Wicked Breaks Box Office Record
The producers of WICKED are pleased to announce that it has broken the Broadway In Chicago record for the largest one-week gross of $1,935,432 for the week ending December 1, 2013. Previously, WICKED held the Chicago record with a one-week gross of $1,764,428, set during the week ending January 4, 2009, in the show's record-breaking 3 ½ year engagement. On October 30, WICKED celebrated its 10th year on Broadway, and is currently enjoying its fourth visit to Chicago. WICKED is currently playing the Oriental Theatre through December 21.
"Chicago loves WICKED -- and, for WICKED's return engagement to Chicago, there's truly no place like home at the Oriental Theatre," says Lou Raizin, President of Broadway In Chicago.
WICKED, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Pippin, Godspell, Disney's Enchanted, Academy Award winner for Pocahontas and The Prince of Egypt) and book by Winnie Holzman ("My So Called Life," "Once And Again" and "thirtysomething"), is based on the 1995 best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire. The musical is directed by two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello (Take Me Out, Love! Valour! Compassion!, The Vagina Monologues) and features musical staging by Tony Award winner Wayne Cilento (Aida, The Who's Tommy, How To Succeed...). WICKED, the untold story of the witches of Oz, is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone.
WICKED features set design by Tony Award winner Eugene Lee (Ragtime, Show Boat, Candide, Sweeney Todd), costume design by Tony winner Susan Hilferty (Spring Awakening, Into the Woods, Assassins), lighting design by Tony winner Kenneth Posner (Tony Award winner for The Coast of Utopia, Hairspray) and sound design by Tony Meola (The Lion King). Stephen Oremus is the show's music director. Orchestrations are by William David Brohn, with dance arrangements by James Lynn Abbott.
WICKED, which celebrated its 10th Anniversary on Broadway on October 30th, currently has nine productions of the musical worldwide: New York, London, Japan (Tokyo), Australia/New Zealand (Auckland), South Korea (Seoul), Latin America (Mexico City), a U.K. Tour, and two concurrent North American National Tours. Broadway's #1 show for an unprecedented nine consecutive years, WICKED has been declared "A Cultural Phenomenon" by Variety and "The Best Musical of the Decade" by Entertainment Weekly.
Winner of over 50 major awards including the Grammy Award and three Tony Awards, WICKED is the untold story of the witches of Oz. Long before Dorothy drops in, two other girls meet in the land of Oz. One, born with emerald-green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. WICKED tells the story of their remarkable odyssey, how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.