“Wicked” becomes Chicago’s longest running theater production

After its three year run, “Wicked” recently became Chicago’s longest running theater production in history. On June 21, the production celebrated its 833rd performance at the Ford Center for Performing Arts and the show is scheduled to run through January 2008. Chicago, which has become an epicenter for the performing arts and many Broadway musicals, continues to attract large crowds for “Wicked,” which grossed more than $1.25 million in the city’s box office to date, according to an article on BroadwayWorld.com.  Surpassing the 1996-97 production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”
The Ford Center - which has ornate designs, enormous domed ceilings and expansive surrounding pillars - has also hosted many musicals, such as Ragtime and Cats. With an Arabian-themed architecture, this theater was repaired in the 1990s using money from the Ford Endowment for Performing Arts, giving the venue - once called the Oriental Theatre - its new name. Today it is one of the premier arena for theater productions.

“Wicked” unfolds in the land of Oz and tells the story of an early blossoming childhood friendship between Glinda the Good Witch of the East and Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West.  The two, who met long before Dorothy dropped into the picture, are as different as can be and their personalities shine through in animated scenes from this production, which is sure to entertain a broad audience of both young and old alike.

For “Wicked” tickets at a theater near you, visit Stubhub.com.

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