15 Wicked Facts

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