Wicked the Musical
50 Wicked-related pages here!
All about the show Wicked on Broadway, Wicked Tour, Wicked San Francisco, & International.
Index for Wicked - Broadway and Beyond
Wicked the Musical Show DETAILED Index:ANSWERS to Frequently asked questions about Wicked - Musical (Broadway, tour, or San Francisco), e.g. should I bring the kids to the play? Where can I see Wicked video clips? What's the show it about? Does Wicked novelist Gregory Maguire like the musical? Where do I send fan mail? WICKED TICKET TIPS - Broadway On our Wicked Ticket Tips page, we include FAQs as provided by the official Wicked company, such as running times for the show, lottery info, cancellation line details, and ticket discounts for partial view seating. Wicked Tour Tickets and info, reviews, etc. WICKED TOUR 2009 and 2010-Take a Wicked vacation. Find cast information: Wicked Tour Cast Wicked Cast and CreativesSee Wicked's Stars - Cast and Creatives-- Also, this whole site is all about Stephen Schwartz , Wicked's amazing songwriter. Other pages to visit: Kristin Chenoweth (original Glinda) | Idina Menzel (original Elphaba). Winnie Holzman (script) | Gregory Maguire | Maguire p. 2 (novel) | Norbert Leo Butz (first Fiyero)| Susan Hilferty - Costume designer | Joe Mantello (director) | Former Elphaba Stephanie J. Block is now on Broadway in 9 to 5. She has a new CD that includes Schwartz. WICKED the Musical - HISTORY - The musical is not only delightful to watch, but the story of Wicked's development is also a fascinating study in creative collaboration. Here are some links to pages that provide further resources for fill in your background knowledge. Wicked History: The Making of Wicked feature stories | ShowBusiness DVD Documentary includes the making of Wicked. | PBS Documentary Broadway: The American Musical DVD: Special features on the making of Wicked. | Wicked in the classroom - Wicked for teachers and students - Wicked study guide. WICKED REVIEWS and AWARDS: Wicked Reviews including reviews of Wicked the musical by critics and theatre goers. Also read about Wicked's Success, a page with statistics and photos of the 1000th performance party, or read about Wicked Awards: Tony, Drama Desk and others. |
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Wicked
Cast Album, Karaoke, and Wicked score info WICKED STORY SYNOPSIS: Love the CD but haven't seen the show?
Learn about the Wicked songs in context
(fast loading version) OR Wicked songs
in context - version with photos (slow loading version). NOTE: It's hard to find synposis of Wicked that don't give away the suprises. But the surprises are an important part of the fun of the show. Our Synopsis is spoiler-free in terms of the magical moments you don't want to know in advance. CALENDAR Check this page for frequent updates: News - Events Schedule: Wicked cast appearances, Stephen Schwartz concerts, workshops | MusicalSchwartz.com is the official fan site for Stephen Schwartz, and regular lists his appearances, including concerts where he will sign your Wicked CDs, etc. SUBSCRIBE: The Schwartz Scene is a free quarterly email newsletter with updates written by Stephen Schwartz and other articles offering insights on the making of Wicked the musical Questions or comments to share about Wicked the show or anything else? Write to Carol (that's me, the webmaster) at carol@musicalschwartz.com with the words "Question" or "Comment" in the subject heading. (If you don't hear from me please write again - it got lost in my spam filter or yours). CHAT ABOUT WICKED Wicked chat forums, Wicked e-groups, Wicked fan sites, etc. Explore Wicked Links | Visit the official website wickedthemusical.com [new browser window] for articles, photos, sound clips, and more. |
QUICK INDEX: 
Our most popular summer item: Wicked beach towels (as pictured in photo). 
Wicked's carefully chosen stars are glistening. 
Wicked's first Glinda, Kristin Chenoweth, has written a memoir that includes a bit of her Wicked experience. 
