The thrillifying musical has run for two decades at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in the West End, and continues to defy gravity.
Rejoicify! This September, Wicked celebrates an incredible 20 years in the West End, joining an elite group of productions to have reached that astonishing landmark. The show opened in London on 27 September 2006, with original Elphaba Idina Menzel reprising her role alongside Helen Dallimore, Adam Garcia, Miriam Margolyes, and Nigel Planer.
The musical has continued to be a huge favourite, with audiences flocking to the Apollo Victoria Theatre to see numerous amazing performers since – including the current talented duo leading the show, Emma Kingston and Zizi Strallen. To celebrate Wicked’s 20th anniversary, here are 20 swankified facts about the show.
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1. Stephen Schwartz discovered Wicked on holiday
The composer was snorkelling in Hawaii when he heard about an incredible new novel, which told the Oz story from the Wicked Witch’s perspective. He was immediately hooked on the premise for what turned out to be Gregory Maguire’s Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.
2. Teenage drama was the perfect background
Book writer Winnie Holzman was also instantly intrigued by the novel, and was the ideal fit for the show: she had previously created the teenage TV series My So-Called Life, starring Claire Danes. The authentic adolescent characters in Wicked, and especially the richly drawn Elphaba and Glinda, are part of why the show is so adored by fans.
3. Wicked was originally planned as a movie
That is, until Schwartz made a passionate case for why the citizens of Oz just have to sing! Of course, the project recently came happily full circle, with the stage musical becoming a big-screen hit thanks to the two mega-successful Wicked films.
4. Elphaba owes her name to the original author
Ever wondered where Elphaba got her distinctive monicker? She is never actually named in L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – but, in a roundabout way, the author did inspire it. Maguire cleverly took Baum’s initials, “L. F. B.”, and turned them into “Elphaba”. Magic!
5. Stephanie J. Block first defied gravity
The first ever Elphaba was actress Stephanie J. Block, who inhabited the role in the developmental workshops alongside the show’s eventual Glinda, Kristin Chenoweth. Although Block didn’t continue with the show at that stage, she later returned to play Elphaba in the first US tour and was also a celebrated Broadway replacement.
6. Idina Menzel went green immediately
The actress was committed to the role from the very start. She turned up to her audition wearing green eye shadow and green lipstick, and wearing dark, grungy clothes in order to channel the misunderstood witch. It paid off: she was soon painted green for real!
7. Wicked became a Broadway smash
The show opened on Broadway in 2003, and immediately chimed with audiences. It was a huge success, recouping its $14 million investment in just 14 months. It won three Tony Awards: Best Actress for Menzel, Best Scenic Design for Eugene Lee, and Best Costume Design for Susan Hilferty.
8. Costume inspirations included Princess Diana
Wicked is a true stage spectacular, featuring more than 200 costumes in a style that Hilferty calls “twisted Edwardian”. Inspirations for Glinda’s majestic look included Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, Princess Diana’s wedding, and Dior, while Elphaba is connected to nature via fossil and stalactite patterns woven into her dress.
9. The key to Elphaba’s green is MAC make-up
Elphaba’s greenifying process is complex but actually quite quick to achieve: around half an hour. The make-up used includes MAC Landscape Green Chromacake, a water-activated paint, applied with large Hake brushes, and then a custom mix of MAC Paint Sticks for each actress, such as True Chartreuse, all sealed in with a finishing powder.
10. Wicked’s set revolves around a clock
The Wicked set design was inspired by a W. W. Denslow illustration in Maguire’s novel showing huge, fantastical gears and cogs from an ancient clock – known as the Clock of the Time Dragon. Although that particular storyline (which involves a travelling mechanical puppet theatre) didn’t make it to stage, the incredible aesthetics did.
11. Fog and lighting rule in Wicked
The fog in Wicked is serious business. The show uses around 250lb of dry ice per performance, making a vital contribution to the production’s atmosphere and mystical quality. The lighting is astonishing too: the London production has 498 lighting fixtures and 88 moving lights.
12. Elphaba actually flies
Of course, the most iconic effect in the show is Elphaba taking flight during Act I closer “Defying Gravity”. This jaw-dropping – and technically demanding – stunt involves a body harness and flying wire hidden under the actress’s costume, with the cable connected to a flying mechanism that lifts her skyward.
13. London’s Wicked has incredible actresses
The first ever British actress to play Elphaba in London was Kerry Ellis, in January 2007. Since then, the West End has seen a host of remarkable performers as Elphaba and Glinda, including Rachel Tucker, Louise Dearman, Willemijn Verkaik, Emma Hatton, Alice Fearn, Lucie Jones, Dianne Pilkington, Gina Beck, Savannah Stevenson, and Sophie Evans.
14. Alexia Khadime made Wicked history twice
In 2008 the actress became the first Black principal Elphaba in the West End, and then in 2023 she and Lucy St. Louis, playing Glinda, became the first ever actresses of colour to be leading the show full-time together.
15. Wicked is a thrillifying London favourite
The show opened at the Victoria Apollo Theatre in 2006 and now, 20 years later, has run for more than 7,500 shows, welcoming more than 13 million people. It’s currently the ninth longest-running West End show ever. The show is enormous around the world too: it’s been seen by over 70 million people in more than 130 cities.
16. Wicked has even gone into space
Very aptly, NASA used “Defying Gravity” as a wake-up call for astronaut Dorothy “Dottie” Metcalf-Lindenburger during a Space Shuttle Discovery mission in 2010. Everyone deserves a chance to fly – and no one’s going to bring them down.
17. Wicked broke a Hollywood record
After years of fans calling for a movie adaptation, Wicked finally hit the big screen in 2024 (followed by the second part in 2025). The film – starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum – was an enormous success, making $764 million at the box office and becoming the highest-grossing musical film adaptation ever. It was nominated for 10 Oscars and won two: for Costume Design and Production Design.
18. Wicked has very starry cameos
The movie honoured its heritage by giving cameo roles to the original Elphaba and Glinda: Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth. The pair appear during “One Short Day”. Other Wicked cameos include the original Fiyero, Michael McCorry Rose, book and screenplay writer Winnie Holzman, composer Stephen Schwartz, and two West End Wicked performers: Adam James and Alice Fearn, who play Glinda’s parents.
19. Wicked has conquered the charts
The original Broadway cast recording has gone quadruple platinum, selling more than four million copies, and won a Grammy Award in 2005. The movie soundtrack was a smash as well, becoming the most-streamed musical soundtrack on Amazon Music within 24 hours of release, and debuting at number two on the Billboard 200.
20. Wicked celebrates 20 years with a history-maker
Joining Kingston and Strallen in the 20th anniversary London cast from Broadway is Jordan Litz, who has already done 1,700 performances as Fiyero – making him the longest-running Fiyero ever, perfect casting for this record year! Wicked just keeps dancing through life: here’s to another 20 years.
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Main photo credit: Emma Kingston in Wicked (Photo by Mark Senior). Inset: Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, Zizi Strallen, Alexia Khadime and Lucy St. Louis (Photos by Joan Marcus, Matt Crockett)