“Wicked” welcomes its 14-millionth visitor in the West End — on the eve of the 20th anniversary, gala performance at the Apollo Victoria

The musical “Wicked” has welcomed its 14-millionth visitor at London’s Apollo Victoria theatre, right on the eve of the 20th-anniversary celebrations, as West End Theatre reports. The couple Pablo and Brenda Ernst, who were on holiday in London from Arizona, attended the production’s 7,784th West End performance to celebrate Pablo’s birthday — and were surprised to learn that they were precisely the 14-millionth visitors, meeting the show’s cast afterwards.

The anniversary celebrations stretched across the whole weekend. On Saturday, tickets for both performances received the commemorative “Wicked20” programme and a gift bag, while the theatre was decorated with special costume exhibitions: the matinee was dedicated to Glinda with the “Pink” theme, while the evening performance to Elphaba, with the “Green” theme. The celebrations close today, Sunday 27 September 2026, with the 20th-anniversary gala at 14:30.

With music and lyrics by multiple Oscar and Grammy winner Stephen Schwartz, and a book by Winnie Holzman based on Gregory Maguire’s bestselling novel, “Wicked” tells the untold story of the witches of Oz and has played uninterrupted in the West End since September 2006. The current London cast comprises Emma Kingston as Elphaba, Zizi Strallen as Glinda, Jordan Litz as Fiyero, Claire Machin as Mrs Morrible, Michael Matus as the Wizard, Ross Carpenter as Boq, Yara Fabricante as Nessarose and David McKechnie as Dr Dillamond.

After 20 years on stage, “Wicked” is the ninth longest-running show in London theatre history, and as the official London theatre page also notes, the anniversary comes at a golden moment for the musical — tickets are on sale until 30 May 2027.