No doubt you’ve heard about “Wicked” landing at the Des Moines Civic Center just in time for Halloween (Oct. 30-Nov. 10). Before you fly back to Oz, take a peek behind the curtain . . .
“Wicked” by the numbers:
2: North American touring companies
3: Tony Awards
3: Stops in Des Moines (2009, 2011, 2013)
5: Productions in languages other than English: Japanese, German and Dutch. Plus Spanish (debuting this month) and Korean (November).
9: Consecutive years as Broadway’s highest-grossing show (unprecedented)
90-plus: Major international awards
1 million-plus: Facebook fans
$1.8 million-plus: Gross weekly revenue on Broadway
5 million: Copies sold of Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel, “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” 4.5 million of them after the musical opened in 2003.
$5 million: Average cumulative weekly gross for the musical’s three North American companies (Broadway and two traveling).
38 million: People worldwide who have seen “Wicked.”
$150 million: Sales of T-shirts, caps, jewelry and other items, making it the fastest-selling show merchandise in history.
$3.1 billion-plus: Cumulative gross from North American and international companies.
Pictured: Haley Podschun and Jennifer DiNola start in “Wicked.” Photo by Joan Marcus.
