Wicked Broadway
Wicked Broadway
A good deal of that is due to the source material — Gregory Maguire’s 1985 novel that re-imagined the world of Oz from the viewpoint of the girl who would become known as the Wicked Witch of the West.
Composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz and book writer Winnie Holzman have necessarily simplified Maguire’s epic story, and sweetened its bitter, darkly tragic tone. But there still remains enough of Maguire’s original concerns — about
the nature of evil, the ease with which innocence can be corrupted by the smallest smidgen of power — to make “Wicked” a musical that leaves you pondering philosophies as much as humming melodies once the curtain comes down.
That said, “Wicked” does not stint on the things that people usually expect from broadway musicals — spectacular sets, eye-popping lights, dazzling costumes, moments of “how did they do THAT?” stage magic.
This production also has a superb cast that gets the most of these things, as well as working that special magic that appears when very talented performers work their alchemy on such mundane objects as words and musical notes to create something that — no matter how familiar — sounds wonderfully new.
If you buy wicked tickets and go to see them live then the heart of the show is the relationship between Elphaba (Marcie Dodd), a green-skinned young lady with — not surprisingly — a sour opinion about the very pale people around her, and Galinda (Helene Yorke), who is a hyperactive, helium-voiced blonde happily used to being the center of attention and getting everything she wants.
Elphaba has a keen sense of injustice, especially for creatures such as her professor Dr. Dillamond (David DeVries), a goat who is one of the last animals to be allowed to speak, much less teach. She’s also mindful, in her way, of the needs of her sister Nessarose (Kristine Reese), who’s confined to a wheelchair.
But Elphaba also is aware that she possesses a unique power — something that brings her to the attention of Madame Morrible (Marian Caskey), who in turn brings the girl to Oz’s shadowy ruler, the Wizard (Tom McGowan).
It seems the only power the Wizard has is the ability to build mechanical contraptions that seem magical. To have under his command someone like Elphaba, who is truly magical — just look what she did for the monkeys! — the Wizard would be invincible.
When Elphaba refuses to cooperate, she is suddenly labeled as “wicked.” Her efforts to do something good, or at least forestall the bad things that continue to happen, end up going awry. Family and friends turn on her, and the gears of fate grind on to a fateful meeting with a girl named Dorothy and a big bucket of water.
Or something like that.
July 18th, 2009
Written by JANGLE
(No Ratings Yet)
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