All this for a show that drew a mixed critical reception at its premiere and didn't even win the best musical Tony in its season. With seven productions playing worldwide, 'Wicked' has amassed more than $2.9 billion in ticket sales and been seen by more than 36 million people. Platt immediately saw its potential for the form and, going one better, said he'd always wanted to be involved with a Broadway musical - becoming the show's lead producer. Schwartz arranged to meet with Platt and argued that 'Wicked' should be a Broadway musical. He discovered they had been snapped up by Universal Pictures, where producer Marc Platt was beginning to develop it as a movie. I contacted my agent and asked him to find out who had the rights.' It was instinctive and personal to me, not reasoned out. 'Maybe because I write musicals and immediately wanted to write this one. 'The premise instantly struck me as a great idea for a musical,' Schwartz says. He was vacationing in Hawaii in 1996 with fellow composer and friend John Bucchino and singer Holly Near, when she mentioned she was reading Maguire's book - 'The Wizard of Oz' retold from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West. Tickets: $44-$174 80 and See More Collapse Indeed, Schwartz, 65, is reveling in a hugely successful third act that began with the premiere of his blockbuster 'Wicked' in October 2003 and is continuing with the smash revival of his 1972 hit 'Pippin,' which won this year's Tony for best musical revival. Scott Fitzgerald's assertion that 'There are no second acts in American lives.' But he's certainly one of the most prominent examples. 'Wicked' composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz is not the first artist whose experience refutes F. Michael Buckner/Staff Show More Show Less Joan Marcus Show More Show Less 8 of8 Stephen Schwartz says part of the success of 'Wicked' is that people can relate to how Elphaba feels about being an outcast.

Joan Marcus Show More Show Less 7 of8 Walker Jones in 'Wicked' which plays the Hobby Center July 10-Aug. Joan Marcus Show More Show Less 6 of8 Glinda (Hayley Podschun, left) vows to make outcast Elphaba (Jennifer DiNoia) popular in this scene from 'Wicked,' whose return engagement starts Wednesday at Hobby Center. Joan Marcus Show More Show Less 5 of8 Hayley Podschun in 'Wicked' which plays the Hobby Center July 10-Aug. Joan Marcus Show More Show Less 4 of8 Jennifer DiNoia in 'Wicked' which plays the Hobby Center July 10-Aug. Joan Marcus Show More Show Less 3 of8 All the theatrical arts of composition, design and staging combine to make the Act 1 finale, 'Defying Gravity,' a stunning coup de theatre. Joan Marcus Show More Show Less 2 of8 By the time Dorothy's house crash lands in Act 2 of 'Wicked,' Glinda (Hayley Podschun, left) and Elphaba (Jennifer DiNoia) have evolved from college roommates into sworn enemies, here preparing to do battle. 1 of8 Stephen Schwartz, composer of 'Wicked' which plays the Hobby Center July 10-Aug.

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