Photo Flash: WICKED Chicago Final Cast

Called "Broadway's biggest blockbuster" by The New York Times and "a cultural phenomenon" by Variety, Wicked continues to cast a spell on all of Chicagoland and its many visitors - over 2.9 million people have attended Wicked in Chicago with audience members representing all 50 U.S. states and all seven continents. Wicked is now the longest running Broadway musical in Chicago's theatre history. The Chicago company of Wicked took the stage on June 24, 2005 at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre.

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 and 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.

Wicked is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone. 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, Wicked is currently presented in Chicago, on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre, on a national tour, in Los Angeles at the Pantages Theatre and in London at the Apollo Victoria Theatre.

The Chicago company of Wicked is now playing through January 25, 2009 at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre (24 W. Randolph St.). Tickets are $30 to $100. A select number of VIP seats are also available. Tickets are on sale at Broadway In Chicago box offices (24 W. Randolph St., 151 W. Randolph St. and 18 W. Monroe St.); the Broadway In Chicago Ticket Line at (312) 902-1400; at all Ticketmaster ticket centers; and online at www.BroadwayInChicago.com. Groups of 20 or more can make reservations by calling (312) 977-1710.

For more information, visit www.wickedthemusical.com/chicago.

Photos by Joan Marcus