Need something to listen to? Disney's High School Musical: The Musical: The Series star Joe Serafini recommends the original Broadway cast recording of Wicked.
Wicked opened on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre October 30, 2003. The musical adaptation of Gregory Maguire's novel (itself adapted from L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) was directed by Joe Mantello with musical staging by Wayne Cilento. It continues to run at the Gershwin to this day, becoming the fifth longest-running musical in Broadway history with over 6,500 performances to date. It received 10 Tony nominations, winning for scenic design, costume design, and lead actor Idina Menzel's performance.
The cast recording is available on Amazon, iTunes, and Apple Music.
Featuring a score by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman, Wicked reexamines what happened in the Land of Oz… but from a different angle. Long before Dorothy arrives in Oz, there is a young woman born with emerald-green skin—smart, fiery, misunderstood and possessing an extraordinary talent. When she meets a bubbly blonde who is exceptionally popular, their initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships… until the world decides to call one "good," and the other one "wicked."
Kristin Chenoweth in Wicked
The original cast featured Menzel as Elphaba, the eventual Wicked Witch of the West, while Kristin Chenoweth starred as Glinda. The cast was rounded out by Norbert Leo Butz as Fiyero, Joel Grey as the Wizard, Carole Shelley as Madame Morrible, Michelle Federer as Nessarose, Christopher Fitzgerald as Boq, and William Youmons as Doctor Dillamond.
The production also features scenic design by Eugene Lee, costume design by Susan Hilferty, lighting design by Kenneth Posner, sound design by Tony Meola, projections by Elaine J. McCarthy, wig and hair design by Tom Watson, music supervision and arrangements by Stephen Oremus, orchestrations by William David Brohn, and dance arrangements by James Lynn Abbott.
