A Review of the Smash Hit Broadway musical Wicked.
As the curtains rise, the citizens of Oz dance, for at last, the Wicked Witch of the West is dead! Suddenly, Glinda the Good appears in her magic bubble to join the celebration. But one particularly brave Ozian asks Glinda a stunning question. "Glinda, is it true you were her friend?" And that launches Glinda into a memory of her days at Shiz University where she and Elphaba, now known as the Wicked Witch, became the best of friends, and how some very bad choices on both sides ripped them apart.
There was very little dancing, something that irked me a bit. Also, the very last scene didn't have the usual Broadway production number. A few people dotted the stage to sing the last words of the whole show, and then everything went black. I had hoped for a little bit of broom stick flying or even a teeny-weeny bit of dancing.
However, the lighting and staging was more than wonderful. Composer Steven Schwartz is at his best throughout the show from the peppy perky song 'Popular' to the heartfelt ballad 'For Good'. I was pleased at the costumes and special effects used in this musical. Glinda did have a bubble machine to transport herself, and Elphaba does fly on her broom stick. One of the best things about the show is that there is no definite 'bad guy'. Virtually every character makes some very bad choices, but at the same time, you can't help feeling sorry for them. It is a good illustration of the well-worn phrase 'nobody's perfect'.
Full of singing, spelling, and plenty of show magic in between, Wicked is definitely a show worth watching.
I love that musical!!! I thought their was a lot of dancing in it though, especially the song dancing through life, my favorite song was "For Good" though.
ReplyDeleteI'll take your word for it and hope that someday I can see Wicked too! Great writing!
ReplyDelete