You could say this one’s “popular”… Wicked will soon become the fourth-longest running musical on Broadway of all time!
Described as “the untold story of everything that happened before Dorothy dropped down in Oz,” the widely beloved musical serves as a prequel of sorts to The Wizard of Oz. The story documents the unlikely friendship between two women during their school days, and chronicles their journeys to becoming the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch.
Wicked will officially claim the #4 spot on Tuesday, April 11, during its 7,486th performance. This benchmark will see the show surpass Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats in number of performances.
The top three longest-running Broadway shows coming in ahead of Wicked include The Lion King (9,936 performances), Chicago (10,321 performances), and Phantom of the Opera (13,965 performances). Phantom will actually officially close in April. But given its incredible performance history, these other shows will still need to continue for quite some time to surpass it as the longest running show on Broadway.
Wicked also celebrates its 20th anniversary this October. The original production starring Idina Menzel (Elphaba) and Kristin Chenoweth (Glinda) scored 10 Tony Award nominations. Since then, the show transformed into a cultural phenomenon, watched by nearly 65 million people worldwide on and off Broadway.
A two-part feature film adaptation of the musical is also currently in the works. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande will lead the cast as Elphaba and Glinda respectively. The adaptation comes from director Jon M. Chu. The first installment of Wicked hits theaters November 27, 2024, with the second half following a year later on December 25, 2025.
