Wicked has welcomed its 14 millionth visitor to the Apollo Victoria Theatre, four days before the production marks 20 years in the West End. The seat that took it there went to a couple from Arizona who had come for a birthday.
The 14 millionth ticketholder for Wicked in London arrived at the Apollo Victoria Theatre on Wednesday 23 September 2026, at the 7,784th performance the musical has given in the house it moved into in 2006. The count lands four days short of the anniversary itself, which falls on Sunday 27 September.
The visitors were Pablo and Brenda Ernst, from Arizona, in London on holiday and at the theatre for an anniversary of their own: Pablo's birthday. Neither of them had been warned. They met the company after the performance.
It is the second landmark the production has passed this month. The Royal Mint struck a commemorative 50p for the twentieth anniversary earlier in September; the visitor figure is the show's own accounting of the same two decades.
The musical opened at the Apollo Victoria on 27 September 2006, after previews from 7 September, and has now played more than 7,700 performances there. That makes it the ninth longest-running production in West End history. The Broadway original, running since 30 October 2003, has passed 8,500 performances at the Gershwin Theatre, and the show has been seen by more than 72 million people across 130 cities and 16 countries.
The company leads three celebration performances over the anniversary weekend. Saturday's 2.30pm matinee is the "Pink" performance, given over to Glinda, with costume displays placed around the building; the 7.30pm show that evening is the "Green" performance and belongs to Elphaba, dressed the same way. Sunday's 2.30pm gala falls on the anniversary date itself. Everyone holding a ticket to the three receives a Wicked20 commemorative programme, with a themed gift bag on the Saturday performances and a complimentary one at the gala.
The current London company is led by Emma Kingston as Elphaba and Zizi Strallen as Glinda, with Jordan Litz as Fiyero, Claire Machin as Madame Morrible, Michael Matus as The Wizard, Ross Carpenter as Boq, Yara Fabricante as Nessarose and David McKechnie as Doctor Dillamond. Laura Emmitt is alternate Elphaba and Lydia Gerrard standby for Glinda.
Stephen Schwartz wrote the music and lyrics and Winnie Holzman the book, working from Gregory Maguire's novel. Joe Mantello directs, with musical staging by Wayne Cilento, sets by Eugene Lee, costumes by Susan Hilferty, lighting by Kenneth Posner, sound by Tony Meola and projections by Elaine J. McCarthy. The same pair went on to write the two-part film version, Wicked and Wicked: For Good, released in November 2024 and November 2025.
Wicked runs at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, booking to Sunday 30 May 2027, with tickets from £25.
