Oh, OK. Here it is:
How 'Wicked' Cast Its Spell
The Broadway musical took a page from Hollywood, turning a troubled show
into a marketing machine.
By BROOKS BARNES
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 22, 2005; Page A1
(See Corrections & Amplifications item below.)
"Wicked" had flop written all over it when it opened on Broadway in 2003. Empty seats dotted the theater. Advance sales totaled $9 million -- not great for a $14 million production. The all-important New York Times review began: "There's trouble in Emerald City." And it failed to win the Best Musical honor at the Tony Awards, usually a death knell for a show with no marketable stars.
Today "Wicked" -- billed as a prequel to L. Frank Baum's tales of the Land of Oz -- is a moneymaking machine, thanks to a deft strategy that transformed it into the launch pad for a much broader brand. Sales for future shows stand at a robust $30 million. Two North American tours are doing big business while weekly sales of products -- everything from $20 "Wicked" golf balls to $35 themed necklaces -- exceed $300,000. That's more than most Broadway plays gross in a week.
And the musical, backed in part by Universal Pictures, is just starting to tap the new mother lode of the theater business: world-wide touring and licensing. A London outpost opens next year and there are plans to dispatch Wicked Witches of the West to Germany, Australia and Japan. (That's an ambitious project, since "The Wizard of Oz" isn't as well-known in other countries as it is in the U.S.) Other revenue streams include a movie version and possible tie-ins with products such as Sprint cellphones and green M&Ms. A 192-page coffee-table book hits stores next week.
"Wicked" owes a lot of its popularity to its twist on a much-loved story and its "American Idol"-esque score, which has been a hit with teenage girls. But its success is also rooted in a big shift under way on Broadway and the broader world of entertainment. Musicals, much like kids' cartoons or fashion shows, are no longer merely products in and of themselves. These days, Broadway is borrowing a page from Hollywood's playbook: Use the initial production as a platform for building a world-wide franchise.
"The theater business is like a loaf of bread," says Thomas Schumacher, president of Walt Disney Co.'s theatrical unit. "Broadway is the yeast."
Broadway, famous for its hoary business practices, is finally catching up to the model for so much of the rest of the entertainment industry. A book becomes a TV show, which becomes a videogame, a set of DVDs and a line of clothing. And this replicates itself all over the world. Just as DVDs and overseas ticket sales can now provide more than 60% of the revenue for a movie, the real Broadway money increasingly comes after shows establish themselves on the Great White Way.
Eleven clones of "Mamma Mia!" are currently running around the world. The musical, based on the songs of 1970s band ABBA, has grossed more than $1.4 billion world-wide since it launched six years ago. "Phantom of the Opera," which opened in 1988, has grossed $3.2 billion world-wide and opens a new $35 million production in Las Vegas next spring. It became a movie last year. Premiering next month: A film version of the hit musical "Rent."
Disney set the standard. Its stage production of "The Lion King" has grossed about $420 million in eight years on Broadway. But the New York box office is a fraction of the musical's global haul: Add in 10 more "Lion King" productions and the show has grossed more than $2 billion world-wide -- easily surpassing the $786 million cumulative total that was generated by movie-ticket sales. The stage tally doesn't include merchandising, which can add an additional 10% to the total.
Technology has made turning a musical into a global enterprise easier: Now, when "Wicked" opens in London, marketing executives in the United Kingdom can email a pending radio ad to producers in New York for approval. "You need total control over everything from marketing materials to costumes to choreography or else your investment will start to unravel," says "Wicked" producer David Stone.
The shift is one reason movie studios are increasingly hitting the stage. DreamWorks SKG has a "Shrek" musical in the works, and Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc., makes its Broadway debut next spring with "Lestat," based on the books of Anne Rice. MGM On Stage is developing more than a dozen shows based on movies from the MGM library, including "Get Shorty" and the "Thomas Crown Affair."
Still, it's a tough market: About 80% of Broadway shows close at a loss, according to industry estimates. Due to escalating costs, many must play to sold-out houses for more than a year just to break even. ("Wicked" is among three Broadway shows that recently raised top everyday ticket prices to an unprecedented $110; see related article.)
