Elphaba and Galinda's instant mutual loathing, Madame Morrible, Shiz's headmistress, makes them roommates. Elphaba had been excluded from Madame Morrible's Sorcery Seminar, but when Elphaba reveals an innate magical talent in sudden anger, Morrible notes that her talents may be of use to the Wizard of Oz. Elphaba dreams of what she and the Wizard could accomplish together ("The Wizard and I
The Wizard and I
"The Wizard and I" is a musical number from the hit musical Wicked. It is primarily a solo number for the character of Elphaba, though the character Madame Morrible also sings in the introduction to the song.-Context:...
"). Galinda and Elphaba later write home about their unfortunate room-mate assignments ("What is this Feeling?
What is this Feeling?
"What is this Feeling?" is a musical number from the hit musical Wicked. It is sung between Elphaba, Galinda , and students at Shiz University.-Context:The song is performed towards beginning of the first act...
"). The students gather in a history class taught by Doctor Dillamond, a Goat and Shiz's only Animal professor, who keeps mispronouncing Galinda's name as "Glinda". After dismissing the class upon the discovery of an anti-Animal slogan on the blackboard, Doctor Dillamond confides in Elphaba that something is causing the Animals of Oz to lose their powers of speech ("Something Bad"). Elphaba believes that the Wizard is the only one who can help.
Fiyero, a Winkie
Winkie Country
The Winkie Country is a division of the fictional Land of Oz. It is distinguished by the color yellow; this color is worn by most of the local inhabitants and predominates in the surroundings....
prince, then arrives at Shiz and immediately impresses his own brand of mindless, cavalier and carefree living on the students ("Dancing Through Life"). Besotted with Galinda, a Munchkin
Munchkin
The Munchkins are the natives of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. They first appeared in the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, in which they are described as being somewhat short of stature, and wear only blue...
named Boq
Boq
Boq is a minor character in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. He becomes a more prominent character in Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which purports to show the lives of some of Baum's characters from another perspective, and more...
asks her to accompany him to a party at the Ozdust Ballroom, but having felt "perfect together" with Fiyero, Galinda asks him to invite Nessarose instead. Later, Galinda discovers a black pointed hat in a box and gives it to Elphaba as a mock present. In return, Elphaba asks Madame Morrible to reconsider Galinda in her Sorcery Seminar. When, however, Elphaba arrives to the party wearing the hat, she is only ridiculed. Defiant, she proceeds to dance alone without musical accompaniment. Feeling guilty, Galinda joins her, marking the start of their friendship. Meanwhile, Boq convinces Nessarose that it was not pity that prompted him to ask her out, but the fact that she is "so beautiful", not realizing the full extent of Nessarose's affections towards him. Back in their dorm, Elphaba tells Galinda that her mother had been fed milk-flowers to prevent her second child from being born green-skinned; the milk-flowers instead caused Nessarose to be born crippled, while her mother died in childbirth. Feeling sympathetic, Galinda decides to give Elphaba a makeover, making her admirable to fellow students ("Popular"). The next day, Doctor Dillamond is abruptly taken away by Ozian officials. The new history teacher arrives with a caged lion cub as the subject of an in-class experiment, revealing that Animals are to be kept in cages and never to speak. Outraged, Elphaba and Fiyero steal the cub and set it free. Elphaba feels that she could love Fiyero yet she feels more alone than ever ("I'm Not that Girl
I'm Not that Girl (song)
"I'm Not that Girl" is a song from the musical Wicked, based on the novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, composed by Stephen Schwartz, originally recorded by Idina Menzel on November 10, 2003, and released on December 16, 2003...
"). Madame Morrible finds her, announcing that Elphaba has been granted an audience with the Wizard in the Emerald City
Emerald City
The Emerald City is the fictional capital city of the Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's Oz books, first described in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
.
At the train station, Galinda, Fiyero, Nessarose and Boq see Elphaba off, all happy for her. When it becomes apparent that Boq is not genuinely interested in Nessarose, Galinda feels guilty and suggests that Boq is not the right person for Nessarose, who in turn insists that it is herself "that's not right." Elphaba expresses concern about leaving her younger sister but protesting Nessarose insists she will manage without her and leaves. In an attempt to impress Fiyero, Galinda announces that she will change her name to "Glinda" in honor of Doctor Dillamond's persistent mispronunciation. Fiyero fails to notice and leaves. Glinda breaks into tears. Feeling bad for Glinda, Elphaba invites her along to see the Wizard. After a day of sightseeing in the Emerald City ("One Short Day
One Short Day
"One Short Day" is the 9th song in the musical Wicked. It is also the opening number to Wicked in Universal Studios Japan. It takes place during the "Emerald City" scene, where the two witches first go to the emerald city to meet the wizard...
"), Elphaba and Glinda meet the Wizard. Eschewing the special effects he employs for the benefit of most visitors, he invites Elphaba to join him ("A Sentimental Man"). As a test, he asks that Elphaba give his monkey servant, Chistery, the ability to fly using the Grimmerie – an ancient book of spells. Elphaba demonstrates an intrinsic understanding of the lost language contained in the book, and successfully gives Chistery wings. The Wizard then reveals a cage full of winged monkeys, proving the extent of Elphaba's powers, and remarks that they will make good spies to report any subversive Animal activity. Realizing that she has been used and that the fraudulent Wizard and Madame Morrible are responsible for the Animals in Oz losing their power of speech, a horrified Elphaba runs away with the Grimmerie, Glinda goes after her, pursued by the palace guards. She runs to the tallest tower, where they hear Madame Morrible declaring to Oz that Elphaba is a "Wicked Witch" and not to be trusted. Elphaba enchants a broomstick to fly and almost convinces Glinda to join her in her cause, but Glinda cannot resist the call of popularity as one of the Wizard's assistants, and refuses. Leaving Glinda behind and escaping the guards, Elphaba flies off towards the western sky, promising to fight the Wizard with all her power ("Defying Gravity
Defying Gravity (song)
"Defying Gravity" is the signature song from the musical Wicked, composed by Stephen Schwartz, originally recorded by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth on November 10, 2003, and released on December 16, 2003...
").
Act II
A few months have passed and Elphaba's opposition of the Wizard's regime has earned her the title "The Wicked Witch of the West" (reprise of "No One Mourns the Wicked"). Rumor has it that the witch's soul is so impure that pure water could melt her. Glinda, now the Wizard's assistant and adored by everyone, is pronounced engaged to Fiyero. Informing him that he has to accept the fact that Elphaba does not want to be found, Glinda puts on a happy front despite Fiyero's waning affections ("Thank Goodness").Meanwhile, Elphaba arrives at her old home, the Governor's residence in Munchkinland, seeking refuge. Nessarose is the Governor now, and laments that her father "died of shame" after Elphaba rebelliously defied the Wizard. She criticizes Elphaba for not using her new-found powers to help her own sister. Guilty, Elphaba enchants Nessarose's jeweled shoes, turning them into the ruby slippers
Ruby slippers
The ruby slippers are the shoes worn by Dorothy in the 1939 MGM movie The Wizard of Oz. Because of their iconic stature, they are now among the most treasured and valuable of film memorabilia. As was customary for important props, a number of pairs were made for the film, though no one knows...
and enabling her to walk. Boq is summoned, and he bemoans that Nessarose is as "wicked" as Elphaba for stripping the Munchkins of their rights and prohibiting them from leaving Munchkinland. Nessarose explains that she did this to keep Boq with her, but is sure that he will stay with her of his own accord now that she is no longer crippled. However, Boq insists that he should now be free to pursue Glinda instead, going so far as to brandish a knife when his "Madame Governor" refuses to let him go. Hurt and angry, Nessarose attempts to cast a spell from the Grimmerie to make Boq lose his heart to her, but accidentally makes his heart shrink instead. While Elphaba attempts to save him, Nessarose reflects on how being "alone and loveless" has led to her wicked actions, and fears that she deserves her infamous new title ("The Wicked Witch of the East"). Elphaba says that nothing will ever be enough for her younger sister and leaves her for good, despite Nessarose's frantic pleas for her sister to stay. Boq is horrified to discover that Elphaba has transformed him into a Tin Man, so he could live without a heart, and a desperate Nessarose lays the entire blame on her sister while Boq runs away in horror.
Returning to the Wizard's palace, Elphaba tries to free the remaining winged monkeys. The Wizard attempts to regain her favor by agreeing to set them free, recounting how the Ozians hailed him as the Wonderful Wizard when he first came to Oz in a balloon from America. He explains that she could, likewise, be hailed by everyone if she joins him ("Wonderful"). Upon discovering the now-speechless Doctor Dillamond amongst the monkeys, however, Elphaba rejects his offer. While attempting to escape, she bumps into Fiyero, who runs away with her, confirming that he loves her in return. Glinda sees this and is crestfallen that she has been betrayed by those closest to her (reprise of "I'm Not that Girl"). When Glinda states that Elphaba can be lured by spreading a rumor that Nessarose is in danger, the fiendish Madame Morrible creates a cyclone that brings Dorothy
Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale is the protagonist of many of the Oz novels by American author L. Frank Baum, and the best friend of Oz's ruler Princess Ozma. Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels...
