Tickets go on sale soon for 'Wicked' show at BJCC Concert Hall in Birmingham
You can still be with the Wizard, and Elphaba, Glinda, Fiyero and flying monkeys, when tickets go on sale May 30 for the Broadway touring company of "Wicked," which will return for 24 performances at the BJCC Concert Hall on Sept. 3-21.
Previous tours have been among the best-selling in the BJCC's long-running Broadway in Birmingham series ― the 2016 "Wicked" run sold 40,000 seats ― so tickets are expected to go fast.
It's one of history's most-popular musicals, with its ubiquity only growing from the long-awaited part one of a film adaptation, released in November 2024. That "Wicked" won a basketful of Oscars, BAFTAs, Golden Globe, Critics Circle and other awards, and set a Guinness world record for highest-grossing movie based on a stage show.
Its worldwide box office gross is currently $$755,785,657. The concluding part two is expected to reach cinemas Nov. 21.
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The musical version of Gregory Maguire's best-selling revisionist novel, based on L. Frank Baum's Oz tales, became one of Broadway's greatest success stories. It's currently in its 22nd year on the Great White Way, making it fourth-longest-running in Broadway history, behind only "The Phantom of the Opera," the 1996 revival of "Chicago," and "The Lion King." "Phantom" closed in spring 2023, but the other three contenders are still running.
The 2003 musical won three Tonys, seven Drama Desk awards, and a Grammy for its original cast album, which featured Idina Menzel as Elphaba, Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda/Galinda, Norbert Leo Butz as Fiyero (Butz is a graduate of the University of Alabama's master of fine arts acting program; UA theater grad and Tuscaloosan Jake Boyd played Fiyero on national tours, including the production that played the BJCC in 2016), and Joel Grey as the Wizard.
Menzel and Chenoweth made cameo appearances in the movie, as did composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz and original book writer Winnie Holzman, who also co-wrote the paired films' screenplays.
"Wicked" has played 16 countries around the world, translated into six languages, and been seen live by more than 70 million people, racking up more than $6 billion in ticket sales.
Tickets for the BJCC performances cost $81.60 and up, and will be available beginning at 10 a.m. May 30, through www.ticketmaster.com, www.bjcc.org, or through www.broadwayinbirmingham.com. For group-rate tickets of 10 or more, email groups@atguild.org.
Performances of the Sept. 3-21 BJCC run will be 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays. There'll be an added 2 p.m. matinee on Sept. 4.
The musical "Wicked: The Untold Stories of the Witches of Oz" was patterend from Maguire's novel "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West," with events taking place around those known from the landmark 1939 "The Wizard of Oz" film, and Baum's 1900 novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz."
Schwartz and Holzman made numerous changes to streamline Maguire's densely plotted book, and to fit the story to the stage. "Wicked" tracks Elphaba Thropp (a name Maguire invented based on a phonetic reading of Baum's initials, L.F.B.) with her college roommate Galinda (later Glinda) Upland, as the odd couple navigate magical training, a burgeoning friendship, and violent prejudice against the emerald-skinned, and others who differ from the norm.
They first revere but later oppose an oppressive wizard, though the friends pursue different destinies: one is very good at what she does; the other is considered good because of how she appears.
Lofted by hit songs including "Defying Gravity," "For Good" and "Popular," the 2003 Broadway musical soared at the box office. Despite pans from The New York Times, Newsday, Hollywood Reporter and others, some critics gave it mixed notes, mostly praising its stars, while others loved it unreservedly. Elysa Gardner of USA Today wrote that "Wicked" was "...the most complete, and completely satisfying, new musical I've come across in a long time."
More: Accessing local journalism is even easier with the News app
For more on the touring company, see www.wickedthemusical.com. More information can also be found on social media, including @wicked_musical on Instagram and TikTok, and www.facebook.com/Wickedthemusical. More on the Broadway in Birmingham series can be seen through @BwayBirmingham on Instagram and TikTok, or through www.facebook.com/BroadwayInBirmingham.
Reach Mark Hughes Cobb at mark.cobb@tuscaloosanews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: 'Wicked' in Birmingham: How to get tickets for touring show
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