On October 30, 2003, “Wicked,” premiered on Broadway. Originally starring Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, “Wicked” is one of only three musicals in American history to earn over $1 billion in ticket sales. The musical’s clever take on the untold story of the Witches of Oz made it one of the longest running musicals on Broadway.
The musical is based on Gregory Maguire’s novel, “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” which is an alternate telling of “The Wizard of Oz.” With a score by Stephen Schwartz, including songs like “Defying Gravity” and “Popular” and “For Good,” audiences follow the unlikely friendship between Glinda (The Good Witch of the North, originally played by Chenoweth) and Elphaba (The Wicked Witch of the West, originally played by Menzel) after they meet as sorcery students at Shiz University. Glinda is the blonde and popular sorceress-in-training, while Elphaba is the misunderstood green-complexioned one.
Ultimately, their lives take different turns when Glinda is seduced by power, while Elphaba is determined to stay true to herself. When they both fall in love with the same man, Fiyero, and respond differently to the Wizard of Oz’s corrupt government, their paths change irrevocably. The script for the musical, written by Emmy Award-winning writer, Winnie Holzman, takes place before, during and after “The Wizard of Oz” storyline. Following the two witches’ journeys in the musical version allows audiences to ponder what it truly means to be wicked. As the website for the musical explains, “Their initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships… until the world decides to call one good and the other one wicked.”
This summer, “Wicked” flew past “The Phantom of the Opera” as Broadway’s second-highest grossing musical (“The Lion King” holds the top spot). The success of “Wicked” in New York City has led to other successful productions of it around the world… and the long awaited film adaptation of “Wicked” is slated to hit movie theaters on December 20, 2019.