WICKED Sheet Music- in print or instant download: Wicked the Musical Frequently Asked Questions
QUESTIONS: What's Wicked the musical about? Where can I find video clips? Where do I find reviews? Find answers to these questions and more by reading this web page below. Answers are provided by me, Carol de Giere, webmaster for this independent site MusicalSchwartz.com and author of Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked. Email me if you
have other questions: carol@musicalschwartz.com. Please put QUESTION in subject line. Please scroll up to the top of this page for more listings.
1. What is Wicked the Musical about?
Broadway's Wicked musical is a loose adaptation of Wicked the novel by Gregory Maguire. In 1996, songwriter Stephen Schwartz heard about the novel from a friend and immediately thought of adapting it for stage. The musical offers a "backstory" to The Wizard of Oz, in other words a buoyantly creative version of what happens to Elphaba, the supposedly 'wicked' witch and Glinda, the reputedly good witch during the college years. Their buddy story is only one of several storylines and subplots in a carefully constructed, surprise-filled musical adventure.
Four Essential Books for Wicked Enthusiasts
1. 
Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked, by Carol de Giere.
Defying Gravity includes the full story of Wicked's development, from Stephen Schwartz's conception of the musical in 1996 through it's opening on Broadway in October of 2003. Wicked bookwriter Winnie Holzman praises the book, saying: "Trying to reconstruct the writing process of a musical is nearly impossible. Carol de Giere has captured it." It includes hundreds of behind-the-scenes stories based on the author's interviews with Stephen Schwartz, Winnie Holzman, Gregory Maguire, the musical's director Joe Mantello, the producers, actress Idina Menzel, and others. Visit the book site at www.defyinggravitythebook.com/
2. Wicked: the Grimmerie. A special souvenir book for fans. Note that most of the script is in the Wicked Grimmerie souvenir book. This essential book provides lyrics, many color and black and white photos, and comments mostly organized by topics.
3. One of the Wicked Songbooks. On MusicalSchwartz.com, Stephen Schwartz describes the songbooks he was involved in creating. Read details and find links Wicked Songbooks
4. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West - Novel 
Musical Tie-in Edition : The Life... [new browser window]
This musical tie-in edition of Gregory Maguire's novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West features 16 pages of photos from the musical.
Schwartz likes to write about traditional stories that have a special new twist. Maguire had based his novel on one of the most popular stories of all times: The Wizard of Oz, yet had provided a new, psychological "life and times" story of an unusual heroine--the Wicked Witch of the West--whom he called Elphaba. Schwartz believed that making a musical with Elphaba as the central character was an ideal project for him.
5. BONUS book: A Little Bit Wicked
A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages
Kristin Chenoweth's A Little Bit Wicked. Wicked's first Glinda has written a memoir that breezes through her celebrity life experiences, including starring in Wicked.
Read more about the story of the witches of Oz. Synposis: How to the songs fit with the story? Read about the song contexts--A Wicked Synopsis.
2. Are Wicked lyrics and Wicked play libretto (script) published somewhere?
For lyrics see our Wicked Lyrics page or cast recording. The Wicked Libretto - a condensed version is published Wicked-The Grimmerie.
The new book Defying Gravity also includes lyrics for "For Good," "Defying Gravity," "The Wizard and I," and others along with stories of how each song was written. Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman provided stories about they developed the songs and the story. Defying Gravity provides the most extensive account of this material, with 150 pages on Wicked. Defying Gravity: The Creative career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked.
The lyrics are also provided with the sheet music: Wicked sheet music
3. How do Wicked (musical) and Wicked (novel) compare? Should I read the novel before seeing the show? and related question:
It's not necessary to read the novel first, and if you do, don't expect to see it adapted closely on stage. The musical gives Elphaba and Glinda's story a new life. If you haven't seen The Wizard of Oz film lately, you might want to.
