Good news!
She’s dead!
The Witch of the West is dead!
The wickedest witch there ever was.
The enemy of all of us here in Oz
Is Dead!
However …
Not all is as it appears in the merry old land of Oz in this reimagining of Frank Baum’s 1900 novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Loosely based on Gregory Maguire’s own 1995 novel, Wicked, this show is one of the most spectacular musicals going. In fact, so huge, you would be hard pressed to believe it was by the same composer of the utter dross which is Godspell and Pippin in Stephen Schwartz. So many great musical numbers are present, and the uninitiated will be surprised at just how many they already know. The plot itself is an alternate version to the classic Oz tale (Let’s face it, history is written by the winning side) and shows The Wicked Witch of the West as totally misunderstood.
In the role of Glinda (The Good Witch), Sarah O’Connor was marvellous on the night and excelled especially during Popular. Opposite as Elphaba we had Casey Al-Shaqsy and she too totally nailed her part, particularly during I’m Not That Girl and together with O’Connor for What is This Feeling? For Good, and the epic Defying Gravity which ends Act One.
Supporting well, though, was Carl Man as Fiyero; a strong presence duetting with Al-Shaqsy’s Elphaba in As Long as You’re Mine. Then, playing Boq (Not Bic) we had Jed Berry who worked well with the previously mentioned, plus Megan Gardiner’s Nessarose during Dancing Through Life. Completing the principals were Donna Berlin (Madame Morrible) and Simon Truby (Doctor Dillamond and The Wizard).
In addition to songs already listed, there were excellent offerings of No One Mourns the Wicked, The Wizard and I, One Short Day, Wonderful and No Good Deed. Unfortunately, many shows have a total dodo of a song and for Wicked, it’s the irritating Something Bad (Baaaaad!). Makes me cringe every time I hear it.
Another highlight is the colourfulness of it all and just how much you can do with green. Although, there are still things to nit-pick; I shall say no more than Shoddy Lion Puppet.
Overall, it is a good tale, full of mostly good tunes and one of the musicals everyone should see. Expensive, yes. Worth it, definitely. A great night out. One which will leave you knowing you have experienced live theatre on the big stage.
Wicked was directed by Joe Mantello with Orchestrations from William David Brohm. Musical Supervision was in the hands of Stephen Oremus and Staging the responsibility of Wayne Cilento. This production is touring the UK for the rest of the year and into the beginning of 2025. Well worth checking out.
Cheers.
Antony N Britt - Author 