More than a dozen trucks carrying hundreds of props and set pieces lined up behind the Benedum Center in Downtown Pittsburgh on Tuesday, preparing to transform the historic theater into the magical world of Oz.
The tour of “Wicked” returns with opening night on Wednesday for its sixth run in Pittsburgh as part of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh series. The epic musical opened on Broadway in 2003 and made its first local appearance in 2006.
“We’re so excited to be back in Pittsburgh,” said Steve Quinn, company manager of “Wicked,” at a media event on Tuesday. “It’s such a great cultural town. … The arts are so important here in Pittsburgh. They’ve got so much to offer, and we’re just excited to be here for five weeks.”
With a score and lyrics by Carnegie Mellon University graduate Stephen Schwartz, “Wicked” catalogues the life and times of Elphaba — better known to “Wizard of Oz” fans as the Wicked Witch of the West. The instant smash hit is currently the fourth-longest-running musical in Broadway history and was the recipient of three Tony Awards.
“It’s kind of what happened before Dorothy dropped in,” Quinn said.
Quinn noted that this is the musical’s first return to the city since 2018 — long before its resurgence in popularity following the release of a two-part film adaptation in 2024 and 2025.
Quinn has been with “Wicked” for 21 years, and he said that there has definitely been renewed interest since the movies flew high at the box office. “It’s been very interesting to see that we’ve now reached across the globe, and not just in major cities. It’s always been a show for all ages, but I think because of the movies, we’re seeing a little bit younger. And a lot more people dressing up, which is just the most adorable thing to see.”
Inside the theater, local and tour crews worked hard to put together the framework of a Broadway-sized production scaled to fit the Benedum Center. Quinn said that the two biggest set pieces that they’d be setting up were the Wizard of Oz’s oversized head and the giant dragon that looms over the stage for the length of the show.
It takes about 30 hours to load everything into the theater. Quinn was grateful for Tuesday morning’s sunny skies and above-freezing temperatures; he said that weather is often the biggest hurdle to getting set up in a new city.
He also said that coming to “Wicked” is like stepping into a fantasy. “You come into the theater and you’re being transported somewhere outside of Pittsburgh for two and a half hours where you can forget that the Steelers lost, you can forget everything, and just enjoy a nice night of theater.”
“Wicked” will run at the Benedum Center in Downtown Pittsburgh from Jan. 14 to Feb. 15 as part of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh series. For tickets and more information, visit trustarts.org. Check back for the Trib’s review of the show on Friday morning at triblive.com.