In the novel and the musical, what is the name of the Wicked Witch of the West? "Elphaba." For hints about how the novel and musical compare, read about Wicked's characters Elphaba, Glinda, Fiyero, Dr. Dillamond, Nessarose, Boq, and the others. Find out which characters from the novel were included for the stage adaptaton and which were left out. Also read about the animals and Animals in Wicked - the show - How novelist Gregory Maguire developed Dr. Dillamond the goat professor and a comparison with Wicked the novel and musical regarding what happens to the Animals.
Check comments by Schwartz and Maguire about the Wicked -Life and Times of Wicked Witch of the West story adaptation for musical. This includes notes about the focus on the friendship between the witches, the clock of the time dragon (used in the set design), etc.
New: Wicked Sequel - Son of a Witch : A Novel [new browser window]
4. Who wrote the Wicked score? Who wrote the Wicked play script? What else have they written written?
Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman are the "authors" of Wicked. The collaborated at every step of the way in writing the content of the musical. Director Joe Mantello and producer Marc Platt also contributed their suggestions. Schwartz, who wrote the score for Wicked, is an award-winning songwriter best known for his songs for Godspell, Pippin, and now Wicked for stage; his film work includes lyrics for Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame and songs for The Prince of Egypt.
Since writing Wicked, songs like "Defying Gravity," and the friendship song "For Good" have joined the Schwartz canon of popular songs, adding to the list that includes "Meadowlark," "Day by Day," "Corner of the Sky," "Colors of the Wind," "When You Believe," and others that are sung regularly in concert, on recordings, or used for auditions.
Read all about Stephen Schwartz. He's one colorful and creative man, as the new biography Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked attests.
Schwartz worked closely with Winnie Holzman wrote the "book" of the musical (script). Read about Winnie Holzman and her TV shows, etc.
5. Wicked Tour: What's the Schedule?
The tour of Wicked has been playing to sold-out houses around North America since 2005, breaking ticket sales records everywhere. When the show comes to your area, be sure to get tickets within the first few hours that they go on sale.
In 2009 two touring productions will be delighting audiences in many cities. Wicked Tour show and it also plays in residence in San Francisco. Wicked musical show in San Francisco information.
6. Is the Wicked show appropriate for children?
This section has moved to its own page: Wicked for kids?
The musical is a favorite of pre-teens, teens, and Wizard of Oz fans of all ages.
7. Where can I see free online Wicked video clips? or Is there a Wicked movie?
Don't miss SHOWBUSINESS - now available on DVD with lots of WICKED interview clips, etc. ShowBusiness with WICKED CLIPS
Wicked movie: There are no legal versions of the complete show. Sorry that we can't offer Wicked videotape or Wicked DVDs. Perhaps after the show runs on Broadway and around the world for many years, a film will be made.
However there are Wicked the musical video clips and the Wicked trailer. See links below.
The Wicked site for the London production has a good collection of video clips at www.wickedthemusical.co.uk/
Have you seen the Wicked tour trailer? It's not up-to-date for cast members, but has some nice features. I just noticed that you can clearly see Glinda's bubble machine spurting bubbles, and there are a few clips with Stephen Schwartz (composer and lyricist), Joe Mantello (director), Winnie Holzman (book writer) and Marc Platt (producer). View the Wicked Tour trailer with video clips Universal's site.
There's a clip for Behind the Emerald Curtain tour that also includes clips of the show. Go to http://www.emeraldcurtain.com/Press.html and look in the bottom right corner for the ART BEAT CHICAGO logo - click there to launch the video.
Wicked's songwriter: Podcast. Our new blog with podcasts includes audio files of Stephen Schwartz talking about Wicked. http://www.theschwartzscene.com/blog/
Wicked in Japan: Wicked video clip from Japanese production
Kennedy Center has video clips of an interview with Stephen Schwartz. He tells how Wicked began and sings versions of "the Wizard and I" http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/plus/plusonline/2006_schwartz.html
Backstage at WICKED broadway video clip
8. Does Wicked novelist Gregory Maguire approve of Wicked the musical?
Gregory loves this musical. At a book talk with Winnie Holzman, Maguire said, "I have been so pleased with the work that Winnie Holzman has done for Wicked. She has taken a novel that is like a symphony in my heart and she has turned it into an opera." Holzman promptly gave much credit to Stephen Schwartz for his ideas. "It literally was a vision--he just saw that Wicked the novel was a Broadway musical. So then he brought me into his vision."
