After sixteen years on Broadway—and 6,554 performances—how do you keep a classic musical like WICKED relevant?

In 2015, we launched an original, premium content series that broke the mold and assumptions of what an iconic Broadway show should look and sound like. We released our OUT OF OZ video series reimagining and redefining WICKED’s original score. Musicians and artists performed brand-new arrangements of WICKED’s classics—bringing in new audiences and exhilarating die-hard fans.

But this year, the series reached new heights with our ninth video and OUT OF OZ’s first official mashup. Current Elphaba and fan-favorite—Jackie Burns—and the CW’s Casey Cott, of Riverdale fame, performed WICKED’s “Dancing Through Life” with “The Wizard and I,” in an acoustic folk style. They enchanted fans by flipping the song’s traditional male/female arrangement, and the video’s industrial Brooklyn warehouse setting imbued the content with a modern, fresh feel. The location’s light and acoustics also allowed for a truly authentic, live performance. So when People.comreleased the video with a national press exclusive: The world couldn’t stop watching.

The result of this 2018 mash-up video?

Over 1 million views to date. The series in total garnered international press pick up from People, POPSUGAR, EW, and aggregated views of over 38 million since its inaugural launch in 2015. And through repurposing this content for paid advertising pushes, we have tracked $350,000 in revenue with an average ROI of 5.86.

The OUT OF OZ series put WICKED center stage in the cultural conversation, shifting the larger narrative around the musical. Not only did the series create buzz, but it also made sure that Broadway’s 4th longest-running show, and 6th longest-running show of all time, continues to soar—with gross ticket sales of over $93 million a year.

Watch the full series here.