Wicked's Success

Wicked is so popular that it's a cultural phenomenon. On this page you'll find photos of the 1000th performance party and more.

Despite mixed reviews and the 2004 Tony Awards upset when Wicked lost out to Avenue Q, the show about the witches of Oz has broken box office records and sold out nearly every show.

1000th Performance Party

Wicked, the Stephen Schwartz musical that opened at Broadway's Gershwin Theatre Oct. 30, 2003, celebrated its 1000th performance March 23, 2006.

Photos on this page are by Ben Strothmann for BroadwayWorld.com (Copyrighted)

Flanked by producers Marc Platt (left), Stephen Schwartz and David Stone (right), Wicked stars Megan Hilty and Eden Espinosa prepare to cut the celebratory cake after the 1000th performance of Wicked in the lobby of the Gershwin Theatre on West 50th Street and 8th Avenue in New York City. Eden Espinosa started as Elphaba in January, 2006 and is, of course, quite popular in the role.

Here Megan Hilty as Glinda shares her comments at the curtain call at the end of the performance. Susan Hilferty's costumes contribute to the glory of the show.

Lead producer Marc Platt (left) was developing a film of Wicked when Stephen Schwartz (center) approached him in 1997 about turning it into a stage musical instead. Platt, Schwartz, and Winnie Holzman, spent a year planning the show and it all unfolded from there. The team needed to draw on the business sense of producer David Stone (right) to make their vision a reality on the Broadway stage.

They have a right to be proud. According to Internet Broadway Database, only 99 shows in all of Broadway history have made it past the 1000 mark. Of Schwartz shows, Pippin holds position number 25 for longest running with a performance count of 1944, and The Magic Show is number 27, with a performance count of 1920. Godspell is at number 326, having run Jun 22, 1976 - Sep 4, 1977 on Broadway for a total of 527 performances. It also ran over 2000 performances off-Broadway just before it hit the Great White Way.

Stephen Schwartz turned 58 on March 6th, and so this March 23rd party for the 1000th performance party is his second celebration of the month. Sometime after his 60th birthday, Wicked's performance numbers are likely to surpass those of his Pippin and The Magic Show, making his show featuring the green witch Elphaba his longest running musical on Broadway.

Stephen likes to wear green to Wicked celebrations. Of course he is relieved and pleased that his diligent work helped produced a mega-hit musical--especially since it was his idea to turn Gregory Maguire's novel Wicked into a stage musical.

The cake decorator managed to frost the cake with Wicked's logo image.

For more about Wicked's success see also the Wicked Awards page

Don't miss our Wicked Shop for logo products, Emerald City green glasses, and more.

This page was published in conjunction with The Schwartz Scene newsletter issue #23.

ABOUT THE PHOTOS:

Photos by Ben Strothmann for BroadwayWorld.com

MusicalSchwartz.com made special arrangements with Ben Strothmann for display of these wonderful photos. Please respect his copyright and do not copy them. Visit www.BenStrothmann.com