The Wizard

Paul Tazewell’s costumes for the film adaptation of Wicked conjure their own kind of magic.

- marley marius

The story of Wicked has become, over time, one simply crammed with astonishing figures—and I don’t only mean the likes of Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth. Twenty-one years: That’s how long the show has been running at New York’s Gershwin Theatre. $1.6 billion: That’s how much it’s grossed on Broadway, at time of writing. Twenty-five: That’s how many actors have played Elphaba in that production full-time. (There have been 22 Glindas.) Add to that the 238 costume changes, 226 pairs of shoes, and 84 wigs per performance, and one’s eyes begin to water a bit. It’s a lot—but then again, isn’t “a lot” sort of Wicked’s whole thing? It’s a big show about the powers of good and evil, with a talking goat, flying monkeys, and a spiky love triangle thrown in for good measure.