- Wicked features more than 20 musical numbers and reprises, including “Defying Gravity,” “Popular,” “The Wizard and I,” “Dancing Through Life,” and “For Good.”
- The score follows Elphaba and Glinda from their first meeting at Shiz University through the choices, relationships, and events that shape their lives in Oz.
- Stephen Schwartz wrote the music and lyrics for Wicked, which opened on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre in 2003.
For more than 20 years, the songs of Wicked have been a defining part of the Broadway musical, from Elphaba’s soaring “Defying Gravity” to Glinda’s playful “Popular” and the friends’ emotional duet “For Good.”
With music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, the Wicked Broadway score follows Elphaba and Glinda from their first meeting at Shiz University through the events that shape their lives in Oz. Here’s a guide to all the songs in Wicked on Broadway and where they appear in the story.
Note: The following contains spoilers for Wicked.
What songs are in Wicked on Broadway?
The Broadway score of Wicked includes more than 20 musical numbers and reprises across two acts. Some of the best-known Wicked songs include “Defying Gravity,” “Popular,” “The Wizard and I,” “Dancing Through Life,” “No Good Deed,” and “For Good.”
Here is the complete song list from the Broadway musical.
Act I of Wicked
“No One Mourns the Wicked”
*Fan Favorite*
Features: Glinda Upland, Witch’s Father, Witch’s Mother, and Midwife.
Cast recording artists: Kristin Chenoweth, Sean McCourt, Cristy Candler, Jan Neuberger, and the Original Broadway Cast of Wicked.
Song type: Show tune
Wicked begins after the death of the Wicked Witch of the West, with the citizens of Oz celebrating the news. Glinda joins them, but raises a question that sits at the heart of the musical: How does someone come to be considered wicked?
The story then moves into the past to reveal the life of Elphaba, the woman who would eventually become known as the Wicked Witch.
Fun fact: This was the very first song written for Wicked, even though Stephen Schwartz is known to never write the opening numbers first.
“Dear Old Shiz”
Features: Glinda Upland and the Shiz University Students.
Cast recording artists: Kristin Chenoweth and the Original Broadway Cast of Wicked.
Song type: Choral, Show tune
The story travels back to Shiz University, where Elphaba and Glinda first meet. The number introduces the school and sets up the beginning of their very unlikely relationship.
“The Wizard and I”
*Fan Favorite*
Features: Elphaba Thropp and Madame Morrible.
Cast recording artists: Idina Menzel and Carole Shelley.
Song type: Show tune
Elphaba imagines what could happen if her magical abilities bring her to the attention of the Wizard of Oz. The song gives audiences an early look at her ambitions and her hope that being recognized for her talents could transform her life.
“The Wizard and I” is one of Elphaba’s major solo numbers in the Broadway musical.
Fun fact: “The Wizard and I” is actually a replacement for the song “Making Good”, which was created during early workshops of Wicked.
“What Is This Feeling?”
*Fan Favorite*
Features: Glinda Upland and Elphaba Thropp.
Cast recording artists: Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, and the Original Broadway Cast of Wicked.
Song type: Show tune
Elphaba and Glinda have become roommates, but friendship is still a long way off. In “What Is This Feeling?,” they enthusiastically describe their immediate dislike for each other, with their fellow students soon joining in.
“Something Bad”
Features: Doctor Dillamond and Elphaba Thropp.
Cast recording artists: William Youmans and Idina Menzel.
Song type: Show tune
Doctor Dillamond tells Elphaba that something troubling is happening to the Animals of Oz. The number introduces a conflict that becomes increasingly important to Elphaba and helps drive her desire to meet the Wizard.
“Dancing Through Life”
Features: Fiyero Tigelaar, Glinda Upland, Elphaba Thropp, Boq, and Nessarose Thropp.
Cast recording artists: Norbert Leo Butz, Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, Christopher Fitzgerald, Michelle Federer, and the Original Broadway Cast of Wicked.
Song type: Show tune
“Dancing Through Life” introduces Fiyero and his carefree approach to life at Shiz. The ensemble number brings several of the musical’s relationships together and leads to an important turning point in Elphaba and Glinda’s friendship.
“Popular”
*Fan Favorite*
Features: Glinda Upland and Elphaba Thropp.
Cast recording artists: Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel.
Song type: Show tune
One of the best-known songs from Wicked, “Popular” sees Glinda decide that her new friend Elphaba could benefit from some of her expertise.
It is Glinda’s signature solo in the musical and marks just how far the relationship between the two roommates has come since “What Is This Feeling?”
Note: This song marks the halfway point of Act I.
“I’m Not That Girl”
Features: Elphaba Thropp
Cast recording artists: Idina Menzel
Song type: Ballad
Elphaba realizes that she has developed feelings for Fiyero but believes that he could never feel the same way about her. The quieter ballad reveals another side of Elphaba as her friendship with Glinda and relationship with Fiyero become more complicated.
“One Short Day”
Features: Elphaba Thropp and Glinda Upland.
Cast recording artists: Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth, and the Original Broadway Cast of Wicked.
Song type: Show tune
Elphaba and Glinda arrive in the Emerald City, where they take in the sights before Elphaba’s long-awaited meeting with the Wizard.
The colorful ensemble number provides one of the musical’s biggest celebrations of Oz before the story takes a dramatic turn.
Fun fact: In the 2024 film adaptation led by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth make a surprise appearance in this number.
