Wicked - the Musical

The Story of Two Primary Witches

For those who haven't seen the Broadway production, this one was worth the wait. It features a troupe of actors that's very strong if noticeably on the young side (especially the chorus), giving a revved-up performance in a physically lavish production. The scenic and lighting elements are complete duplicates of the original Broadway wizardry,
Stephen Schwartz's score has sharper lyrics than music.. Big numbers such as "Defying Gravity" (Elphaba's Act I closer) and "For Good," the last of several Elphaba-Glinda duets, have been talked about enough to stand out, and they do pack an emotional wallop. But there are other numbers that are just as big, among them "I'm Not That Girl" and "No Good Deed." The few songs that are truly charming stick to the Broadway formula, such as Glinda's "Popular" and the Wizard's song-and-dance, "Wonderful."

Most theatergoers will find Wicked well worth the big ticket price. It's a whomping good show that puts its politics front-and-center, all wrapped up in a big, entertaining package.

The musical is a wildly ambitious work, introducing us to Elphaba at the moment of her birth. We see her as a little green infant, as a green college student, and then as a green political reactionary, fighting the warped politics of Oz and its questionable leader, the Wizard. It's a rambling, completely absorbing look behind the scenes, into the past of a set of characters we only think we know and understand so well.

Wicked the musical is not Wicked the novel. While the novel is its source, the musical presents only pieces of it, in a much simplified form, and often diverging wildly from the novel's narrative.

Wicked, for all the hype, is simply the prequel to the popular Oz story. It's a layered piece of drama that uses its musicality as a way to convey some of the deeper issues it sets forth. When Glinda floats onstage in her metal bubble, you know you're in for something different. She announces that the Wicked Witch of the West is dead, and the Ozians rejoice - until one of them asks if Glinda and the Wicked Witch were friends.