Based on Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel of the same name, "Wicked" examines the unlikely friendship of two teen witches, and questions which one is really evil. In this version, Glinda, who grows up to be the "good" witch, is actually a ditzy, devious blonde who values her popularity and extensive shoe collection over ethics. Elphaba, later known as the Wicked Witch of the West, is a politically active, green-skinned rebel, struggling to fit in at sorcery school.
Other familiar characters are also given new backstories: The Tin Man turns out to have some personality flaws, while the Wizard has a number of skeletons in his closet. And those scary flying monkeys? They're just misunderstood.
Costumed fans outside the Gershwin Theater in New York.
"This show is a rocket because it's attracting people from teenagers to grandparents," says Mike Isaacson, vice president of the 4,100-seat Fox Theater in St. Louis, where "Wicked" opens next month. (About $1.5 million of tickets were sold in the first 48 hours after they went on sale, a local record, he says.) The show is helped, he says, by big finales for the first and second acts -- including the Wicked Witch's inaugural broom ride, which has her belting out a song 15 feet above a fog-swirled stage. "That leaves people with pinwheels in their eyes."
Edward and Michelle Martinez felt that way after they caught a recent performance in Los Angeles with their two kids. "I'm breathless it was so good," said Mr. Martinez, 47, after the show. Mrs. Martinez, 50, bought a $35 baby doll T-shirt at one of the five "Ozdust Boutiques" set up inside the Pantages Theater. She says she decided to buy tickets after her daughter left the cast album in her minivan's CD player. "The songs gave just enough away to make me curious about the rest of the story," she said.
When their son, Michael, a 22-year-old college student, tried to see the show again, it was sold out, so he entered a lottery to get tickets. (Like many shows, "Wicked" sells a limited number of $25 tickets before each performance.) Nearly 300 other hopefuls crowded the sidewalk in front of the theater. A large school group was holding hands and loudly singing "Popular," one of the show's signature numbers. Mr. Martinez waited two hours in the throng, but didn't get tickets. "I guess I'll have to wait until it comes back," he says.
Marc Platt, a former top executive at General Electric Co.'s Universal Pictures, originally envisioned "Wicked" as a film. But writers had a hard time fitting the story into a traditional script and without music, "the fantasy world just wouldn't come alive," he says.
Neither Mr. Platt nor Universal was ready to make the story into a movie musical. Instead, they decided to try it as a lower-cost stage production, teaming with Mr. Stone, a theatrical producer best known for "The Vagina Monologues." Songwriter Stephen Schwartz, known for the 1976 musical "Godspell," and Winnie Holzman, who created the teen TV series "My So-Called Life," came on board. Universal, based on its relationship with Mr. Platt and eye for a franchise, agreed to back its first big Broadway production by sinking $10 million into the project.
But by the time "Wicked" landed on Broadway in October 2003, it was marred by cost overruns and creative battles. After a rocky tryout in San Francisco, costs rose to $14 million. Producers scrambled to recast roles, write new songs and trim it by 20 minutes. Universal Chairman Stacey Snider even stepped in to solve creative disputes. "Wicked" also drew what some consider to be one of the worst theaters on Broadway. Aside from lacking charm -- patrons enter through a parking garage -- the Gershwin suffers acoustic problems.
"Wicked" received mixed reviews. Both its lead actresses, Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, got raves and Ms. Menzel went on to win a Tony for her performance. But the crucial New York Times review was crushing. "A sermon of a musical," it said.
To counter negative critiques, the show's backers started discounting tickets 30% through mail offerings to fill seats. "We always felt that if enough people came to see the show it would take off," says Mr. Stone.
Indeed, once people saw it, "Wicked" began connecting with audiences. Customers started buying tickets at intermission to return for future shows. Teen girls seemed particularly enthralled. Hundreds of squealing fans would swarm the stage door after the show.