's house to Oz and crushes Nessarose to death. While Fiyero and Elphaba express their love in a dark forest ("As Long as You're Mine
As Long as You're Mine
"As Long as You're Mine" is a musical number from the hit Broadway musical Wicked. It is a duet sung between Elphaba and her love interest, Fiyero. It was originally sung by Idina Menzel and Norbert Leo Butz, who played Elphaba and Fiyero in the original Broadway cast....
"), Elphaba senses that her sister is in danger. Before she leaves Fiyero offers her a hiding place where she'll be safe. She flies off to help, but is too late, arriving just as Glinda sends Dorothy and Toto off along the Yellow Brick Road
Yellow brick road
The road of yellow brick is an element in the novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, with additional such roads appearing in The Marvelous Land of Oz and The Patchwork Girl of Oz...
. The palace guards capture Elphaba, but Fiyero intervenes, allowing Elphaba to escape before surrendering himself. The guards take him to a nearby cornfield to be tortured until he tells them of Elphaba's whereabouts. At her castle, Elphaba tries to cast any spell she can to save Fiyero, but thinking she has failed, she begins to accept her reputation as "wicked" ("No Good Deed
No Good Deed (song)
"No Good Deed" is a musical number from the hit Broadway musical Wicked. It is sung by Elphaba, the main character of the show. It is widely regarded as the most powerful piece of the musical; and the most emotional.-Context and Analysis:...
").
Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Boq – now the Tin Man
Tin Woodman
The Tin Woodman, sometimes referred to as the Tin Man or the Tin Woodsman , is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum...
– and the Cowardly Lion
Cowardly Lion
The Cowardly Lion is the main character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is a Lion, but he talks and interacts with humans....
are sent to kill Elphaba ("March of the Witch Hunters"). It is revealed that the Cowardly Lion is the lion cub Elphaba set free; Boq claims that she turned him into a coward by not letting him fight his own battles. Meanwhile, Elphaba captures Dorothy, refusing to release her until she relinquishes Nessarose's ruby slippers – the only things left of her dead sister. Glinda travels to Elphaba's castle to warn her of the trouble and persuade her to let Dorothy go. Although Elphaba refuses, the two women forgive each other for all grievances, acknowledging they have both made mistakes. Elphaba makes Glinda promise not to clear her name and to take charge in Oz, allowing her to disappear. The two friends embrace for the last time before saying goodbye forever ("For Good
For Good
"For Good" is a musical number from the hit musical Wicked. It is sung as a duet between Elphaba and Glinda, as a farewell to each other. The song's music and lyrics were written by composer Stephen Schwartz.-Context:...
"). Immediately after, when Dorothy throws a bucket of water on Elphaba, the witch appears to melt away. Glinda, not quite sure what has happened, sees that all that remains of her friend is her black hat and a vial of green elixir. Back at the Emerald City, Glinda reminds the Wizard that he has an identical bottle, and it is revealed that the Wizard is Elphaba's father, being the stranger whom her mother had an affair with. Madame Morrible surmises that Elphaba had special powers because she was a child of both Oz and the outside world. Glinda orders the Wizard to leave Oz in his balloon and sends Madame Morrible to prison, before preparing to face the citizens of Oz, returning to the opening scene of the show.
Meanwhile, Fiyero had in fact been turned into the Scarecrow
Scarecrow (Oz)
The Scarecrow is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and illustrator William Wallace Denslow. In his first appearance, the Scarecrow reveals that he lacks a brain and desires above all else to have one. In reality, he is only two days old and merely...
when Elphaba had cast spells, therefore saving him from the Ozian guards' spears in the cornfield. He opens a trap door in Elphaba's castle, down which she had descended, only pretending to die for the benefit of the others. While Elphaba and Fiyero leave Oz forever, Glinda continues her bittersweet celebration with the citizens of Oz. They gaze up at the sky, individually appreciating their true friendship and acknowledging that they have changed for the better because they knew each other ("Finale").
Principal roles and current casts
- See also: List of Wicked characters; Wicked cast lists
Character Description Original Broadway performer Current Broadway performer Original West End performer Current West End performer Elphaba The misunderstood green girl who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West Idina Menzel Idina MenzelIdina Kim Menzel is an American actress, singer and songwriter. She is widely known for originating the roles of Maureen in Rent and Elphaba in Wicked.-Early life:...Jackie Burns Idina Menzel Rachel Tucker Rachel TuckerRachel Tucker is a Northern Irish singer and actress who competed as one of the finalists in the BBC talent show-themed television series I'd Do Anything in 2008...Glinda The popular blonde girl who becomes Glinda the Good Witch of the North Kristin Chenoweth Kristin ChenowethKristin Chenoweth is an American singer and actress, with credits in musical theatre, film and television. She is best known on Broadway for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown , for which she won a Tony Award, and for originating the role of Glinda in the musical...Chandra Lee Schwartz Chandra Lee SchwartzChandra Lee Schwartz is an American theatre performer, who most recently played Glinda on the first National Tour of Wicked from Friday, 21 August 2009, through Sunday, 17 April 2011. She originally starred alongside Donna Vivino as Elphaba, who was later replaced by Jackie Burns...Helen Dallimore Helen DallimoreHelen Dallimore is an Australian actress, known for originating the role of Glinda in the West End production of Wicked.-Background:...Louise Dearman Louise DearmanLouise Dearman is a British musical theatre performer, currently playing the role of Glinda in the West End production of Wicked. She has a number of other professional stage and television credits, such as Eva Perón in Evita, and released her debut solo album, You and I, in 2005.-Early...Fiyero A handsome prince, fellow student, and love interest Norbert Leo Butz Norbert Leo ButzNorbert Leo Butz is an American actor best known for his work in Broadway theatre.-Personal life:Butz was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Elaine and Norbert Butz...Richard H. Blake Richard H. BlakeRichard H. Blake is an American musical actor.One of his earliest stints on Broadway was taking over the role of Roger Davis in Rent. In 2001, Richard Blake took over the role of Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever, a musical adaptation of the film of the same name, having previously starred in...Adam Garcia Adam GarciaAdam Garcia is an Australian actor and tap dancer of partial Colombian descent .-Career:...Mark Evans The Wonderful Wizard of Oz The tyrannical ruler of Oz Joel Grey Joel GreyJoel Grey is an American stage and screen actor, singer, and dancer, best known for his role as the Master of Ceremonies in both the stage and film adaptation of the Kander & Ebb musical Cabaret. He has won the Academy Award, Tony Award and Golden Globe Award...Tom McGowan Tom McGowanThomas "Tom" McGowan is an American actor, known for his recurring roles on Frasier, as KACL station manager Kenny Daly; Everybody Loves Raymond, as Ray's friend Bernie; and on The War at Home, as Dave Gold's friend Joe. McGowan also appeared on Curb Your Enthusiasm as a disgruntled fan of Larry's...Nigel Planer Nigel PlanerNigel George Planer is an English actor, comedian, novelist and playwright.Planer is perhaps best known for his role as Neil Pye in the cult BBC comedy The Young Ones. He has appeared in many West End musicals, including Evita, Chicago, We Will Rock You, Wicked and Hairspray...Clive Carter Clive CarterClive Carter is a British actor and singer.Carter studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. His West End theatre credits include Someone Like You with Petula Clark, A Man for All Seasons with Martin Shaw, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Brendan Fraser and Ned Beatty, We Will Rock You, I...Madame Morrible The headmistress at Shiz University Carole Shelley Carole ShelleyCarole Shelley is an English actress. Among her many stage roles are the character of Madame Morrible in the original Broadway cast of the musical Wicked.-Life and career:...Kathy Fitzgerald Miriam Margolyes Miriam MargolyesMiriam Margolyes, OBE is an English actress and voice artist. Her earliest roles were in theatre and after several supporting roles in film and television she won a BAFTA Award for her role in The Age of Innocence .-Early life:...Julie Legrand Nessarose Elphaba's spoiled invalid sister Michelle Federer Michelle FedererMichelle Federer is an American film and theatre actress.-Early life and education:Federer is the daughter of John and Claudia Federer...Jenny Fellner Katie Rowley Jones Katie Rowley JonesKatie Rowley Jones is a musical theatre actress best known for her portrayal of Nessarose in Wicked.-Early life and education:...Zoe Rainey Boq A Munchkin with eyes for Glinda Christopher Fitzgerald Christopher Fitzgerald (actor)Christopher Cantwell Fitzgerald is an American actor, singer, mime, clown, juggler, and acrobat. He is best known for his role as Boq in the musical Wicked and his role of Igor in Young Frankenstein, for which he earned Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, and Tony Award...Etai BenShlomo James Gillan James Gillan (actor)James Gillan is a Scottish stage actor born in Glasgow, and trained at The Arts Educational Schools in London....Ben Stott Doctor Dillamond A professor at Shiz University and a talking Goat William Youmans William YoumansWilliam Youmans is an American Broadway, film and television actor and singer, best known for originating the role of Doctor Dillamond in Wicked.-Broadway:...Tom Flynn Martin Ball Martin BallMartin Ball is an English theatre and television actor. He was born and grew up in Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent. He trained at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, and graduated in 1992.-Career:...Julian Forsyth
Musical numbers
Act I- "No One Mourns the Wicked" – Glinda and Citizens of Oz
- "Dear Old Shiz" – Students and Galinda
- "The Wizard and I" – Madame Morrible and Elphaba
- "What is this Feeling?" – Galinda, Elphaba and Students
- "Something Bad" – Doctor Dillamond and Elphaba
- "Dancing Through Life" – Fiyero, Galinda, Boq, Nessarose, Elphaba and Students
- "Popular" – Galinda
- "I'm Not that Girl" – Elphaba
- "One Short Day" – Elphaba, Glinda and Denizens of the Emerald City
- "A Sentimental Man" – The Wizard
- "Defying Gravity" – Glinda, Elphaba, Guards and Citizens of Oz
Act II
- "No One Mourns the Wicked" (reprise) - Citizens of Oz
- "Thank Goodness" – Glinda, Madame Morrible and Citizens of Oz
- "The Wicked Witch of the East" – Elphaba, Nessarose and Boq
- "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 Citizens of Oz
- "For Good" – Glinda and Elphaba
- "Finale" – All
Original Broadway production
Robert Morse
Robert Morse is an American actor and singer. Morse is best known for his appearances in musicals and plays on Broadway. He has also acted in movies and television shows. His best known role is that of J. Pierrepont Finch in the 1961 Broadway musical, and 1967 film How to Succeed in Business...