“A Sentimental Man”
Features: The Wizard
Cast recording artists: Joel Grey
Song type: Solo, Ballad
Elphaba finally meets the Wizard, who presents himself as an ordinary man whose desire to be a father helped shape the leader he became.
“Defying Gravity”
*Fan Favorite*
Features: Elphaba Thropp and Glinda Upland.
Cast recording artists: Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth, and the Original Broadway Cast of Wicked.
Song type: Show tune
“Defying Gravity” closes Act I and is one of the most recognizable songs in Wicked. After discovering the truth behind what is happening in Oz, Elphaba must decide whether to follow the Wizard or stand against him.
Her decision changes the course of the story and culminates in one of Wicked’s signature theatrical moments as Elphaba rises above the stage.
Note: This is the last song before intermission.
Act II of Wicked
“Thank Goodness”
Features: Glinda Upland, Madame Morrible, and Fiyero Tigelaar.
Cast recording artists: Kristin Chenoweth, Carole Shelley, Norbert Leo Butz, and the Original Broadway Cast of Wicked.
Song type: Show tune
Act II finds Glinda celebrated by the people of Oz while Elphaba has been publicly branded the Wicked Witch. Beneath the celebrations, however, Glinda begins to question whether getting everything she once wanted has actually made her happy.
“Wonderful”
Features: The Wizard and Elphaba Thropp.
Cast recording artists: Joel Grey and Idina Menzel.
Song type: Duet, Show tune
Elphaba meets the Wizard again and is offered another opportunity to join him. “Wonderful” explores how reputation and perception can shape the way people and their actions are remembered.
“I’m Not That Girl (Reprise)”
Features: Glinda Upland
Cast recording artists: Kristin Chenoweth
Song type: Solo, Ballad
Glinda reprises Elphaba’s earlier song as the relationships between Elphaba, Fiyero, and Glinda shift.
“As Long As You’re Mine”
Features: Elphaba Thropp and Fiyero Tigelaar.
Cast recording artists: Idina Menzel and Norbert Leo Butz.
Song type: Duet, Ballad
Elphaba and Fiyero share this duet as they acknowledge their feelings for each other while facing an uncertain future.
Note: This song marks the halfway point of Act II.
“No Good Deed”
Features: Elphaba Thropp
Cast recording artists: Idina Menzel
Song type: Solo, Ballad
“No Good Deed” is Elphaba’s final major solo. Frustrated by the consequences of her attempts to help others, she questions whether doing good has achieved anything at all and begins to embrace the identity Oz has created for her.
“March of the Witch Hunters”
Features: Boq
Cast recording artists: Christopher Fitzgerald and the Original Broadway Cast of Wicked.
Song type: Show tune
The citizens of Oz gather to hunt Elphaba, bringing the story closer to the events audiences may recognize from The Wizard of Oz.
“For Good”
*Fan Favorite*
Features: Elphaba Thropp and Glinda Upland.
Cast recording artists: Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth.
Song type: Duet, Ballad
Elphaba and Glinda meet again and reflect on how profoundly their friendship has changed them both.
“For Good” is one of the best-known songs in Wicked and brings the relationship at the center of the musical toward its emotional conclusion.
Fun fact: Stephen Schwartz got the idea for the opening verse after asking his daughter what she would say if she were never going to see her best friend again.
“Finale”
Features: Elphaba Thropp and Glinda Upland.
Cast recording artists: Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth, and the Original Broadway Cast of Wicked.
Song type: Ballad, Show tune
The finale returns the story to where Wicked began, following the reported death of the Wicked Witch of the West. As the people of Oz celebrate, the musical reveals the final consequences of Elphaba and Glinda’s choices.
What is Wicked on Broadway about?
Wicked, the Broadway sensation, looks at what happened in the Land of Oz…but from a different angle. Long before Dorothy arrives, there is another young woman, born with emerald-green skin—smart, fiery, misunderstood, and possessing an extraordinary talent. When she meets a bubbly blonde who is exceptionally popular, their initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships…until the world decides to call one “good,” and the other one “wicked.” With a thrilling score that includes the hits “Defying Gravity,” “Popular” and “For Good,” Wicked has been hailed by The New York Times as “the defining musical of the decade.” Time Magazine cheers, “if every musical had the brain, the heart, and the courage of Wicked, Broadway really would be a magical place.”
Who is in the cast of Wicked on Broadway?
The current principal cast of Wicked includes Keri René Fuller as Elphaba and Emma Flynn as Glinda, Jenna Bainbridge as Nessarose, Daniel Quadrino as Boq, Ellen Harvey as Madame Morrible, Blake Hammond in the role of the Wizard, Carl Man as Fiyero, and William Youmans as Dr. Dillamond.
Who is on the creative team of Wicked on Broadway?
Originally inspired by Gregory Maguire’s novel, Wicked features music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. The musical is under the direction of Joe Mantello. Additional creative team members include Wayne Cilento (musical staging), Eugene Lee (scenic designer), Susan Hilferty (costume designer), Kenneth Posner (lighting designer), Tony Meola (sound designer), Elaine J. McCarthy (projection designer), Tom Watson (hair and wig designer), Joe Dulude II (makeup designer), Stephen Oremus (music supervision and arrangements), William David Brohn (orchestrations), and Alex Lacamoire (music arrangements). Casting by The Telsey Office.
Where can I buy tickets to Wicked on Broadway?
Broadway Direct is the official ticket source for Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway. Tickets can be purchased here.
