Has There Been A Bigger Hit Than Wicked?- Page 2

[Unknown User]

Posted: 7/13/12 at 10:56am

There's no way they aren't using the score that comes attached to Wicked- but they certainly might cut some songs and add a few new ones- one of which would almost certainly be targeted to top 40 radio.

[Wynbish]

Posted: 7/13/12 at 11:02am

^ And could be considered for the Best Song Oscar, which the current songs cannot be considered for.

[Justin D]

Posted: 7/13/12 at 11:02am

^^^^lol at that post

one may also argue that wicked is somewhat on the decline in some parts too. The US sit downs have gone back out on tour, the Aussie productions have closed, the 2 german productions have also closed where Phantom ran for 10 years in germany before closing and Lion King is still going strong in that market. There are also no new productions currently planned (that I know of) outside Korea and the new one in Holland.

[Kad]

Posted: 7/13/12 at 11:59am

The Wicked movie has been in talks since the musical opened. Every few years some half-story will come out about potential directors being met with. I'll believe it when it's a done deal.

[tazber]

Posted: 7/13/12 at 12:20pm

Are we talking about profit, awareness level, or what?

Financially I don't think it's anywhere near the "biggest" musical hit.
And when you count all the hundreds of productions of something like The King and I for example, plus all the licensing fees I can't see Wicked even being in the top 10.

When adjusted for inflation it would probably rank even lower.

And I don't think the awareness factor is nearly as high as the classic shows.

Basically it's a popular show, but I don't think it's had the cultural impact that many other shows have had.

The Wizard of Oz brand is so huge that I think Wicked is considered just another synergized off shoot. I know that it's completely separate in regards to rights ownership etc., but public perception is such that it gets lumped in with other Oz related media which dilutes its individual impact.

[finebydesign]

Posted: 7/13/12 at 12:56pm

"^ Becuase, for one, you can't really name a big star that has been in LION KING. WICKED, however, has had Kristin Chenoweth, Joel Grey, Etc....."

Kristin Chenoweth is not a "big star." In Hollywood she is lucky to be D-list. She gets typecast in everything outside of Broadway, and is the kiss-of-death to the films and television she appears in.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/13/12 at 2:30pm

I will admit that Cheno is one of the few people I consider primarily a modern musical theatre star who my non musical theatre friends have *some* idea of who she is, but a big star? Nah.

Similarly, Wicked is one of the few stage musicals from the last decade, that my non theatre friends also recognize by name even if they haven't seen it (Spider-Man is probably the other one, due to all the jokes on talk shows, etc), but that doesn't say all that much. Still, it is a show that can be mentioned on a mainstream tv show and most people know "Oh, that musical", though I think a lot of that is due to the Oz connection.

Clap Yo' Hands, you have a point about Le Miz... And I hope Wicked has a terrific new end title song performed by Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj with a video showing gay green teenagers deciding not to commit suicide when they find out they can fly.

[ElphabaGoodman]

Posted: 7/13/12 at 2:33pm

"one may also argue that wicked is somewhat on the decline in some parts too. The US sit downs have gone back out on tour, the Aussie productions have closed, the 2 german productions have also closed where Phantom ran for 10 years in germany before closing and Lion King is still going strong in that market. There are also no new productions currently planned (that I know of) outside Korea and the new one in Holland."

The San Francisco production closed because SHN wanted to open the Orpheum up for tours again. It will also most likely return to Germany next year, after the Dutch production is over. There is also a Korean-language production planned (the current production is in English and is a transfer of the Australian production), as well as productions planned for Mexico and Brazil.

[JohnyBroadway]

Posted: 7/13/12 at 2:38pm

Not to mention SHN will be hosting Wicked once again in the orpheum next year.

[flyinghighwithwicked]

Posted: 7/13/12 at 3:05pm

To add to ElphabaGoodman's post, the Los Angeles and Chicago companies did not close due to financial difficulty by any means, LA closed because they wanted to open the Panteges Theatre up again to tours, and Chicago closed for no apparent reason, David Stone stated they were closing it on a financial high note so that it could return to Chicago some time in the future. The tours still do EXTREMELY well, selling out is not uncommon, but otherwise playing to nearly full houses, and London is doing very well too. Biggest hit ever is an exaggeration at this point, but it could definetly be somewhere down the road.

[flyinghighwithwicked]

Posted: 7/13/12 at 3:05pm

To add to ElphabaGoodman's post, the Los Angeles and Chicago companies did not close due to financial difficulty by any means, LA closed because they wanted to open the Panteges Theatre up again to tours, and Chicago closed for no apparent reason, David Stone stated they were closing it on a financial high note so that it could return to Chicago some time in the future. The tours still do EXTREMELY well, selling out is not uncommon, but otherwise playing to nearly full houses, and London is doing very well too. Biggest hit ever is an exaggeration at this point, but it could definetly be somewhere down the road.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 7/13/12 at 4:22pm

finebydesign - While Chenowith is maybe not a "Major" star in Hollywood, she has done work on TV that should have made people recognize her and make her more than the "D" list person. She had role for two years on "West Wing" which was a pretty darn good show. The role ended only because it was decided to end the show. She was in the show "Pushing Daisy's" which only lasted two years but she won Emmy for her role in show. She has been a guest star on "Glee" which gets good ratings and makes people aware of her. She was nominated for Emmy for her guest appearances on "Glee" in 2010 and 2011.