as the Wizard, Norbert Leo Butz
Norbert Leo Butz
Norbert Leo Butz is an American actor best known for his work in Broadway theatre.-Personal life:Butz was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Elaine and Norbert Butz...
as Fiyero, Michelle Federer
Michelle Federer
Michelle Federer is an American film and theatre actress.-Early life and education:Federer is the daughter of John and Claudia Federer...
as Nessarose, Carole Shelley
Carole Shelley
Carole Shelley is an English actress. Among her many stage roles are the character of Madame Morrible in the original Broadway cast of the musical Wicked.-Life and career:...
as Madame Morrible, John Horton
John Horton
John Horton is a film and television actor.-Selected filmography:*The Shawshank Redemption , as 1946 Judge*Thinner , as Judge Cary Rossington*Donnie Brasco , as FBI Director-TV-series:*Moment of Truth , as Eric...
as Doctor Dillamond, and Kirk McDonald as Boq
Boq
Boq is a minor character in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. He becomes a more prominent character in Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which purports to show the lives of some of Baum's characters from another perspective, and more...
while Stephanie J. Block, who originally read the role of Elphaba in workshop development, served as an ensemble member and understudied the lead role. 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, with the exception of some minor ensemble changes and the replacement of Robert Morse with Joel Grey
Joel Grey
Joel Grey is an American stage and screen actor, singer, and dancer, best known for his role as the Master of Ceremonies in both the stage and film adaptation of the Kander & Ebb musical Cabaret. He has won the Academy Award, Tony Award and Golden Globe Award...
as the Wizard, John Horton with William Youmans
William Youmans
William Youmans is an American Broadway, film and television actor and singer, best known for originating the role of Doctor Dillamond in Wicked.-Broadway:...
as Doctor Dillamond and Kirk McDonald with Christopher Fitzgerald
Christopher Fitzgerald (actor)
Christopher Cantwell Fitzgerald is an American actor, singer, mime, clown, juggler, and acrobat. He is best known for his role as Boq in the musical Wicked and his role of Igor in Young Frankenstein, for which he earned Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, and Tony Award...
as Boq while Eden Espinosa
Eden Espinosa
Eden Erica Espinosa is an American singer and stage actress, who is best known for her performances as Elphaba for the Broadway, Los Angeles and San Francisco productions of the musical Wicked....
and Laura Bell Bundy
Laura Bell Bundy
Laura Ashley Bell Bundy is an American actress and singer who has performed in a number of Broadway roles, both starring and supporting, as well as in television and film. Her best known Broadway roles are the original Amber Von Tussle in Hairspray and the original Elle Woods in the musical...
were added as standbys
Understudy
In theater, an understudy is a performer who learns the lines and blocking/choreography of a regular actor or actress in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to appear on stage because of illness or emergencies, the understudy takes over the part...
for Elphaba and Glinda respectively. Since its opening in 2003, the Broadway production has included a variety of cast members in a number of different roles.
Other North American productions
In 2005, the first national North American tour started in Toronto, Ontario, and has since visited numerous cities throughout the United States and Canada. Stephanie J. Block was set to open the tour as Elphaba with previews beginning March 8, but after having sustained a minor injury in rehearsal, Kristy CatesKristy Cates
Kristen "Kristy" Cates is an American actress and singer, best known for her role as Elphaba in the Chicago production of Wicked...
temporarily took her place. Previews were therefore postponed until the following day. After some delay, Block made her debut on March 25, and the tour officially opened on March 31. The original touring cast also included Kendra Kassebaum
Kendra Kassebaum
Kendra Kassebaum is an American theatre actress who has performed in many different musicals , and is most noted for her role as Glinda in the first national tour, Broadway, and San Francisco casts of Wicked.- Biography :Kendra Kassebaum was born May 12, 1973, in St Louis, Missouri...
as Glinda, Derrick Williams as Fiyero, Jenna Leigh Green
Jenna Leigh Green
Jenna Leigh Green is an American actress and singer best known for her performances as Libby Chessler on the television show Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and on Broadway and on tour in the musical Wicked.-Early life and career:...
as Nessarose, Carol Kane
Carol Kane
Carolyn Laurie "Carol" Kane is an American actress. Kane has worked on the stage, on the screen and in television. She appeared on the television series Taxi in the early 1980s, as the wife of the character played by Andy Kaufman. She received two Emmy Awards for her work...
as Madame Morrible, Timothy Britten Parker
Timothy Britten Parker
Timothy Britten Parker , also known as Toby, is an American stage, film, and television actor.-Background:Parker was born in Iowa City, Iowa and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. He moved to New York City with his family in 1977 as he began pursuing his professional career. Toby is one of eight children...
as Doctor Dillamond, Logan Lipton as Boq, and David Garrison
David Garrison
David Gene Garrison is an American actor. His primary venue is live theatre, but he may be more widely known for his numerous television roles, particularly that of Steve Rhoades on Married... with Children...
as the Wizard. Like the Broadway production, the first national North American tour has had a large number of different actors play the eight principal characters since its opening. In 2009, a second national tour of North American began. While previews began on March 7, 2009 at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall in Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers is the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. Its population was 62,298 in the 2010 census, a 29.23 percent increase over the 2000 figure....
, the production officially opened on March 12, 2009. Like the first, this touring production has since visited numerous cities throughout North America. The original cast starred Marcie Dodd
Marcie Dodd
Marcie Dodd is an American stage performer, best known for playing Elphaba and Nessarose in various US companies of the hit musical Wicked.- Early life and career :...
as Elphaba, Helene Yorke as Glinda, Colin Donnell as Fiyero, Kristine Reese as Nessarose, Marilyn Caskey as Madame Morrible, David deVries as Doctor Dillamond, Ted Ely as Boq, and Tom McGowan
Tom McGowan
Thomas "Tom" McGowan is an American actor, known for his recurring roles on Frasier, as KACL station manager Kenny Daly; Everybody Loves Raymond, as Ray's friend Bernie; and on The War at Home, as Dave Gold's friend Joe. McGowan also appeared on Curb Your Enthusiasm as a disgruntled fan of Larry's...
as the Wizard. Notable cast replacements have included Don Amendolia
Don Amendolia
Don Amendolia is an American actor most notably recognized from his recurring role as Big Al Kennedy in NBC's soap opera Sunset Beach, recurring role on Twin Peaks and many other guest roles. He also directed one episode of Growing Pains and two episodes of Harry and the Hendersons...
as the Wizard and Vicki Noon
Vicki Noon
Vicki Noon is an American theater performer, who played the lead role of Elphaba on the Second National Tour of Wicked, a role she had previously covered in various other productions of the musical.-Early life:...
as Elphaba.
The success of the North American tours and original Broadway production provoked Chicago, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and San Francisco to produce their own sit-down productions. While the original touring cast intended to play a limited engagement from April 29 to June 12, 2005 at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago, producers decided to extend it to an open-ended run, making it the first non-Broadway sit-down production of Wicked. Opening at the same Chicago theatre the day after the touring production had finished, the original Chicago cast included Ana Gasteyer
Ana Gasteyer
Ana Kristina Gasteyer is an American actress of stage, film, and television. She is best known for her comedic roles when she was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2002.-Early life:...
as Elphaba, Kate Reinders
Kate Reinders
Kate Reinders is an American musical theatre actress, who has performed as lead and understudy in several Broadway shows. Reinders was born in Seattle, Washington, but raised in Muskegon, Michigan...
as Glinda, Rondi Reed
Rondi Reed
Rondi Reed is an American stage actress, singer and performer.-Career:Reed has been a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago, Illinois, for 30 years, appearing in 51 productions with the company....
as Madame Morrible, Kristoffer Cusick
Kristoffer Cusick
Kristoffer Cusick is a Broadway actor. He has performed in such musicals as Saturday Night Fever, Rent and Wicked.-Wicked:Kristoffer Cusick was one of the original understudies for Fiyero in the hit 2003 musical Wicked. He performed the role of Fiyero on Broadway starting on November 25, 2003 and...
as Fiyero, Telly Leung as Boq, Heidi Kettenring as Nessarose and Gene Weygandt as the Wizard. Notable cast replacements included Kristy Cates
Kristy Cates
Kristen "Kristy" Cates is an American actress and singer, best known for her role as Elphaba in the Chicago production of Wicked...