One aspect of the musical that Gregory explains well is the friendship story between Elphaba and Glinda. He said recently, "...the story is about a friendship between two girls, there's no arguing that that is a very appealing aspect of the play and a good argument why people want to see it again and again. And it's not just about young women learning to trust one another and learning the depths of their affection for one another. It's also about women -- or any disenfranchised citizen -- learning their relationship in a system of power, either as collaborators -- the way Glinda becomes -- or as iconoclasts and hermits the way Elphaba becomes."
Visit my Maguire page for more on Gregory.
9. What's the buzz for the musical Wicked?
"...the most complete, and completely satisfying, new musical I've come across in a long time"--USA Today
"Truly an enchanting musical, 'Wicked' is a fabulous new Oz fable for the 21st century"--New Jersey Star-Ledger
Visit the Wicked reviews page here at MusicalSchwartz.com. It's a long page so keep looking down the page for various links. Reviews are also posted on the Wicked Tour page
Also read about Wicked's Success - see photos from the 1000th performance party. See a giant list of Wicked awards
10. Where do I send Fan Mail for the Broadway musical Wicked?
To contact the cast for WICKED on Broadway:
Address your mail to cast member
c/o WICKED
Gershwin Theatre Stage Door
242 West 51st Street
NY, NY 10019
How to write to the London cast:
Cast member name
c/o Stage Door
Apollo Victoria Theatre
Wilton Road
London
SW1V 1LG
United Kingdom
For Stephen Schwartz: Visit his website at http://www.stephenschwartz.com
11. How can I learn more about Wicked the musical?
Subscribe to The Schwartz Scene The Schwartz Scene back issues include updates by Stephen Schwartz, including comments he made as Wicked was being created. Or write me at carol@musicalschwartz.com with the word QUESTION in the subject heading, and I'll help you find the information you seek. - Carol de Giere, webmaster.
ONGOING - WICKED BEHIND-THE-SCENES TOUR - Saturday mornings at the Gershwin Theatre.
"Behind the Emerald Curtain," billed as "an exclusive behind-the-scenes journey through Wicked," are available.
"Behind the Emerald Curtain," an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at WICKED, run by members of the cast in several production locations. The tour, which lasts 90 minutes, includes a 20-minute film containing special footage from NY and the national tour, featuring interviews with the cast and creative team of WICKED. Participants visit the exclusive "Behind the Emerald Curtain" Museum, which includes an elaborate set model by Tony Award-winner Eugene Lee and an up-close look at some of Tony Award-winner Susan Hilferty's costumes (with beautiful details that are not always visible from the audience), as well as some of the actual props and wigs from the show.
To create the museum and tour, cast members Sean McCourt and Tony Galade, with the company manager Susan Sampliner, collected costumes, masks, props and set models, and edited a Wicked promotional video. Later Associate scenic designer Edward Pierce contributed a video of the Wicked set being loaded in, and photos from backstage technical departments were added. McCourt once said, "It takes 125 people to make Wicked happen" and this tour gives an idea of just how immense the effort is.
Whether or not you've seen the musical, this program gives a glimpse into the real back stage life for a major production like Wicked. We were treated to a close up view of Elphaba and Glinda costumes, Dr. Dillamond's mask, and other items while two actors pointed out some suprising facts about the costumes, sets, and pressures for the actors. Then we were brought into the theatre to watch a 20-minute film and a question-answer session. I recommend it. Behind the Emerald Curtain tickets
Or for more details go to:
http://www.emeraldcurtain.com/
12. I'm an actor/singer/dancer. Where do I check for Wicked auditions?
Wicked Auditions - general information where you'll find sources for finding out about Wicked the musical auditions as well as suggested books and links for audition tips.