[D2]

Posted: 7/13/12 at 4:54pm

And all that makes her a much lauded working actress, even beloved in certain, limited circles, but not a "STAR" in the traditional sense. Not yet, anyway.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/13/12 at 4:55pm

You forgot to mention her headlining sitcom (I can't even remember what it was called, surely it wasn't called Cheno!). I think she's something of a name for sure, but not a star...

The condensed version of Wicked closed at Universal Studios Japan--surely that means all versions are about to close :P

[My Oh My]

Posted: 7/13/12 at 5:41pm

The Los Angeles production was doing well, and as ludicrous as it sounds, I have no doubt it closed here due to desires to bring in other shows.

As big as this city is, we only have 2...TWO major theatres that host the first runs of major musicals in this over-crowded metropolis--the Ahmanson and the Pantages. All other theatres are primarily touring show houses and all of them have seen a dramatic decline in the number and quality of touring musicals they host. Some have even done away with their Broadway Series altogether.

That's not to say theatre is dead in Los Angeles. Although I'd hesitate in saying it's thriving.

Oh, and...

.....WHY DID THEY HAVE TO DEMOLISH THE SHUBERT THEATRE IN CENTURY CITY???????????? WHY????????!!!!!!!!

Sorry 'bout that. But that was my favorite theatre...anywhere. And to think it was demolished in order to erect office buildings in its place is just...I better stop.

Blood pressure.

[JamesBroadwayWiner]

Posted: 7/13/12 at 5:55pm

No. Arguably, there is Les Mis, Phantom, Cats. But Wicked recieves more hype, and there is a much more energetic feel in the theatre at Wicked than in Phatom or Les Mis.

[BroadwayFan12]

Posted: 7/13/12 at 5:59pm

Cheno is on the DD list.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 7/13/12 at 6:10pm

Wicked is the newest international blockbuster, but it hasn't received as much global attention as Cats, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King or even Mamma Mia.

[ClapYo'Hands]

Posted: 7/13/12 at 7:59pm

"Wicked recieves more hype, and there is a much more energetic feel in the theatre at Wicked than in Phatom or Les Mis."

Amongst small groups of gay teenagers, yes.

[binau]

Posted: 7/13/12 at 8:05pm

I mean I don't really think that's it, Wicked attracts a younger audience I think which is part of it - and DOES have more hype than Phantom on Broadway today...

Looking at the grosses PHANTOM appeared to still be selling out 9 years into its run on Broadway, so I don't know if WICKED is the 'bigger hit' (even if a superficial way to judge is that Phantom has been running longer - but I don't think that's really what the OP was getting at. Of course those shows have been running longer if they opened earlier)

Updated On: 7/13/12 at 08:05 PM

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/13/12 at 9:31pm

I dunno, I was 9 when Phantom came to town (not even to town--it came to Vancouver, a ways from where I lived), and EVERYONE at my school seemed to be talking about it. Maybe they would about Wicked too, who knows. Also they advertise Phantom as the largest grossing entertainment piece *ever* (ie including movies), so, if true, and I suspect it is, Wicked has a ways to go.

[WickedAwesome]

Posted: 7/13/12 at 11:37pm

Wicked has great things going for it like how it attracts a younger audience, much more than other shows and revivals which only open for a limited time. Yes, it is very successful here in the US and in several places around the world. I do agree that Wicked is a hit toady however, I think we should give it a dew more years before saying that it is the biggest.
West Side Story, Les Miserables, Phantom, and many others which aren't on Broadway anymore are seen as much more bigger than Wicked. Looking back in time, you can see the changes in shows and Wicked is just another step. The high end lights, props, etc. is changing the theater world. So is there a bigger hit than Wicked? Only time will tell, as for this very moment, of course there are always the great shows which made Broadway how it is today.

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 7/14/12 at 2:06am

I think of shows that opened in the past millenium, WICKED is the biggest show out there, with MAMMA MIA being up there. It's not the world's greatest show, but neither is CATS. I personally love WICKED, and I'm happy to see any show be successful. I've seen it 3 times (NY in 2004, LA in 2005 and 200 and while it may not be the biggest show of all time, it could be the next CATS or PHANTOM. A show still selling out and selling $1 million+ each week almost 9 years into the run? Regardless of inflated ticket prices, that's great!

[Princeton Returns]

Posted: 7/14/12 at 4:04am

Clap, its not just gay teenagers, id say its more teenage girls plus gay teens.

I would agree that Wicked has more hype online due to the nature of its fans however I think the beast that is Phantom Phans has been reawoken of late with Love Never Dies and the new Phantom tour and I still think Phantom wins when it comes to the volume (and sometimes craziness) of its fans

[Citygirl.grace]

Posted: 7/14/12 at 5:28am

As much as I dislike Wicked, if I were to go up to any of my non musical loving friends and ask them if they knew Wicked, they would instantly. Les Miserables... they would have no idea. Shame...