, Dee Roscioli
Dee Roscioli
Dee Roscioli is an American singer and actress, who is known for her performances as "Elphaba" in the Chicago, San Francisco, Broadway and national touring productions of the musical Wicked.-Education:She graduated from Wilson Area High School in 1995 and DeSales University in 1999...
, and Lisa Brescia
Lisa Brescia
Lisa Brescia, born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is an American musical theatre actress who has performed as lead and understudy in several Broadway shows. Raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Lisa went on to pursue acting and graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts...
as Elphaba; Erin Mackey
Erin Mackey
Erin Mackey is a stage actress/singer, best known for playing the role of Glinda in the Chicago, Los Angeles and Broadway productions of Wicked.-Career:...
, Kate Fahrner
Kate Fahrner
Kate Fahrner is an American actress and singer.She appeared in The Full Monty and Cats national tours. She appeared in the Off-Broadway musical production of Sarah, Plain and Tall in 2006 as an understudy for Anna and Caleb....
, and Annaleigh Ashford
Annaleigh Ashford
Annaleigh Ashford is an American actress known for her Broadway credits in Wicked, Legally Blonde, and Hair.-Early life:Annaleigh Ashford was born Annaleigh Swanson in Denver, Colorado to Holli Swanson, a gym teacher...
as Glinda; Brad Bass
Brad Bass
Brad Bass is an American stage actor and singer who is best known for his roles in the Chicago production of Wicked, along with Dee Roscioli and Erin Mackey. He briefly took over the role of "'Fiyero'" beginning on December 12, 2006. He appeared in Taste of Chicago to sing "Dancing Through Life"...
as Fiyero; Barbara Robertson
Barbara Robertson
Barbara Robertson is an American actress and singer. She is currently playing the role of "Jan the Unnamed" for the American Theatre Company's Pre-Broadway Chicago production of "Yeast Nation". Recently she played the role of Mame at the Drury Lane Theatre....
as Madame Morrible; and William Youmans
William Youmans
William Youmans is an American Broadway, film and television actor and singer, best known for originating the role of Doctor Dillamond in Wicked.-Broadway:...
as Doctor Dillamond. The production closed on January 25, 2009, after over 1,500 performances. The touring production returned to Chicago for a special engagement at the Cadillac Palace Theatre
Cadillac Palace Theatre
The Cadillac Palace Theatre is operated by Broadway In Chicago, a Nederlander Presentation. It is located at 151 West Randolph Street in the Chicago Loop area downtown.-History:...
from December 1, 2010 to January 23, 2011. Former Chicago cast members Barbara Robertson as Madame Morrible and Gene Weygandt as the Wizard reprised their roles.
An open-ended production ran in Los Angeles, California at the Pantages Theatre
Pantages Theatre (Hollywood)
The Pantages Theatre, formerly known as RKO Pantages Theatre, is located at Hollywood and Vine , Hollywood, California, USA. Designed by architect B. Marcus Priteca, it was the last theater built by the vaudeville impresario Alexander Pantages...
. Performances began on February 10, 2007, with an official opening on February 21. Megan Hilty
Megan Hilty
Megan Kathleen Hilty is an American stage and television actress.- Early years :Hilty was born in Bellevue, Washington and is the daughter of Jack and Donna Hilty. She attended Sammamish High School in Bellevue and the Washington Academy of Performing Arts Conservatory High School in Redmond,...
and original Broadway standby Eden Espinosa were Glinda and Elphaba respectively while Carol Kane was Madame Morrible, Timothy Britten Parker was Doctor Dillamond, Jenna Leigh Green was Nessarose, Adam Wylie
Adam Wylie
Adam Augustus Wylie is an American television and motion picture actor, as well as a Broadway musical performer and a former Crayola spokesman.-Early life:...
was Boq, Kristoffer Cusick was Fiyero, and John Rubinstein
John Rubinstein
John Arthur Rubinstein is an American film, Broadway, and television actor, a composer of film and theatre music, and a director in theatre and television.-Early life:...
was the Wizard. Notable cast replacements included Caissie Levy
Caissie Levy
Caissie Shira Reiser , known professionally as Caissie Levy, is a Canadian stage actress and singer.-Early Life:...
and Teal Wicks
Teal Wicks
Teal Wicks is an American singer and stage actress, best known for her performance as Elphaba in the Broadway, San Francisco, and Los Angeles productions of the musical Wicked.-Education:...
as Elphaba; Erin Mackey as Glinda; Jo Anne Worley
Jo Anne Worley
Jo Anne Worley is an American actress. Her work covers television, films, theater, game shows, talk shows, commercials, and cartoons. She is best known for her work on the comedy-variety show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.-Biography:...
as Madame Morrible; David Garrison as the Wizard; and Marcie Dodd as Nessarose. The production closed on January 11, 2009, after 791 performances and 12 previews. The first North American touring production will return to the Pantages Theatre for a limited engagement from November 30, 2011 until January 22, 2012. Additionally, the San Francisco production of Wicked officially opened February 6, 2009, at SHN's Orpheum Theatre, following previews from January 27. 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
Deedee Magno
Deedee Lynn Magno Hall is an American actress and singer, formerly a member of the pop group The Party. She also lent her voice to the Disney show The All New Mickey Mouse Club. She also appears as Jasmine on the Aladdin a Musical Spectacular Soundtrack...
as Nessarose, Tom Flynn as Doctor Dillamond, and Eddy Rioseco as Boq. Notable cast replacements included Eden Espinosa and Marcie Dodd as Elphaba, Alli Mauzey
Alli Mauzey
Alli Mauzey is an American actress from Anaheim Hills, California.She made her Broadway debut as Brenda in Hairspray in 2003. Her "big break" came when she starred as Lenora in the Broadway musical Cry Baby for which she won a Theatre World Award and was nominated for a Drama League Award.In...
as Glinda, Lee Wilkof
Lee Wilkof
Lee Wilkof is an American actor and veteran of the Broadway stage. He originated the roles of Sam Byck in Assassins and Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, later earning a Tony Award nomination for the 2000 revival of Kiss Me, Kate...
and Tom McGowan as the Wizard, and Patty Duke
Patty Duke
Anna Marie "Patty" Duke is an American actress of stage, film, and television. First becoming famous as a child star, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16, and later starring in her eponymous sitcom for three years, she progressed to more mature roles upon playing Neely...
as Madame Morrible. The production closed on September 5, 2010, after 672 performances and 12 previews.
West End production
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
production opened on September 27, 2006 at the Apollo Victoria Theatre
Apollo Victoria Theatre
The Apollo Victoria Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Wilton Road near Victoria station in the City of Westminster. Opened as a cinema and variety theatre, the Apollo Victoria became a venue for musical theatre, beginning with The Sound of Music in 1981, and including the long-running...
, after previews started on September 7, 2006. Having ran for over five years, this production is currently booking until October 27, 2012 after celebrating its fifth anniversary on September 27, 2011 with a special curtain call featuring former West End cast members. This production was tailored slightly for a British audience, including minor creative changes to dialogue, choreography, and special effects. Most of these changes were later incorporated into all productions of Wicked. The West End production reunited the show's original creative team with Idina Menzel, who reprised the role of Elphaba from the original Broadway production. Original London cast members included Helen Dallimore
Helen Dallimore
Helen Dallimore is an Australian actress, known for originating the role of Glinda in the West End production of Wicked.-Background:...
as Glinda, Miriam Margolyes
Miriam Margolyes
Miriam Margolyes, OBE is an English actress and voice artist. Her earliest roles were in theatre and after several supporting roles in film and television she won a BAFTA Award for her role in The Age of Innocence .-Early life:...
as Madame Morrible, Adam Garcia
Adam Garcia
Adam Garcia is an Australian actor and tap dancer of partial Colombian descent .-Career:...
as Fiyero, Martin Ball
Martin Ball
Martin Ball is an English theatre and television actor. He was born and grew up in Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent. He trained at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, and graduated in 1992.-Career:...
as Doctor Dillamond, James Gillan
James Gillan (actor)
James Gillan is a Scottish stage actor born in Glasgow, and trained at The Arts Educational Schools in London....
as Boq, Katie Rowley Jones
Katie Rowley Jones
Katie Rowley Jones is a musical theatre actress best known for her portrayal of Nessarose in Wicked.-Early life and education:...
as Nessarose and Nigel Planer
Nigel Planer
Nigel George Planer is an English actor, comedian, novelist and playwright.Planer is perhaps best known for his role as Neil Pye in the cult BBC comedy The Young Ones. He has appeared in many West End musicals, including Evita, Chicago, We Will Rock You, Wicked and Hairspray...
as the Wizard. After Menzel's three-month run in the production, she was replaced by Kerry Ellis
Kerry Ellis
Kerry Jane Ellis is an English stage actress and singer who is best known for her work in musical theatre and subsequent crossover into music...
