Wicked Is Making Musicals Mainstream, and the Theatre Nerds Are Here for It

Two actors rehearse on stage while cast members watch from chairs, holding scripts, in a dimly lit theater

Last year, the Wicked movie took the world by storm. Besides the insane popularity of the movie in theatres, you could not go anywhere without being inundated with Wicked content. From TV commercials to stores, there were Wicked toys, housewares, clothing, even drinks and food items. People could not get enough of Wicked.

The thing is, theatre fans have known how amazing Wicked is for decades. As of this October, Wicked has been running on Broadway for 22 years, has had over 8,500 performances, there have been productions in 16 countries internationally, and it has spawned touring productions in both the US and UK. Point being, Wicked had made the rounds on stages across the world long before it hit the big screen.

The Wicked movie being positively received on such a large scale has opened the doors for more people to discover the wonderful world of musical theatre. But this is hardly the first time a movie musical has generated interest in stage shows. Grease in 1978, Chicago in 2002 - even Highschool Musical in 2006 - each of them exposed a larger audience to musical theatre, driving people to start seeking out new shows.

The tough part about wanting to explore Broadway shows is accessibility, for a number of reasons: tickets are expensive, not every production tours, filming in theatres is illegal, and not every show releases licensing rights for community theatres. Luckily, there are still ways to find new shows or rediscover old favorites, even if you may not be able to make it to Broadway.

With the exception of some shows that have incredibly short runs, almost every show produced on Broadway gets a cast album. They are available on most music-streaming services, and are also released as physical CDs. Mercer County Library System holds the original Broadway cast recording of Wicked, among plenty of others, including two of my personal favorite shows: Death Becomes Her and Anastasia. If you’re looking to discover new shows, cast recordings give you the most variety, and are accessible no matter what your listening preference is.

Movie musicals are cinematic adaptations of stage shows. The Wicked movie falls into this category. Most of the time there will be significant changes made, such as adding or cutting songs, characters, or even rewriting entire plotlines.

Movie musicals are different than proshots, which are recordings of a production as it is seen onstage - think Hamilton or Newsies. Proshots are the most faithful to the original production because, in most cases, they are the original production. They tend to be filmed towards the beginning of the run with the original cast members. Proshots are few and far between, though Merrily We Roll Along is set to release this December, and the original Broadway cast of Hadestown recently reunited in London to film, though a release date has yet to be announced. I highly recommend giving the album a listen.

Proshots and movie musicals are my personal preference when it comes to shows I can’t see on stage. You get the full scope of the production and storylines, which can sometimes get lost when you’re just listening to the songs on the album. Some shows get lucky and get both, like the Phantom of the Opera movie and the 25^th anniversary production, on top of their cast albums, giving you plenty of ways to watch and listen.

By the time this post is published, Wicked: For Good will be out and I, along with many other superfans, will have seen it (spoilers: I loved it). If you feel the need for a refresher, MCLS has part 1 available for your viewing pleasure.

For Further Exploration: