Writer of Pop Culture

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This Day in Pop Culture

This Day in Pop Culture for June 10

The “Wicked” witches, kite-flying Ben, the Sopranos and the “Man of Steel”.

June 10, 2020

2–3 minutes

2003: ‘Wicked’ Enchants Audiences

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West opened at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco on this day in 2003. The show is based on Gregory Maguire’s novel of the same name which was based on the characters and some of the storyline from L. Frank Baum’s novel, The Wonderful World of Oz. The stage show’s music and lyrics were written by Stephen Schwartz.

The first cast appearing in Wicked included Idina Menzel appeared as the green Elphaba and Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda, the actress whom Schwartz said he wrote the character for. The following October, the production moved to the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway. It has been playing there ever since. The original production of Wicked won three Tony Awards and the cast album won a Grammy.

Produced by Universal Stage Productions, Universal Pictures couldn’t wait to film a movie version of the show, but it didn’t open in movie houses until Thanksgiving of 2024. And it was just “part one” at that. It starred Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Galinda. Wicked: For Good opens in Thanksgiving of 2025.

1752: Ben Flies a Kite

Benjamin Franklin was pretty much interested in electricity and spent about ten years trying out a variety of electrical experiments before flying a kite during a thunderstorm on this day in 1752. The hope was to collect a charge in a Leyden jar when the kite was struck by the lightning. After the experiment, Franklin came up with a bunch of terms that we use everyday today like battery, conductor and electrician. He is also responsible for creating the lightning rod.

2007: So Final

The HBO TV series The Sopranos came to end on this day in 2007. Some people thought that the “cut to black” ending was clever while others hated leaving things up-in-the-air.

1847: So Yummy

Sammy Davis Jr. released “The Candy Man” from the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It went to #1 on the charts and was his biggest single.

1939: So Super

Henry Cavill donned the blue pajamas and red cape playing Clark Kent/Superman in Zack Synder’s Man of Steel which had its premiere in New York City.

1845: The Swearing Parrot

According to Snopes, the following tale cannot be proven, but it makes for a great story. Andrew Jackson was America’s seventh president who served from March 4, 1829, to March 4, 1837. He died on June 8, 1845, at the age of 78. His funeral was held two days later, and his African Grey parrot “Poll” was among the guests. The parrot became very rowdy and swore up a storm. The bird was so “fowl”, he had to be removed.