, who later transferred to the Broadway production. Ellis' replacement, Alexia Khadime
Alexia Khadime
Alexia Khadime is an English actress and mezzo-soprano, known for her roles in British musical theatre and television. Alexia's break came in 2004 when she was cast as Nala in the British rendition of the musical The Lion King at Lyceum Theatre, London...
, became the first woman of black race to assume the lead role of Elphaba. Other notable replacements have included Rachel Tucker
Rachel Tucker
Rachel Tucker is a Northern Irish singer and actress who competed as one of the finalists in the BBC talent show-themed television series I'd Do Anything in 2008...
as Elphaba; Dianne Pilkington
Dianne Pilkington
Dianne Lesley Pilkington is an English theatre actress and singer.- Life :Pilkington was born in Wigan. She trained at the Guildford School of Acting, graduating in 1997 with the Principal's Award....
and Louise Dearman
Louise Dearman
Louise Dearman is a British musical theatre performer, currently playing the role of Glinda in the West End production of Wicked. She has a number of other professional stage and television credits, such as Eva Perón in Evita, and released her debut solo album, You and I, in 2005.-Early...
as Glinda; Oliver Tompsett
Oliver Tompsett
Oliver Tompsett is a British stage actor and singer best known for his portrayal of Fiyero in the West End production of the musical Wicked.- Biography :...
, Lewis Bradley
Lewis Bradley
Lewis Bradley is a British musical theatre actor, who came third place in the BBC reality talent show Any Dream Will Do. He was later chosen by Andrew Lloyd Webber to understudy the winning role of Joseph....
and Lee Mead
Lee Mead
Lee Stephen Mead is an English musical theatre actor, best known for winning the title role in the 2007 West End revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat through the BBC reality TV casting show Any Dream Will Do...
as Fiyero; Caroline Keiff
Caroline Keiff
Caroline Keiff is a British theatre performer, best known for her portrayal of Nessarose in Wicked. She was member of the original London cast and performed on the show's opening night of September 27, 2006. She performed in the ensemble and understudied the role of Nessarose. From July 2007, she...
and Natalie Anderson
Natalie Anderson
-Personal life:Anderson was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. She married fiancé James Shepherd at a ceremony in Harrogate on 6 June 2008.-Biography:...
as Nessarose; Susie Blake
Susie Blake
Susie Blake is a British actress.-Personal life:Blake trained at the Arts Educational School and LAMDA in London. She is the granddaughter of the actress Annette Mills and a great - niece of the actor Sir John Mills...
, Harriet Thorpe
Harriet Thorpe
-TV:She was in the mid-to-late 1990s British television sitcom The Brittas Empire, playing Carole Parkinson, the receptionist who was prone to depression and fits of emotion who permanently kept her children with her, in drawers under her desk and would sometimes be seen feeding them or washing...
and Julie Legrand as Madame Morrible; and Desmond Barrit
Desmond Barrit
Desmond Barrit is a Laurence Olivier Award winning, British actor, best known for his stage work.-Biography:Barrit was born on 19 October 1944 in Morriston, Swansea, Wales....
, Sam Kelly
Sam Kelly
Sam Kelly is an English actor who has appeared in television, radio and theatre.-Career:He has had roles in British sitcoms such as Porridge as Bunny Warren, Allo 'Allo! as Captain Hans Geering leaving after series three, On the Up as Dennis Waterman's chauffeur and We'll Think of Something as Les...
and Clive Carter
Clive Carter
Clive Carter is a British actor and singer.Carter studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. His West End theatre credits include Someone Like You with Petula Clark, A Man for All Seasons with Martin Shaw, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Brendan Fraser and Ned Beatty, We Will Rock You, I...
as the Wizard. Upcoming replacements include Gina Beck
Gina Beck
Gina Beck is an English actress and singer known primarily for her roles in leading musical theatre productions. Gina recently starred as Christine Daaé in Cameron Mackintosh's production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera in London's West End for two years...
as Glinda and Matt Willis
Matt Willis
Matthew James Willis is an English singer-songwriter. He found fame as a founding member of the band Busted.- Early years :...
as Fiyero.
Subsequent international productions
A condensed thirty minute version of the musical played at Universal Studios JapanUniversal Studios Japan
, located in Osaka, is one of four Universal Studios theme parks, owned and operated by USJ Co., Ltd. . The park is similar to Universal Orlando Resort, since it contains many of the same rides. Most visitors are Japanese tourists or tourists from other Asian countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong,...
in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Australian Jemma Rix
Jemma Rix
Jemma Rix is an Australian theatre performer, currently starring as Elphaba in the Australian touring production of Wicked. Previously, she played the role during the Sydney season, served as standby in Melbourne, and performed in the 30-minute show at Universal Studios Japan...
was part of the original cast, alternating the role of Elphaba with Jillian Giaachi and Taylor Jordan. The show, which opened on July 12, 2006, featured the preliminary storyline of Act 1 but Fiyero, Madame Morrible, Boq, Nessarose and Doctor Dillamond were absent and there were considerable changes in sets and costumes. The final performance took place on January 11, 2011. The first replicated non-English production opened in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan, on June 17, 2007 with Hamada Megumi as Elphaba and Numao Miyuki as Glinda. The production closed on September 6, 2009, in preparation for its transfer to Osaka. After opening on October 11, 2009, the Osaka production closed on February 13, 2011, featuring Ebata Masae as Elphaba with Tomada Asako as Glinda. The production then moved again to Fukuoka
Fukuoka
Fukuoka most often refers to the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture.It can also refer to:-Locations:* Fukuoka, Gifu, a town in Gifu Prefecture, Japan* Fukuoka, Toyama, a town in Toyama Prefecture, Japan...
on April 2, 2011 where its original stars were Ebata Masae (Elphaba) and Numao Miyuki (Glinda). After its closure in Fukuoka on August 28, 2011, the production re-located to Nagoya with performances beginning September 23. It stars Masae and Asako as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively.
Renamed Wicked: Die Hexen von Oz (German: 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
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
. Willemijn Verkaik
Willemijn Verkaik
Willemijn Verkaik , is a Dutch singer and actress. She was born in Son en Breugel, Netherlands, but grew up in Nuenen near Eindhoven. She graduated from the Rotterdam Conservatory....
played Elphaba, Lucy Scherer played Glinda, Mark Seibert played Fiyero, Angelika Wedekind was Madame Morrible, Nicole Radeschnig was Nessarose, Stefan Stara was Boq, Michael Gunther was Doctor Dillamond, and Carlo Lauber played the Wizard. The production closed on January 29, 2010, and transferred to Oberhausen
Oberhausen
Oberhausen is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen . The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage. It is also well known for the...
where previews began at the Metronom Theater am CentrO on March 5, 2010, with an opening night of March 8. The cast featured Willemijn Verkaik as Elphaba, Joana Fee Würz as Glinda, Barbara Raugnegger as Madame Morrible, Mathias Edenborn as Fiyero, Janine Tippl as Nessarose, Ben Darmanin as Boq, Thomas Wissmann as Doctor Dillamond, and Carlo Lauber as the Wizard. Willemijn Verkaik left the role of Elphaba on February 27, 2011, after being consistently billed as lead for almost three and a half years between the Stuttgart and Oberhausen productions. The Oberhausen production closed on September 2, 2011.
An Australian production officially opened on July 12, 2008, with previews commencing June 27 at the Regent Theatre
Regent Theatre, Melbourne
The Regent Theatre is a 2162 seat theatre in Melbourne, Australia. It is listed by the National Trust of Australia and is on the Victorian Heritage Register.-History:...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. Amanda Harrison
Amanda Harrison
Amanda Harrison is an Australian musical theatre performer who will be originating the role of Paula in the World Premiere of An Officer and a Gentleman in Sydney 2012.-Early years:...
and Lucy Durack
Lucy Durack
Lucy Durack is an Australian musical theatre performer most recognised for playing Glinda in the Australian production of Wicked.-Biography:...
played Elphaba and Glinda respectively, with Maggie Kirkpatrick
Maggie Kirkpatrick
Maggie Kirkpatrick is an Australian actress, who is best known for her portrayal of the iconic character Joan Ferguson, a sadistic and corrupt lesbian prison officer known to the prisoners as "The Freak" in the popular Australian television soap opera, Prisoner...
as Madame Morrible, Rob Guest
Rob Guest
Robert John Guest, OBE was a British born New Zealand-Australian actor and singer, best known for his work in Australian musical theatre, particularly in various productions of The Phantom of the Opera...
as the Wizard, Rob Mills
Rob Mills
Rob Mills is an Australian singer best known as one of the finalists from Australian Idol 2003. He was a co-host on the late-night quiz show The Mint as well as a regular singer on the game show The Singing Bee both on the Nine Network...
as Fiyero, Anthony Callea
Anthony Callea
Anthony Cosmo Callea is an Australian singer-songwriter who rose to prominence in the 2004 season of Australian Idol when he became runner up. He was signed to Sony Music Australia until 2009 and is now an independent artist...
as Boq, Penny McNamee as Nessarose and Rodney Dobson as Doctor Dillamond. However, Rob Guest, who played the Wizard, died suddenly on October 2, 2008, after suffering a stroke two days earlier. Australian personality Bert Newton
Bert Newton
Albert Watson "Bert" Newton, AM, MBE is an Australian television personality, known for hosting television series such as In Melbourne Tonight, Good Morning Australia and 20 to 1. Newton has also hosted the Logie Awards on numerous occasions through his career.-Early life:Newton was born in...
was brought in as his replacement six weeks later. In addition, Carmen Cusack
Carmen Cusack (Actress)
Carmen Cusack is a musical theater actress and singer, best known for playing Elphaba in the Chicago, National Tour and Melbourne productions of the hit musical Wicked.-Early life and Career:...
