After last night seeing Wicked once more on its return season to Melbourne, I thought I’d post 15 wicked facts about one of the biggest musical theatre shows in the world.
| 1. Wicked opened at New York’s Gershwin Theatre on October 30, 2003 |
| 2. The original Broadway cast starred Kristen Chenoweth as Glinda and Idina Menzel as Elphaba |
| 3. Wicked’s music and lyrics are by Stephen Schwartz (Pippin 1972, Godspell 1976) |
| 4. Last week Wicked performed to over 15,000 people at the Gershwin Theatre (1928 seats) |
| 5. For most weeks in its 10+ year run, Wicked has been Broadway’s top grossing show |
| 6. Wicked’s highest weekly gross was Christmas 2013 at $3,201,333 (w/e 29 December) – a Broadway record |
| 7. The demand for Wicked is so great, every performance at the Gershwin is at near or full capacity |
| 8. Wicked on Broadway was a $14 million investment – recouping its costs in just 14 months |
| 9. Schwartz (music, lyrics), Holzman (book), Maguire (novel) have made a combined $95 million (as at 2012) |
| 10. In 2008, Wicked’s weekly running costs were $800,000 (I wonder what they are today?) |
| 11. 2004 Tony’s: Best Actress (Idina Menzel), Best Costume (Susan Hilferty), Best Scenic Design (Eugene Lee) |
| 12. To this date, Wicked has had 4,438 performances on Broadway, 11th longest in Broadway history |
| 13. Productions in fourteen countries, four continents, national tours of America, Asia, Australia, UK. |
| 14. Feature film rumoured for years, but now seems close (Les Miserables and Jersey Boys films helping) |
| 15. From October 2003 to June 2014, Wicked has grossed $845 million on Broadway |
Sources: IBDB, The Broadway League, StephenSchwartz.com, Bloomberg.com, MusicalsSchwartz.com, Wikipedia, Broadway Tour 2008
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