WICKED Passes RENT to Become 10th Longest-Running Show on Broadway Today

They know about popular! As BroadwayWorld previously reported, the international blockbuster Wicked will play its 5,124th Broadway performance today, February 14th at 2pm, surpassing RENT to become the 10th longest-running production in Broadway history.

WICKED falls in line directly behind Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and MAMMA MIA!. Here are the current standings:

1. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
2. CHICAGO (Revival)
3. THE LION KING
4. CATS
5. LES MISERABLES
6. A CHORUS LINE
7. OH! CALCUTTA!
8. MAMMA MIA!
9. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
10. WICKED

Since opening in 2003, Wicked has been performed in over 100 cities in 14 countries around the world (U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan, Germany, Holland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, The Philippines, Mexico, and, beginning March 4th, Brazil) and has thus far been translated into six languages: Japanese, German, Dutch, Spanish, Korean, and Portuguese. The musical has amassed nearly $4 billion in global sales and has been seen by over 49 million people worldwide.

In addition to the Broadway production, Wicked in North America has enjoyed unprecedented record-breaking sit-down engagements in Chicago, where it ran for nearly four years; Los Angeles, where it ran for two years; and San Francisco, where it ran for nearly two years, as well as two concurrent National Tours. Wicked has grossed a combined total of over $2.8 billion, solely from its North American companies. It continues to be among Broadway's highest grossing musicals, 13 years into its run.

Declared "The Best Musical of the Decade" by Entertainment Weekly and "A Cultural Phenomenon" by Variety,Wicked is the recipient of over 100 international awards including the Grammy Award and three Tony Awards.

The surprising tale of an unlikely friendship between two women in the Land of Oz, Wicked tells the untold story of the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good, long before Dorothy drops in. Elphaba, born with emerald-green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. Glinda is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. The remarkable odyssey of how these unexpected friends changed each other's lives for good has made Wicked one of the world's most popular musicals.

The musical currently stars Rachel Tucker as Elphaba, Carrie St. Louis as Glinda, Kathy Fitzgerald as Madame Morrible (Judy Kaye begins February 16), Peter Scolari as The Wizard, Jonah Platt as Fiyero, Dawn E. Cantwell as Nessarose, Michael Genet as Dr. Dillamond, and Zachary Noah Piser as Boq.

Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and a book by Winnie Holzman. The production is directed by Joe Mantello with musical staging by Wayne Cilento. Wicked is produced byMarc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone.

For more information about Wicked, please visit www.WickedTheMusical.com.