13. Where can I find Wicked London info?
Wicked London tickets etc. - Wicked the musical in London is popular on the West End. It has been running since Sept 6th, 2006. Visit our UK site for updates, shop, tickets, articles, and more. www.wickedwestend.co.uk/
14. What is the running time of Wicked the musical?
What is the length of Wicked? It's good to set aside at least 3 hours to see this play/musical because the Gershwin and other theatres that house Wicked the new musical are always huge venues to get in and out of, plus a huge crowd of people. The actual length: Approx. 2 hours 45 minutes total -- Act One is about 1 hour and 30 minutes - (note: it's a good idea to use restroom before the show starts). Act two is a little less than an hour. And there's an intermission.
15. Where can I find more Wicked ticket details?
Wicked the Musical news
June 2, 2009 - Stephanie Block, a former "Elphaba" in Wicked, releases CD with Schwartz song.
Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell) assumes the piano on Making Good, the driving ballad Stephanie originated in Wickeds initial workshops. Stephanie Block CD
Wicked Australia
Wicked is moving to Syndney. Thirteen months after its spectacular Melbourne premiere, the curtain will come down on WICKED at the Regent Theatre Melbourne, on August 9 and move to Sydney.
Wicked surpasses Oklahoma in Length of Broadway Run
The original production of Oklahoma ran on Broadway for 2212 performances. (Mar 31, 1943 - May 29, 1948). As of May, 11, 2009, Wicked has played 2286 continuous performances making it the 27th longest running show in the history of Broadway. When it has reached 2329 shows it will have surpassed Man of La Mancha as well.
Awards for the Wicked Tour
In May of 2009, producer David Stone accepted the award for “Best Long-Running Touring Musical” for Wicked during the Broadway League’s 2009 spring conference. For the third year in a row, Wicked also received the “Touring Broadway Audience Choice Award.” These are among the many awards for the Stephen Schwartz/Winnie Holzman musical, one whose complete development has been revealed in a new book “Defying Gravity” named after a song from the show. (See below)
New Wicked CD
To celebrate the fifth Broadway anniversary of the hit Broadway musical Wicked, Decca Broadway will release a two-CD recording Oct. 28. BUY Wicked: 5th Anniversary Special Edition
Wicked novelist Gregory Maguire has penned a new novel in the Wicked Sequence - Fall 2008
He has completed the third of what may be a total of four novels in the WICKED sequence. A Lion Among Men: Volume Three in the Wicked Years (The Wicked Years)
Newsletter provides updates on Wicked and Wicked's composer
For ongoing news subscribe to the Schwartz Scene and the news page for many Stephen Schwartz events around the USA. Schwartz news
Note: for those arriving at this site by search engine. Sometimes Stephen Schwartz's name is misspelled Steven Schwartz or Stephen Swartz; before about the mid 70's he was known as Steve Schwartz. Sometimes Kristin Chenoweth's name is misspelled Cristin or Kristen Chenoweth. The cast album is sometimes called the Wicked soundtrack. Video is sometimes mispelled vidio.
Musicalschwartz.com offers one of the largest Wicked the musical fan sites, and is the fan site for Stephen Schwartz, created with his permission.
About Composer - Lyricist Stephen Schwartz.CDs | Events & News | Sheet Music| Newsletter|
Please also visit our newsletter site and new blog: TheSchwartzScene
Wicked the Musical home page on Musicalschwartz.com is the index for over 50 pages about Wicked the musical on Broadway, Wicked in San Francisco, and Wicked on Tour featuring Wicked tickets, Wicked cast information, reviews, Stephen Schwartz Wicked sheet music, all about Stephen Schwartz.
