Broadway's WICKED Sets All Time Broadway Box Office Record

ChicagoAnaBroom54a1.JPG" vspace="10" width="300"/>For the week ending December 31, 2006, WICKED, the musical that tells the untold story of the Witches of Oz, once again set a new record for the highest grossing week in Broadway history with a weekly box office take of $1,800,310. The musical breaks its own previous record of $1,715,155 for the week ending November 26, 2006. Remarkably, for the same week, productions of WICKED also broke records as the highest grossing show ever in London's West End (£873,020/$1,694,000 U.S), Chicago ($1,376,468) and Toronto ($1,821,359 Canadian/$1,562,593 U.S.). WICKED was the previous record-holder in each market.

In addition, Ticketmaster recently released its list of the Top Ten Most Requested Events of 2006. WICKED was number one, marking the first time a theatrical production has made the list and certainly the first time to that one has held the number one position, which is otherwise comprised of rock concerts and sporting events.

There are currently three productions of WICKED in North America: on Broadway, on National Tour (currently in the middle of a 13-week engagement in Toronto), and as an open-ended engagement at Chicago's Ford Center for the Performing Arts/Oriental Theatre. A fourth North American production, an open-ended engagement in Los Angeles, is currently in rehearsals and will begin performances on February 10 at The Pantages Theatre. In addition, the London production opened September 27 at the Apollo Victoria Theatre. Called "Broadway's biggest blockbuster" by The New York Times and a "cultural phenomenon" by Variety, WICKED has been sold out at virtually every performance since opening on Broadway. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, WICKED has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. Directed by Joe Mantello, with musical staging by Wayne Cilento, the Grammy Award-winning original cast recording of WICKED, produced by Stephen Schwartz for Decca Broadway, has been one of the fastest selling Broadway recordings of recent years and has been certified 'Platinum' by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Ana Gasteyer (Elphaba) and Kate Reinders (Glinda) currently star with David Garrison (the Wizard) and Jayne Houdyshell (Madame Morrible) in WICKED on Broadway, with Derrick Williams (Fiyero), Jenna Leigh Green (Nessarose), Logan Lipton (Boq) and Steven Skybell (Dr. Dillamond). Beginning Tuesday, January 9, WICKED welcomes Julia Murney (Elphaba), Kendra Kassebaum (Glinda) and Sebastian Arcelus (Fiyero) to the Broadway cast.

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 a 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 Witch.

The performance schedule for WICKED at The Gershwin Theatre (222 West 51st Street) is Tuesdays at 7PM, Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8PM, with matinees on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2PM and Sundays at 3PM. The scale of prices is $50-$110. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster, 212-307-4100/www.ticketmaster.com or at The Gershwin Theatre box office. For more information, visit www.wickedthemusical.com.