Wicked FAQ: Everything you need to know about the hit London musical

Posted on (Updated on 10 Jul 2020)

London's greenest musical is also the 13th longest-running West End show of all time. Enriched by high production values, unforgettable characters, and fantastic musical score, Wicked never fails to capture the imagination of theatregoers and leave them breathless. With the show now booking until 27 November 2021 in an open-ended run, fans of this hit production hoping to escape from their everyday worries can be sure to follow the yellow brick road for a magical, lighthearted adventure they'll remember for a lifetime.

Here are all your Wicked musical questions and answers listed:



Who wrote Wicked The Musical?

<p>The book for <strong><em>Wicked</em></strong>&nbsp;<span style="color:#000000">was written by <strong>Winnie Holzman&nbsp;</strong>and is based on <strong>Gregory Maguire</strong>&#39;s 1995 bestseller,&nbsp;<em>Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West</em>. The musical features music and lyrics by three-time Grammy and Academy Award winner&nbsp;<strong>Stephen Schwartz</strong>, a prominent musical theatre composer and lyricist&nbsp;who is&nbsp;also known for scoring such feature-length animated films as <em>The Prince of Egypt</em> (1998), <em>The Hunchback of Notre Dame</em> (1996), and <em>Pocahontas</em> (1995).</span></p>

<br/> Where is Wicked The Musical playing in London?

<p><span style="color:#000000"><em>Wicked</em> is playing in London at the <a href="https://www.londontheatredirect.com/venue/85/apollo-victoria-theatre.aspx"><strong>Apollo Victoria Theatre</strong></a>. The venue is located near Victoria Station at&nbsp;17 Wilton Road,&nbsp;London, SW1V 1LG,&nbsp;UK.</span></p>

<br/> What's Wicked The Musical about?

<p><span style="color:#000000">Wicked is a prequel, midquel and sequel to the 1939 film <em>The&nbsp;</em><em>Wizard of Oz</em> all in one and begins before Dorothy arrives by tornado with her faithful dog Toto to the Land of Oz. Packed with a kaleidoscope of spell-binding surprises, shocks, and spectacular musical numbers, <em>Wicked</em> follows&nbsp;our famed green protagonist&nbsp;Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) as she attends&nbsp;Shiz University.&nbsp;She forms&nbsp;an&nbsp;unlikely friendship with Glinda (the Good Witch), who takes her under her wing and shows her the ropes on how to be popular. But soon Elphaba and Glinda&#39;s friendship is in tatters when they react differently to the news that the&nbsp;Wizard&#39;s corrupt government is attempting&nbsp;to remove speech from&nbsp;animals; forcing Elphaba to go into hiding.&nbsp;</span></p>

<br/> How is Wicked The Musical different to the book?

<p><span style="color:#000000"><a href="https://www.londontheatredirect.com/musical/384/wicked-tickets.aspx"><strong><em>Wicked The Musical</em></strong></a> is lighter in tone and focuses on feel-good energy and positivity. The original source material, on the other hand, is not so fun or forgiving. As a matter&nbsp;of fact, many find <strong>Gregory Maguire</strong>&#39;s<em> Wicked: Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West</em> to be relentlessly dark and depressing. The book explores issues not found in the musical, including Elphaba&#39;s terrible childhood, and kills off many characters in order to drive home the fact that Oz has an incredibly corrupt government.</span></p>

<br/> How long is Wicked The Musical, London?

<p><span style="color:#000000">London&#39;s <em>Wicked</em> musical running time is <strong>about 2 hours and 45 minutes </strong>including an interval.</span></p>

<br/> Will there be a Wicked musical movie?

<p><span style="color:#000000">A <em>Wicked</em> movie has already received the &#39;emerald&#39; green light and is set to be released by Universal Pictures sometime in the near future. The film adaptation was originally meant to open in cinemas on 22 December 2021, but the release date has now been pushed back due to&nbsp;the coronavirus pandemic in order to make for <em>Sing 2</em>, which was already delayed once to make way for <em>Minions: Rise of Guru</em>.</span></p>

<br/> When did Wicked musical come out?

<p><span style="color:#000000">Wicked received its world premiere at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco on 28 May&nbsp;2003. After its tryout run in California, the musical transferred to New York and made its Broadway premiere in October 2003 at the Gershwin Theatre. Following a North American tour in 2005, Wicked crossed the pond to the UK and opened for previews in the West End on 7 September 2006&nbsp;at <a href="http://Wicked received its world premiere at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco on 28 May 2003. After its tryout run in California, the musical transferred to New York and made its Broadway premiere in October 2003 at the Gershwin Theatre. Following a North American tour in 2005, Wicked crossed the pond to the UK and opened for previews in London's West End on 7 September 2006 at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, where it has been running ever since. The official London premiere of Wicked took place on 27 September 2006."><strong>London&#39;s Apollo Victoria Theatre</strong></a>, where it has been running ever since. The official London premiere of <em>Wicked</em> took place on 27 September 2006.</span></p>

<br/> Who starred in the Wicked musical original London cast?

