​Broadway's "Wicked" reaches $1 billion mark

NEW YORK - Producers of "Wicked" say the theatrical blockbuster has grossed over $1 billion on Broadway, joining only "The Lion King" and "The Phantom of the Opera" to that mark but faster than either rival.

The show, which opened in 2003 based on novelist Gregory Maguire's fanciful "Wizard of Oz" prequel, took just 12½ years to reach $1 billion. "The Lion King," which opened in 1997, reached that mark in 2013. "The Phantom of the Opera," which opened in New York in 1988, reached $1 billion last year.

"Wicked" has been one of Broadway's biggest success stories since it arrived in 2003 starring Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda and Idina Menzel as Elphaba.

The musical has also been a huge success for its investors. As Crain's New York reported two years ago, financial backers had reaped a return of more than 1,000 percent -- a better return than Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway booked during the same period.

"Wicked" is the story of the witches of Oz, before they meet Dorothy and her little dog. It has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and a book by Winnie Holzman.

Worldwide, the musical has amassed nearly $4 billion in global sales and has been seen by nearly 50 million people.