“Wicked” continues to bewitch audiences across the country, having left San Francisco this past weekend for the next stop on its national tour.
“Wicked” kickstarted Broadway SF’s 2024-2025 season, with the musical’s popularity continuing to soar.
“The musical is certainly one of the most popular musicals of all time, and with the movie coming out, there’s a lot of extra excitement,” said Carlmont drama teacher Elizabeth Berg.
The 2003 musical serves as the prequel to “The Wizard of Oz” (1939), the hit fantasy movie-musical. It tells the story of two witches—Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda, the Good Witch of the North—and their friendship before the events in “The Wizard of Oz.”
The musical has shattered box office records worldwide, including on Broadway. According to Deadline, “Wicked” set a record in earnings for the 2024-2025 season this past week. Universal Pictures is currently producing a movie adaption of the hit musical, contributing to the rise in revenue.
Upon its Broadway premiere at Gershwin Theatre in October 2003, critics lauded the musical’s script and ballads. The musical aims to answer key questions about the two witches’ backstories.
Meanwhile, fans empathize with the moral of “Wicked” and its potent description of the land of Oz.
“‘Wicked’ has a very good underlying theme of seeing something from somebody else’s point of view, which I feel is something that needs to be practiced more often,” said sophomore Izzy French after seeing BroadwaySF’s production in September. “The composer did a great job with orchestration and the vocals and combining both of those. The writing is also rather good.”
However, “Wicked” was modified repeatedly before becoming the hit musical it is known as today. According to Andrew Higgins, a bassist who has been part of the “Wicked” pit orchestra in San Francisco for 22 years, the musical was longer and less enjoyable to play during its first years.
“From year one to year three, the show was cut down by about 45 minutes, one small bit at a time,” Higgins said. “Some things can’t be figured out until the show has been staged a hundred times.”
After several changes to the musical numbers, following a tryout in San Francisco, “Wicked” premiered on Broadway in October 2003.
The 2024-2025 national tour began in Hartford, Connecticut, on May 7 and will continue through Oct. 26, 2025.
“Wicked–Part 1,” the 2024 film adaption of the musical, will be released on Nov. 22 in the U.S. The film is set to release almost a month after the national tour ends, with Cynthia Erivo playing Elphaba and Ariana Grande playing Glinda.
As the movie’s release date nears, many are excited to see director John M. Chu’s on the classic musical. According to Higgins, no two productions of “Wicked” are the same.
“Different lead actors and different conductors bring different vibes to the experience, which lead to different experiences for the audience,” Higgins said.