<p><span style="color:#000000">The&nbsp;West End&nbsp;premiere production of <em>Wicked</em><strong><em> </em></strong>featured musical theatre sensation&nbsp;<strong>Idina Menzel</strong> (</span><a href="https://www.londontheatredirect.com/musical/3868/frozen-the-musical-tickets.aspx"><span style="color:#000000"><strong><em>Frozen</em></strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000">, <em>Rent</em>), who reprised her&nbsp;role as Elphaba from the original Broadway run. Other original London cast members included&nbsp;<strong>Adam Garcia </strong>as Fiyero, <strong>Helen Dallimore </strong>as Glinda,<strong> James Gillan</strong> as Boq, <strong>Katie Rowley Jones</strong> as Nessarose, <strong>Martin Ball </strong>as Doctor Dillamond, <strong>Miriam Margolyes </strong>as Madame Morrible, and <strong>Nigel Planer</strong> as the Wizard.</span></p>

<br/> What are all the Wicked musical songs?

<p><span style="color:#000000">The complete <em>Wicked</em> musical song list includes the Act I songs &quot;No One Mourns The Wicked&quot;, &quot;Dear Old Shiz&quot;, &quot;The Wizard and I&quot;, &quot;What Is This Feeling?&quot;, &quot;Something Bad&quot;, &quot;Dancing Through Life&quot;, &quot;Popular&quot;, &quot;I&#39;m Not That Girl&quot;, &quot;One Short Day&quot;, &quot;A Sentimental Man&quot;, and &quot;Defying Gravity&quot; and the Act II songs &quot;Thank Goodness&quot;, &quot;The Wicked Witch Of The East&quot;, &quot;Wonderful&quot;, &quot;I&#39;m Not That Girl (reprise)&quot;, &quot;As Long As You&#39;re Mine&quot;, &quot;No Good Deed&quot;, &quot;March Of The Witch Hunters&quot;, &quot;For Good&quot;, and &quot;Finale.&quot;</span></p>

<br/> Where can I get the best Wicked musical London tickets?

<p><span style="color:#000000"><em>Wicked</em> musical Apollo Victoria Theatre tickets can be purchased through London Theatre Direct using our safe and secure booking system. <strong>Cheap <em>Wicked</em> tickets</strong> are now available <strong>from as low as &pound;27</strong>.</span></p>

<br/> What are some Wicked musical inspirational quotes?

<ul> <li><span style="color:#000000"><strong><u>Food for thought</u>:</strong> &ldquo;Are people born wicked, or is wickedness trust upon them?&rdquo;</span></li> <li><span style="color:#000000"><strong><u>To help you cope with the hard times</u>:</strong> &ldquo;It&#39;s just life, so keep dancing through.&rdquo;</span></li> <li><span style="color:#000000"><strong><u>On materialism</u>:&nbsp;</strong>&ldquo;I know you don&#39;t want to hear this but someone has to say it! You are out of control! I mean they&#39;re just shoes... let it go!&rdquo;</span></li> <li><span style="color:#000000"><strong><u>On following your dreams</u>:&nbsp;</strong>&ldquo;Some things I cannot change, but &#39;til I try I&#39;ll never know.&rdquo;</span></li> </ul>

<br/> What is the Wicked musical's age rating?

<p><span style="color:#000000"><a href="https://www.londontheatredirect.com/musical/wicked-tickets"><em>Wicked</em> in London</a> does have&nbsp;an age restriction and is <strong>suitable for ages 3 and up only</strong>. Children under 3 years of age will NOT&nbsp;be admitted into the theatre and <strong>children under 16 years of age must be accompanied by an adult</strong> or legal guardian. Babes in arms are not permitted.</span></p>

<br/> Will Wicked ever be released on DVD?

<p><span style="color:#000000">There have been rumours of a <em>Wicked</em> home video release but so far a&nbsp;DVD, Blu-ray or VOD release&nbsp;date has yet to be&nbsp;confirmed for the musical.&nbsp;</span></p>

<br/> Is the Wicked musical scary?

<p><span style="color:#000000">While the show does not contain any foul language, sexual references, or violence, <em>Wicked </em>does contain some scary moments, which is why the musical is best suited for children ages 7 and up and&nbsp;children under 3 years of age are not allowed into the auditorium.</span></p>

<br/> What time does Wicked finish in London?

<p><span style="color:#000000">London <em>Wicked</em> matinee performances begin at 2.30pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays and finish at about 5.15pm. Evening performances of <a href="https://www.londontheatredirect.com/musical/wicked-tickets"><em>Wicked</em> at the Apollo </a>Victoria start at 7.30pm and finish at around 10.15pm.</span></p>


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By Nicholas Ephram Ryan Daniels

Ephram is a jack of all trades and enjoys attending theatre, classical music concerts and the opera.