![Green background. Text: [top]"London's #1 Show." Wicked (the dot on the 'i' is a silhouette of a witch on a broom) [bottom] The Apollo Victoria Theatre Image within a circle frame Green witch in a black pointy hat and robe faces forward, side profile of a witch in contrasting white whispers to her.](https://media.londontheatredirect.com/Event/Wicked/event-detail-image_37387.jpg)
Wicked celebrates its 12th birthday in London’s West End
Updated on 10 October 2023
Ding-dong! The witch ain’t dead. Far from it, in fact.
Spellbinding West End musical Wicked celebrates 12 landmark years at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre today, 27 September 2018. The musical is a West End favourite and currently the tenth longest-running West End musical of all time with approximately 5,000 performances under its belt since its premiere back in 2006.
Pictured: Alice Fearn is Elphaba, Wicked Witch of the West
Tonight’s performance of Wicked will mark 12 landmark years in the West End. The performance tonight stars Alice Fearn as Elphaba, Sophie Evans as Glinda, Melanie La Barrie as Madame Morrible, David Witts as Fiyero, Andy Hockley as The Wizard, Rosa O’Reilly as Nessarose, Chris Jarman as Doctor Dillamond and Jack Lansbury as Bog.
In addition to being the tenth longest-running musical in West End history, it is also currently the fifth longest-running musical currently playing in the West End, alongside Disney’s The Lion King, Mamma Mia!, Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera. Everyone’s favourite green musical has already reached several milestones throughout its run and continues to defy gravity every year. It boasts being seen by over 55 million people from around the world and has won over 100 major international awards, the likes of which include two Oliver Awards, three Tony Awards for the Broadway production, and the WhatsOnStage Award for Best West End Show.
Wicked features music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, the creative mastermind behind 1971’s Godspell who is also known for collaborating with Alan Menken on Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pocahontas and Enchanted. He has also written the music and lyrics for DreamWorks’ The Prince of Egypt, which recently premiered as a musical on Broadway with the Oscar® Award-winning song, ‘When You Believe’.
Wicked is based on the Gregory Maguire novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which was adapted for the stage by Winne Holzman. Wicked The Musical is often mistakenly referred to as a prequel, but is, in fact, a prequel, midquel, and sequel, taking place before, during and after the events of The Wizard of Oz. Maguire has described his novel as a re-imagining of L Frank Baum’s magical world, but it fits so well with the original story that many consider it to be canon.
Musical phenomenon Wicked continues its opened-end run at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in London. Wicked tickets are currently booking until 25 May 2019. Don’t miss this touching, and occasionally heart-wrenching, re-imagining of The Wizard of Oz, now celebrating a dozen spectacular years in the West End.
Get in the spirit of Wicked and see our list for the Top 5 Wicked songs.
Are you a fan of trivia? Want to know more about Wicked? Then have a look at our Top 10 Wicked facts.
By Nicholas Ephram Ryan Daniels
Ephram is a jack of all trades and enjoys attending theatre, classical music concerts and the opera.