The Songs That Made Wicked a Broadway Institution
Few Broadway scores have lodged themselves into the public consciousness quite like Stephen Schwartz’s music and lyrics for Wicked. Since the show opened on Broadway in 2003, its songs have been covered by pop artists, performed at talent competitions, and belted in living rooms across the world. Yet hearing them live in a theater remains a completely different experience, and in 2026 the show continues to draw sold-out crowds who know every word but still sit on the edge of their seats.
The score opens with No One Mourns the Wicked, an ensemble number that frames the entire story before it even begins. From there, Glinda introduces herself with the brassy, comedic The Wizard and I-era ambition is handed off to Elphaba, whose first-act closer The Wizard and I builds from quiet longing into full-throated musical theater power. Schwartz constructs that arc deliberately, giving audiences time to invest in a character before she truly soars.
The first act ends with Defying Gravity, which is arguably the most technically demanding showstopper in the modern Broadway canon. The orchestration swells in layers, the lighting rig tilts the whole stage into chaos, and the soprano holding that final note earns every second of the standing ovation. If you are planning to see Wicked, sitting in the orchestra section center gives you the full visual sweep of that moment. Mezzanine seats, however, offer a cleaner sightline when Elphaba rises above the stage.
Second-Act Highlights and What to Listen For
The second act shifts in tone. Thank Goodness opens with a celebration that feels slightly hollow, which is exactly the point. Glinda has gotten everything she wanted and cannot quite explain why it feels wrong. Kristin Chenoweth originated the role and brought enormous comedic precision to the number, but every actress who has taken on the role since has found her own spin on that particular brand of cheerful melancholy.
For many longtime fans, For Good is the emotional center of the show. It is a duet between Elphaba and Glinda placed near the end of the second act, and Schwartz keeps the orchestration stripped back intentionally. After ninety minutes of spectacle, the simplicity hits harder. Bring tissues. Seasoned theatergoers will tell you the same.
No Good Deed deserves special mention for being one of the more underrated numbers in the score. It is a furious, bitter solo for Elphaba that demonstrates Schwartz can write rock-adjacent musical theater just as convincingly as sweeping ballads. The song rarely gets the attention of Defying Gravity, but it is the moment where the character of Elphaba becomes fully three-dimensional.
If the Wicked score has sparked a deeper interest in Broadway music, there are several other shows worth exploring in 2026. The Hamilton Musical on Broadway offers a completely different compositional approach, blending hip-hop, R&B, and show tunes into a score that rewards repeated listening. For a lighter evening, Aladdin on Broadway delivers crowd-pleasing Alan Menken songs in a production built for pure theatrical joy. And fans of pop-driven scores should consider MJ The Musical, which turns the Michael Jackson catalog into a full Broadway narrative.
Wicked endures because Stephen Schwartz wrote songs that work on multiple levels. They function as character studies, as plot drivers, and as standalone concert pieces. That combination is rarer than it sounds, and it is the main reason audiences keep coming back.
