“Defying Gravity”: Wicked CD Flies Off the Shelves

The new musical Wicked is not only a hit at the box office but at record stores as well.

The Wicked cast recording — now available on the Decca Broadway label — had the highest first-week sales of any Broadway cast recording since Jonathan Larson’s Rent in 1996. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the 19-track disc sold 17,841 units during its first week on the shelves. Comparatively, during their first weeks, blockbusters Hairspray sold 8,769 units, while The Producers fans bought 8,052 CDs.

Produced by composer Stephen Schwartz, the single Wicked CD runs 71 minutes and 8 seconds. Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel as witches, friends and rivals Glinda and Elphaba, head a cast that also includes Tony and Academy Award winner Joel Grey as The Wizard, Carole Shelley as the Wizard’s malevolent cohort Madame Morrible, Norbert Leo Butz as Glinda and Elphaba’s love interest Fiyero, Michelle Federer as Elphaba’s crippled sister Nessarose, Christopher Fitzgerald as the munchkin Boq who adores Glinda, and William Youmans as Doctor Dillamand, a professor and a goat.

The recording includes lyrics, color production photos from the musical and introductory notes by author Gregory Maguire. Maguire wrote the novel on which the musical is based. The complete track listing for Wicked follows:

“No One Mourns the Wicked”
“Dear Old Shiz”
“The Wizard and I”
“What Is This Feeling”
“Something Bad”
“Dancing Through Life”
“Popular”
“I’m Not That Girl”
“One Short Day”
“A Sentimental Man”
“Defying Gravity”
“Thank Goodness”
“Wonderful”
“I’m Not That Girl” (reprise)
“As Long As You’re Mine”
“No Good Deed”
“March of the Witch Hunters”
“For Good”
“Finale-Wicked”

Wicked plays the Gershwin Theatre, located in Manhattan at 222 West 51st Street. Tickets are available by calling (212) 307-4100 or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com.