, from the first North American tour and Chicago companies, made her Australian debut as the temporary standby for Elphaba while Amanda Harrison was on extended leave and regular standby Jemma Rix was performing as lead. The Melbourne production closed on August 9, 2009, after 464 performances. The production then transferred to Sydney's Capitol Theatre
Capitol Theatre, Sydney
The Capitol Theatre is a historic theatre building located at 13 Campbell Street, Haymarket, Sydney, Australia.-History:The Capitol Theatre is at the former site of the Belmore Markets. The latter were built in 1891 by George McRae, City Architect, and the structural engineer Norman Selfe, but were...
. Previews began there on September 5, 2009, with the official opening on September 12, 2009. Most of the Melbourne cast transferred but understudy James D. Smith took over as Boq. Notable cast replacements included Jemma Rix, Pippa Grandison
Pippa Grandison
Pippa Jody Grandison is an Australian musical theatre performer. She currently lives in Sydney, with husband Steve Le Marquand and daughter Charlie.-Career:...
and Patrice Tipoki alternating as Elphaba and Tim Campbell as Fiyero. Part way through the Sydney season, Elisa Colla replaced Penny McNamee as Nessarose. The production closed on September 26, 2010, after 412 performances and 8 previews.
Following successful seasons in Melbourne and Sydney, an Australian tour began at the QPAC
Queensland Performing Arts Centre
The Queensland Performing Arts Centre is part of the Queensland Cultural Centre and is located on the corner of Melbourne Street and Grey Street in Brisbane's South Bank precinct....
Lyric Theatre in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. After a two week delay due to the Queensland floods
2010–2011 Queensland floods
A series of floods hit Australia, beginning in December 2010, primarily in the state of Queensland including its capital city, Brisbane. The floods forced the evacuation of thousands of people from towns and cities. At least seventy towns and over 200,000 people were affected. Damage initially was...
, performances began January 25, 2011, and ran until April 2. The touring production then moved to the Festival Centre in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, running from April 14 until June 4, 2011, and recently played its final leg at the Burswood Theatre in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, starting on June 19, 2011. The cast includes Sydney alumi Lucy Durack as Glinda, Jemma Rix as Elphaba, Maggie Kirkpatrick as Madame Morrible, Bert Newton as the Wizard, Elisa Colla as Nessarose, Rodney Dobson as Doctor Dillamond and James D. Smith as Boq while Wicked newcomer David Harris plays Fiyero. The Perth engagement finished on September 11, 2011, wrapping up more than 3 years of performances in Australia. This production will then transfer to Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
's Grand Theater in Marina Bay Sands from December 7, 2011 onwards, beginning an open-ended Asian tour. Other confirmed destinations include Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
and Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
. The tour is set for an engagement in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
by 2013. Jemma Rix will play Elphaba, while Australian understudy Suzie Mathers takes over as Glinda. They will be joined by David Harris (Fiyero), Bert Newton (The Wizard), James D. Smith (Boq) and Elisa Colla (Nessarose), who all reprise their roles. Joining them is Glen Hogstrom, who replaces Rodney Dobson in the role of Doctor Dillamond and Anne Wood, who replaces Maggie Kirkpatrick in the role of Madame Morrible.
A brand new production, notable for not being a replica of the original Broadway staging, opened at the City Theatre in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
on August 26, 2010 after a preview performance took place on August 24. Directed by Hans Berndtsson, the production stars Maria Ylipää as Elphaba, Anna-Maija Tuokko as Glinda, Tuukka Leppänen as Fiyero, Ursula Salo as Madame Morrible, Vuokko Hovatta as Nessarose, Antti Lang as Boq, Heikki Sankari as Doctor Dillamond, and Eero Saarinen as the Wizard. The second non-replicated production ran in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
from January 12 until May 29, 2011, and was presented by Det Ny Teater. The cast included Annette Heick as Glinda, Maria Lucia Heiberg Rosenberg as Elphaba, John Martin Bengtsson as Fiyero, Marianne Mortensen as Madame Morrible, Anais Lueken as Nessarose, Kim Hammelsvang Henriksen as Boq, Kristian Boland as Doctor Dillamond and Steen Springborg as the Wizard.
A Dutch-language production began previews at the Circus Theater in Scheveningen, The Netherlands on October 26, 2011. The official opening took place on November 6. Willemijn Verkaik reprises her role of Elphaba from the German productions, becoming the first actress to play the role in two different languages. She is joined by Chantal Janzen
Chantal Janzen
Chantal Janzen is a Dutch actress and musical star. She starred in The Preacher, Full Moon Party and Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo and presented Idols....
as Glinda, Jim Bakkum
Jim Bakkum
Jimmy "Jim" Johannes Bakkum is a Dutch singer, actor, stage actor and television personality. Rising to nationwide fame after becoming runner-up in the first season of Dutch singing competition series Idols, he has released five albums and made a career in musicals and film...
as Fiyero, Pamela Teves as Madame Morrible, Christanne de Bruijn as Nessarose, Niels Jacobs as Boq, Jochem Feste Roozemond as Doctor Dillamond and Bill van Dijk in the role of the Wizard.
In December 2011, a Singapore production will open at the Marina Bay
Marina Bay
Marina Bay is a bay near Central Area in the southern part of Singapore, and lies to the east of the Downtown Core. Marina Bay is set to be a 24/7 destination with endless opportunities for people to “explore new living and lifestyle options, exchange new ideas and information for business, and be...
resorts, which previously hosted The Lion King
The Lion King (musical)
The Lion King is a musical based on the 1994 Disney animated film of the same name with music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice along with the musical score created by Hans Zimmer with choral arrangements by Lebo M. Directed by Julie Taymor, the musical features actors in animal costumes as well...
. With Jemma Rix as Elphaba and Suzie Mathers as Glinda.
Music analysis
The score of Wicked is heavily thematicTheme (music)
In music, a theme is the material, usually a recognizable melody, upon which part or all of a composition is based.-Characteristics:A theme may be perceivable as a complete musical expression in itself, separate from the work in which it is found . In contrast to an idea or motif, a theme is...
, bearing in some senses more resemblance to a film score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
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 leitmotif
Leitmotif
A leitmotif , sometimes written leit-motif, is a musical term , referring to a recurring theme, associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical idea of idée fixe...
s throughout the production. Some of these motifs indicate irony – for example, when Galinda presents Elphaba with a "ghastly" hat in "Dancing through Life", the score reprises a theme from "What is this Feeling?" a few scenes earlier, in which Elphaba and Glinda had espoused their mutual loathing.
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
The Survival of St. Joan
The Survival of St. Joan is a rock opera by Smoke Rise on a libretto by James Lineberger. To date, it has not been issued on compact disc. It was first produced as a concept album on Paramount Records PAS-9000 by Stephen Schwartz in 1971...
, 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
Bridge (music)
In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...
, 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, the theme appears as an interlude
Section (music)
In music, a section is "a complete, but not independent musical idea". Types of sections include the introduction or intro, exposition, recapitulation, verse, chorus or refrain, conclusion, coda or outro, fadeout, bridge or interlude...
in several of the musical numbers. In a tribute to Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
, who wrote the score for the 1939 film adaptation
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
, the "Unlimited" melody incorporates the first seven notes of the song "Over the Rainbow
Over the Rainbow
"Over the Rainbow" is a classic Academy Award-winning ballad song with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg. It was written for the movie The Wizard of Oz, and was sung by Judy Garland in the movie...
." Schwartz included it as an inside joke as, "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
A cast recordingCast recording
A cast recording is a recording of a musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording, as the name implies, features the voices of the show's original cast...
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)" 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
Stephen Oremus
Stephen Oremus is an American musician who has worked on Broadway theatre productions as musical director and as orchestrator. His credits include arranger and orchestrator for the music for Avenue Q, musical director and arranger for Wicked, arranger and orchestrator for All Shook Up, and musical...
, who was also the conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
and musical director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
, and James Lynn Abbott, with orchestrations by William David Brohn
William David Brohn
William David Brohn is an American arranger and orchestrator, best known for his theatre scores of musicals such as Miss Saigon, Ragtime and Wicked...
. The recording received the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album
Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album
The Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album has been awarded since 1959. The award was given only to the album producer, and to the composer and lyricist who wrote at least 51% of the music which had not been recorded previously....
in 2005 and was certified platinum
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
by the RIAA on November 30, 2006. The album was certified double platinum
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
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
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
on guitar), Menzel's dance mix of "Defying Gravity", and "For Good" sung by LeAnn Rimes
LeAnn Rimes
LeAnn Rimes is an American country/pop singer. She is known for her rich vocals and her rise to fame as an eight-year-old champion on the original Ed McMahon version of Star Search, followed by the release of the Patsy Cline-intended single "Blue" when Rimes was only age 13, resulting in her...
and Delta Goodrem
Delta Goodrem
Delta Lea Goodrem is an Australian singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress. Signed to Sony at the age of 15, Goodrem rose to prominence in 2002, starring in the Australian soap opera Neighbours as Nina Tucker. Goodrem has achieved eight number-one singles and three number-one albums in her home...