Mr. Platt, who has guided production on films from "Silence of the Lambs" to "Legally Blonde," realized he had an important demographic to cultivate: Movies taught him that teen girls tend to be repeat ticket buyers and vocal customers, urging friends to see something they like.
The producers immediately began fanning the spark. Mr. Platt pushed Universal's marketing staff to stir up talk about the show on the Internet through features on the musical's Web site and various chat rooms. He cut a licensing deal with Stila, a cosmetics company that had produced makeup tie-ins for "Legally Blonde." The show's two stars were dispatched to a Sephora cosmetic store to give makeovers with Glinda facial glitter and Elphaba lipstick.
Mr. Stone, meanwhile, helped develop a line of clothes to sell at theaters. Karaoke contests at malls offered people a chance to win tickets by "auditioning" for parts in the show. This year, the musical teamed up with radio stations in New York and Chicago, Elle Girl magazine and Macy's department stores for a month-long blitz tied to Halloween.
The show "blew me out of my seat from the first song. I thought I was going to die it was so good," says Katie Rehberg, a 17-year-old high-school senior in Billings, Mont., who recently saw the show in New York. "I told all my friends and now everybody is begging their parents to take them."
In addition to cultivating teens, the producers used corporate connections to advertise to adults. "Wicked" got plugs on NBC's "The Today Show" and special promos on NBC affiliates, benefits of the recent merger of Universal and the network. Universal incorporated music from the show into its tram tours at its California theme park. To generate regional buzz, staffers even persuaded the wife of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley to wear the show's Wicked Witch costume to a society party.
Boosted by word of mouth, heavy advertising and sales of the cast album, the "Wicked" box office caught fire within six months and broke even in 14. The musical is now Broadway's No. 1 show, grossing about $1.3 million a week. Producers decline to disclose operating profits.
The show is hitting pop-culture heights: The Smithsonian Institution says it is in talks to acquire "Wicked" props for its collection. Now Messrs. Platt and Stone are turning their efforts to the next phase.
The 30-city national tour, which requires 14 trucks to move, is already selling tickets for 2007 and currently playing Houston. In 2006, the tour is expected to gross $70 million, on attendance of 960,000, says Mr. Stone. An open-ended engagement in Chicago is on track to gross $60 million on attendance of 900,000.
Mr. Stone says his goal is to turn "Wicked" into a hit on the scale of "Les Miserables." That 1987 musical -- backed by producer Cameron Mackintosh, who also produced "Phantom" -- is credited with blazing a trail for the international musical theater business.
Can "Wicked" pull off its second act? There's no guarantee. Selling the show overseas poses a whole new set of problems -- not the least of which is "The Wizard of Oz." While the 1939 movie has been widely distributed, it's not a cultural touchstone outside the U.S., which could severely limit the musical's appeal.
With its massive sets and ornate costumes, "Wicked" is also so expensive that licensing the show to a local production company, the standard way to bring musicals to some parts of the world, could be difficult. Some key cities such as Tokyo have a shortage of available theaters, and even keeping up with casting will be a challenge: "Wicked" has more than 30 roles, and union rules in other countries largely require constant cast churn.
There are also nuances to foreign markets. Spanish theatergoers prefer shows to start as late as midnight to accommodate late dinners, says Disney's Mr. Schumacher. In Japan, productions often start in the early evening to attract young working women.
Universal, like Disney, has deep international resources to help the show, and the cast album is selling briskly in foreign markets. At London's Dress Circle theater shop, managers say the "Wicked" cast album is their bestseller.
Above all, the musical's producers are betting they have a property with a universal theme. "Let's face it," says Mr. Platt. "There's a green girl inside all of us."
Write to Brooks Barnes at brooks.barnes@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications:
Costs for "Wicked" rose after its tryout in San Francisco, but the production stayed within its $14 million budget. In addition, Maggie Daley, wife of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, will wear the show's Glinda costume at a society party. This article incorrectly implied that cost overruns caused the production to exceed its budget, and incorrectly said that Mrs. Daley will wear the Wicked Witch costume.
