Chicago Wicked to Close on January 25

The Chicago production of the hit musical Wicked will close at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts on January 25, at which point it will have played 1,500 performances and grossed over $200 million dollars.

Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked tells the story of how a young woman named Elphaba became the Wicked Witch of the West. The show, which has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and a book by Winnie Holzman, is directed by Joe Mantello, with musical staging by Wayne Cilento.

The show’s Broadway production, which won three Tony Awards, has played to packed houses for over four years, and launched an extremely successful national tour. A separate Los Angeles production will close on January 11 after an 18-month run at the Pantages Theatre, and a new sit-down San Francisco production — where the show originated — is scheduled to open at the Orpheum Theatre in late January.