.
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.
Critical reception
The Broadway production opened on October 30, 2003, to mixed reviews from theatre critics. Menzel and Chenoweth received nearly unanimous praise for their performances as Elphaba and Glinda. Both USA Today and Time Magazine gave the Broadway production of Wicked very positive reviews, with Richard Zoglin of Time saying, "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, as described below. Speaking to The Arizona RepublicThe Arizona Republic
The Arizona Republic is a daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. It was ranked tenth in US daily newspapers by circulation in 2007.-Early years:The newspaper was founded...
in 2006, Schwartz commented, "What can I say? Reviews are reviews.... I know we divided the critics. We didn't divide the audience, and that's what counts."
International productions have opened to similarly ambivalent critical reception. 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
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
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
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
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 gave extremely negative remarks to his viewing of the London production, calling the attempt at topical political allegory "well-meaning but also melodramatic, incoherent and dreadfully superficial" while deploring the acting, songs and book, concluding that "the production manages to feel at once overblown and empty."
Commercial reception
Market capitalization
Market capitalization is a measurement of the value of the ownership interest that shareholders hold in a business enterprise. It is equal to the share price times the number of shares outstanding of a publicly traded company...
, 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
The Producers (musical)
The Producers is a musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks' 1968 film of the same name, with lyrics written by Brooks and music composed by Brooks and arranged by Glen Kelly and Doug Besterman. As in the film, the story concerns two theatrical producers who scheme to get rich...
, for the highest weekly box office gross in Broadway history, earning $1,610,934. Similarly, in the week ending March 4, 2007, the Los Angeles production grossed $1,786,110, becoming the highest-grossing attraction in Los Angeles theatre history, taking another record from The Producers, which had set the record in June 2003 at the same Los Angeles theatre. The Broadway production of Wicked broke its own record in November 2006, reaching $1,715,155 and set another new record, grossing $1,839,950, during the 2007 Christmas holiday season. Over the same period, the show also broke its own weekly gross records in Los Angeles ($1,949,968), Chicago ($1,418,363), and in St Louis ($2,291,608), as the seven worldwide productions of the show grossed a collective $11.2 million. About the Chicago production, producer David Stone told Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, "we thought it 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." While the Chicago production opened to gross $1,400,000 in its first week, it continually set records and became the longest-running Broadway musical in Chicago history.
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. In addition, over 2.2 million saw the touring production in its first two years, and it grossed over $155 million The tour has played to capacity crowds at almost every performance, with tickets for four-week engagements selling out in as little as seven hours while the Los Angeles production set the single-week record with a gross of $2,579,944 with nine performances during the week ending January 4, 2009. During the final week of its run, the same production again played at capacity, grossing $2,291,511, breaking its own record for a regular eight-performance week. The Los Angeles production grossed over $145 million and was seen by more than 1.8 million patrons. For the week ending November 29, 2009, Wicked became the first Broadway show in history to gross over $2 million for one week of performances, with a gross of $2,086,135. It broke its own record twice during that Christmas season, reaching a gross of $2,125,740 for the week ending January 3, 2010. The show's three other North American productions also broke house records in San Francisco ($1,485,692), Providence ($1,793,764) and Schenectady ($1,657,139), bringing the musical's one-week North American box office gross to $7,062,335. According to the San Francisco producer SHN, "More than 1 million people have seen this production of the show, which has grossed more than $75 million", as of April 2010. While the Broadway production of Wicked welcomed its 5 millionth audience member on September 29, 2010, the year of 2010 saw even more records broken. In the week ending October 17, 2010, Wicked became only the third musical in Broadway history to pass $500 million in total gross. By seats sold, it ranks tenth of all time. The week of November 28, 2010, the production earned $2,150,665 in addition to reaching a gross of $2,228,235 during the Christmas and New Year's weekend of that year.
Similar to the original North American productions of Wicked, subsequent international productions have equated the extremely positive reception at the box-office. Although West End theatres do not publish audited weekly grosses, the London production of Wicked claims to hold the record for highest reported one-week gross at £761,000, achieved in the week ending December 30, 2006. On June 23, 2008, the producers reported that over 1.4 million people had seen the London production since its opening, and grosses had topped £50 million. The same reports stated that the show has 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 London theatre history. Over 20,000 theatregoers attended the nine performances of Wicked that week. Similarly, the Melbourne production broke Australian box-office records, selling 24,750 tickets in three hours during pre-sales and grossing over $1.3 million worth in ticket sales 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.
Wicked celebrated its 1,000th performance on Broadway on March 23, 2006. The production, having played 3,299 performances, still runs today and currently stands as the 14th longest-running Broadway show in history. Several other productions have also reached the 1,000th performance figure, including the first North American touring company on August 15, 2007, the Chicago company on November 14, 2007, the West End company on February 14, 2009, the Australian company on May 7, 2011 and the second North American touring company on August 4, 2011. As of September 2011, Wickeds North American and international companies have cumulatively grossed nearly $2.4 billion and have been seen by nearly 30 million people worldwide.
Behind the Emerald Curtain The success of the Broadway production has led to the development of an auxiliary show, Behind the Emerald Curtain, created by Sean McCourt
Sean McCourt
Sean McCourt is an American stage performer, born in Detroit. His Broadway credits include Wicked, Titanic and Mary Poppins.McCourt starred in the original Broadway cast of Wicked, as the Witch's Father, the Ozian Official, and many other characters in Oz. He also served as an understudy for both...
– an original Broadway production cast member who played the Witch's Father, among other roles, in addition to understudying the Wizard and Doctor Dillamond, before taking over the latter principal role – and Anthony Galde who has been a swing
Understudy
In theater, an understudy is a performer who learns the lines and blocking/choreography of a regular actor or actress in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to appear on stage because of illness or emergencies, the understudy takes over the part...
in the Broadway company since 2004. 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 McCourt and Galde. 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 in to 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.
Wicked in popular culture
The extraordinary 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 and The War at HomeThe War at Home (TV series)
The War at Home is an American sitcom that ran from September 11, 2005 to April 22, 2007 on Fox. It follows the antics of a largely dysfunctional Long Island family...
while, for filming purposes, the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles doubled for the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway in an episode of Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea...
titled "Something Wicked This Way Comes
Something Wicked This Way Comes (Ugly Betty)
"Something Wicked This Way Comes" is the sixth episode in season two of the dramedy series Ugly Betty, and the 29th episode in the series, which aired on November 1, 2007. The episode was written by Henry Alonso Myers and directed by Wendey Stanzler...
" where Betty
Betty Suarez
Beatriz "Betty" U. Suarez is a central fictional character and heroine of the American dramedy series Ugly Betty. She is portrayed by America Ferrera, who won a 2007 Golden Globe and 2007 SAG award for her portrayal of the character, as well as the Outstanding Actress in a Comedy award for the role...
, the show's protagonist, goes to see Wicked on a date and accidentally stops the show. In the episode previous to this, "Brothers", Betty gets tickets to see Wicked and discusses with a friend how much she relates to Elphaba's outcast status in a popularity and beauty-oriented environment. In addition, The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "Donnie Fatso
Donnie Fatso
"Donnie Fatso" is the ninth episode of the twenty-second season of the animated comedy series The Simpsons. It first aired on Fox in the United States on December 12, 2010. The plot revolves around an FBI agent, who helps Homer go undercover to infiltrate Fat Tony's mob...
" sees Homer Simpson
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
and Moe Szyslak
Moe Szyslak
Momar / Morris "Moe" Szyslak is a fictional character in the American animated television series, The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"...
accidentally sneak into a Springfield production of the show.
The South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
episode Broadway Bro Down
Broadway Bro Down
"Broadway Bro Down" is the eleventh episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 220th episode overall...
features Wicked and other musicals and have these shows contain subliminal messaging
Subliminal stimuli
Subliminal stimuli , contrary to supraliminal stimuli or "above threshold", are any sensory stimuli below an individual's threshold for conscious perception. The large majority of research has found that subliminal messages do not produce strong or lasting changes in behavior...
. In the episode these messages persuade women into performing oral sex
Oral sex
Oral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
upon their spouse or boyfriend.
"Defying Gravity" was covered on the television series Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
in the "Wheels
Wheels (Glee)
"Wheels" is the ninth episode of the American television series Glee. Written by series creator Ryan Murphy and directed by Paris Barclay, the episode premiered on the Fox network on November 11, 2009...
" episode where two of the characters – the main female Rachel Berry (played by Lea Michele
Lea Michele
Lea Michele Sarfati , known professionally as Lea Michele, is an American actress and singer. Michele began working professionally as a child actress on Broadway in productions such as Ragtime and Les Misérables. She originated the role of Wendla in the musical Spring Awakening and currently plays...
) and a supporting male character Kurt Hummel
Kurt Hummel
Kurt Hummel is a fictional character and one of the male leads in the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. Series creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan initially conceived of him as a fashionable gay countertenor who is routinely bullied at school...
(played by Chris Colfer
Chris Colfer
Christopher Paul "Chris" Colfer is an American actor and singer known for his portrayal of Kurt Hummel on the television series Glee, for which he won a 2011 Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor and was also nominated twice for an Emmy...
) – competed for a lead role by singing the song. In a later episode titled "New York
New York (Glee)
"New York" is the twenty-second episode and season finale of the second season of the American musical television series Glee, and the 44th overall. The episode was written and directed by series creator Brad Falchuk, filmed in part on location in New York City, and first aired on May 24, 2011 on...
", the two duet on the Gershwin stage and sing "For Good". A clip of the song "Popular" plays in the 2009 movie Zombieland
Zombieland
Zombieland is a 2009 American zombie comedy film directed by Ruben Fleischer from a screenplay written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. The film stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin as survivors of a zombie apocalypse...
while the actor and musician John Barrowman
John Barrowman
John Scot Barrowman is a Scottish-American singer, actor, dancer, musical theatre performer and media personality. Born in Glasgow yet growing up in Illinois after his family emigrated to the United States when he was eight years old, Barrowman was encouraged to further his love for music and...
sang a version of "The Wizard and I" (retitled "The Doctor and I) on his 2008 UK tour, with adapted lyrics referring to his Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
and Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
character Jack
Jack Harkness
Captain Jack Harkness is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. He first appeared in the 2005 Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child" and reappeared in the remaining episodes of the 2005 series as a companion of the ninth incarnation of the...
's affection for The Doctor
Doctor (Doctor Who)
The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
. While Kerry Ellis' version of "I'm Not that Girl" appeared on the celebratory fifth-anniversary edition of the original Broadway cast recording, Ellis, who played Elphaba in the West End and the Broadway productions of Wicked, also recorded her own rock version of "Defying Gravity". Both songs were produced by British musician Brian May and featured him on guitar and were featured on her extended play Wicked in Rock
Wicked in Rock
- Credits and personnel :*Kerry Ellis - lead vocals, backing vocals*Brian May - arrangement, bass, guitars, keys, production, programming*Steve Sidwell - orchestral arranger, conductor*Taylor Hawkins - drums...
(2008) and her debut album Anthems
Anthems (Kerry Ellis album)
-Notes:* Tracks that were specifically written for this album.* Tracks that were originally songs by Queen.* Tracks 4, 5 and 10 were originally featured on Ellis' teaser album, Wicked in Rock....
(2010). She performed her version of "Defying Gravity" at the 2008 Royal Variety Performance
Royal Variety Performance
The Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance...
alongside May on guitar. A dance remix of her rock version of "Defying Gravity" was later released in 2011. Rapper Drake
Drake (entertainer)
Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....
sampled the musical's song "Popular" in his song of the same name.
Media as diverse as the anime series Red Garden
Red Garden
is a Japanese animated television program produced by Gonzo studios and broadcast in Japan on TV Asahi since October 3, 2006. The plot revolves around four girls who become involved in a series of supernatural murders happening throughout the vicinity of a fictional depiction of New York City...
, the daytime drama Passions
Passions
Passions is an American television soap opera which aired on NBC from July 5, 1999 to September 7, 2007 and on The 101 Network from September 17, 2007 to August 7, 2008....
and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer graphic novels
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics. The series serves as a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and follows the events of that show's final televised season. It is produced by Joss Whedon, who wrote the...
have all parodied Wickeds songs and characters. At the start of the second of three episodes of the miniseries, Tin Man
Tin Man (TV miniseries)
Tin Man is a 2007 four and a half hour miniseries co-produced by RHI Entertainment and Sci Fi Channel original pictures that was broadcast in the United States on the Sci Fi Channel in three parts. The first part aired on December 2, and the remaining two parts airing on the following nights...
(another adaptation of Baum's Ozian universe), protagonist DG refers to her father as "Popsicle" vice the more common names "Pop" or "Pappi", echoing Galinda in her letter home at the start of "What is this Feeling?". Also, in the second episode of the ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
drama series Huge
Huge (TV series)
Huge is a short lived American drama series that aired on the ABC Family television network. The series is based on the young-adult novel of the same name by Sasha Paley. The hour-long drama series revolves around eight teens sent to a summer weight-loss camp called Camp Victory...
, one of the characters wears a "Shiz University" athletic Dept t-shirt, while Wicked and its "long lines" have been mentioned in the Nickelodeon series iCarly
ICarly
iCarly is an American sitcom that focuses on a girl named Carly Shay who creates her own web show called iCarly with her best friends Sam and Freddie. The series was created by Dan Schneider, who also serves as executive producer. It stars Miranda Cosgrove as Carly, Jennette McCurdy as Sam, Nathan...
. The Broadway musical Shrek the Musical parodies the show's Act I finale with "What's Up, Duloc?"; character Lord Farquaad re-enacts "Defying Gravity" by proclaiming "No one's gonna bring me down" followed by the legato
Legato
In musical notation the Italian word legato indicates that musical notes are played or sung smoothly and connected. That is, in transitioning from note to note, there should be no intervening silence...
belt
Belt (music)
Belting refers to a specific technique of singing by which a singer produces a loud sound in the upper middle of the pitch range. It is often described as a vocal register although some dispute this since technically the larynx is not oscillating in a unique way...
while atop his castle.
Awards and nominations
The original Broadway production of Wicked was nominated for 10 Tony AwardTony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
s in 2004, including Best Musical
Tony Award for Best Musical
This is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Musical, first awarded in 1949. This award is presented to the producers of the musical.-1940s:* 1949: Kiss Me, Kate – Music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Samuel and Bella Spewack...
; Book
Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical
The Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical is awarded to librettists of the spoken, non-sung dialogue, and storyline of a musical play. Eligibility is restricted to works with original narrative framework; plotless revues and revivals are ineligible...
; Orchestrations
Tony Award for Best Orchestrations
-1990s:1997*Jonathan Tunick – Titanic**Michael Gibson - Steel Pier**Luther Henderson - Play On!**Don Sebesky and Harold Wheeler - The Life1998*William David Brohn – Ragtime**Robert Elhai, David Metzger and Bruce Fowler - The Lion King...
; Original Score
Tony Award for Best Original Score
The Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical in that year. The score consists of music and lyrics...
; Choreography
Tony Award for Best Choreography
-1940s:* 1947: Agnes de Mille – Brigadoon / Michael Kidd – Finian's Rainbow* 1948: Jerome Robbins – High Button Shoes* 1949: Gower Champion – Lend An Ear-1950s:* 1950: Helen Tamiris – Touch and Go* 1951: Michael Kidd – Guys and Dolls...
; Costume Design
Tony Award for Best Costume Design
These are the winners and nominees for the Tony Award for Best Costume Design. The award was first presented in 1947 and included both plays and musicals...
; Lighting Design
Tony Award for Best Lighting Design
This is a list of the winners of the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design in a play or musical, first presented in 1970. In 2005 the category was divided with each genre represented separately.-1970s:* 1970: Jo Mielziner – Child's Play...
; 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 Tony Awards for Best Scenic Design and Best Costume Design, notably losing Best Book, Original Score and ultimately Best Musical to Avenue Q
Avenue Q
Avenue Q is a musical in two acts, conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who wrote the music and lyrics. The book was written by Jeff Whitty and the show was directed by Jason Moore and produced by Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, and Jeffrey Seller...
. The same year, the show won 6 Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
s out of 11 nominations, including Outstanding Musical
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical was first awarded at the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since. Before the 21st Drama Desk Awards, acting awards were given without making distinctions between roles in straight dramas as opposed to musicals, nor were there...
, Book
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee which comprises New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...
, Director
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical was first awarded at the 1974–1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since...
and Costume Design
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...
in addition to winning 4 Outer Critics Circle Award
Outer Critics Circle Award
The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets...
s out of 10 nominations. The original Broadway cast recording also received the 2005 Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Musical Show Album
Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album
The Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album has been awarded since 1959. The award was given only to the album producer, and to the composer and lyricist who wrote at least 51% of the music which had not been recorded previously....
. Since its opening in 2003, the Broadway production of Wicked has accrued 32 awards out of 63 nominations, being consecutively nominated every year for at least one award.
Similarly, subsequent productions of the musical have equated in abundant success. The North American tours have garnered 12 awards out of 14 nominations while the Chicago production was nominated for 5 Joseph Jefferson Awards
Joseph Jefferson Awards
The Joseph Jefferson Awards are given annually by a volunteer non-profit committee to acknowledge excellence in theatre in the Chicago area. Founded in 1968, the awards are given in tribute to actor Joseph Jefferson...
. The West End production has received 5 Laurence Olivier Award nominations and despite not winning any in 2007, it won the Audience Award for Most Popular Show
Audience Award for Most Popular Show
See Olivier Awards for more information about the awards and a full list of categories and winners.The Laurence Olivier Awards are a series of awards presented annually by The Society of London Theatre. They are presented in recognition of achievements in commercial British theatre, most notably...
at the 2010 award ceremony. The original Australian production received 6 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.