Wicked Enters Top 20 Longest Running Shows in Broadway History

Broadway megahit Wicked joined the top 20 longest running shows in Broadway history on December 15, playing its 2,535th performance at the Gershwin Theatre. The popular Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman collaboration, based on the book by Gergory Maguire and directed by Joe Mantello, replaces Avenue Q as the 20th longest-running show on Broadway.

Wicked currently stars Dee Roscioli as Elphaba, Erin Mackey as Glinda, Rondi Reed as Madame Morrible, P.J. Benjamin as The Wizard, Kevin Kern as Fiyero, Alex Brightman as Boq, original cast member Michelle Federer as Nessarose and Timothy Britten Parker as Dr. Dillamond.

Winner of 26 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. The show tells the story of their remarkable odyssey, and how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch.

Wicked opened on Broadway on October 30, 2003, starring Idina Menzel as Elphaba, Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda, Carole Shelley as Madame Morrible, Joel Grey as The Wizard, Norbert Leo Butz as Fiyero, Christopher Fitzgerald as Boq, Federer as Nessarose and William Youmans as Doctor Dillamond. The show picked up Tony wins for Menzel, scenic designer Eugene Lee and costume designer Susan Hilferty.