[Theatre Scenes Reviewers Sharu Delikan and James Wenley both went to opening night of Wicked. This was James’s fourth time at Wicked. He saw the Australian Cast in Sydney twice in late 2009, thrashed the Broadway cast recording, and saw the London West End production in June this year. He writes as an acknowledged Wicked fan, the Ozmapolitan.]

For its 75^th Anniversary, The Wizard of Oz is currently playing in the United States in a re-release converted into Imax 3D. Flogging a dead horse of a different colour? Not at all. While gimmicky (the word is that it’s a rather special experience), it proves the remarkable ongoing legacy and endurance of MGM’s 1939 film masterpiece. While L. Frank Baum’s Oz novels (1900-1919) are much appreciated, it is the film (and its songs and technicolour imagery) that has attached itself, like ruby slippers on Judy Garland’s feet, so fully onto the American psyche.

With fantastical charm, strong moral values, a worldly innocence, and undertones of American exceptionalism (what is Somewhere over the Rainbow if not an ode to the American Dream?), Oz has remained a timeless classic for those “young at heart”, and despite of or perhaps because of its many production troubles, is one of the great works of the 20^th Century. [More]

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[Theatre Scenes Reviewers Sharu Delikan and James Wenley both went to opening night of Wicked. This was the first time Sharu has seen Wicked, and she writes as a Wicked first-timer, a girl from Kansas on her first trip to Oz.]

The Girl from Kansas Edition   

We knew we were in for an awesome spectacle as we approached the green carpet leading up to the entrance of The Civic. The opening night audience was clearly in the ‘Wicked’ spirit, evident by the emerald green outfits and hair dyes that lit up The Civic foyer–a refreshing sight in contrast to the otherwise monochromatic outfits that typify JAFA opening nights.

And as we took our seats, the set looked suitably flashy with multiple balconies, ladders, ropes and a massive dragon’s head hovering above the stage, with a curtain portraying a Lord of the Rings-esque map of the Land of Oz. [More] 

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Green is the new black. From the moment Glinda’s entrance, all bubbles and mirth, transports us into WICKED’s Land of Oz, the opening night audience’s reaction is enthusiastic. We remain upbeat, throughout the first half especially, with generous applause, and to cap it — a well-deserved standing ovation. 

While this cast and creative team is rich with outstanding craft, the success of WICKED lies in the casting of Elphaba and Glinda. This production is blessed with two extraordinary lead ladies: Jemma Rix and Suzie Mathers.

Rix is born to play Elphaba: her vocal performance, from where I sit, is note perfect, utterly affecting, emotive and inspiring. She has the same vocal lucidity as Amy Lee from Evanescence, and her ‘Defying Gravity’ leaves other performances I’ve watched online, in its wake.

Mathers’ performance as Glinda is perfectly perky with just the right amount of light and bright. Her star turn in ‘Popular’ is a vocal and gymnastic tour-de-force. She too, is near flawless, with the exception of her first solo, which is impressively operatic and bold, yet her intonation comes and goes. Perhaps an issue with monitors?

However, what matters is that true performance magic is created when these two sing together. Each time they duet and connect, they own the stage effortlessly.

In terms of their surrounding cast, enduring Australian icon Maggie Kirkpatrick commands attention whenever she strides on as Madame Morrible, and while her singing voice seems more texture than note, when she speaks, she holds court with ease.

Steve Danielsen, as the tall strapping love-interest, Fiyero, is completely breath-taking to view, and every inch an inspirational lead man, striding on in flesh-coloured jodhpurs. While not the strongest singer in the cast, he pulls out memorable notes during his duet with Elphaba, ‘As Long As You’re Mine’.

Edward Grey (Boq) and Emily Cascarino (Nessarose) both deliver. Grey, in particular, is an outstanding vocalist. Glen Hogstrom as teacher (and ‘token-goat’) Doctor Dillamond is entirely likable and New Zealand’s own Jay Laga’aia is a crowd favourite, capturing the fake façade and ‘smoke and mirrors’ of the Wizard, very well. 

WICKED’s ensemble is uniformly fit and fabulous. Dotted with exceptional triple-threats, vocally they deliver a wall of wonderful harmony as well as stand out solo lines, especially the men. Every nuance is heard; every word is audible, thanks to the specific and effective sound design by Tony Meola. While in the Overture I initially feel the orchestra is somewhat muted, soon it becomes obvious that Meola intends to make the live accompaniment (exquisitely directed by David Young) subservient to the sung narrative at all times.

Costume Designer Susan Hilferty’s post-Victorian/Edwardian steam punk is executed to perfection. Every costume is individualised yet thematically connected, right down to the oversized black sunglasses or goggles, top hats, piped hemlines and outstanding shoes that would make Imelda Marcos go green with envy. It’s all Trelise Cooper frill, tulle and stripes, especially in the party scene — and that’s just the men. In addition to this enviable wardrobe, hair and wig designer Tom Watson add excellent note-worthy detail and chic.

Complemented by scenic designer Eugene Lee’s settings, WICKED’s world is breath-taking visual poetry. Lee’s set makes full use of The Civic Theatre’s fabulous fly floor, with moving cogs and giant clocks (staying very true to the book apparently), it’s indicative of the industrial revolution.

Lighting designer Kenneth Posner throws everything into his mix — his huge rig includes festoons, conventionals, bud-lights, moving lights, UV and strobes. The result is an amazing land, full of perspective, effective fades, intricate spotlights, perfect subtleties and captured magic. No more so than in the character-defining ‘Defying Gravity’.

In terms of WICKED’s primary story, I am completely swept up in the friendship and development between Elphaba and Glinda, from sworn enemies at school, with bullying and ridicule, to ‘B.F.F.’ with a twist. What a ride. 

In terms of WICKED’s enduring themes and messaging (good vs. bad intentions; apparent good conquering apparent evil), it is a tad heavy-handed at the top of the show. “Why does wickedness happen?” a little Munchkin asks Glinda. A simple question with no easy answer, though WICKED does show how easy it is for a corrupt leader to manipulate a crowd with the power of suggestion; to create a scapegoat and a willing lynch mob.

Nature vs nurture is also explored as another person in the crowd asks why are some people wicked — what’s the cause? This leads to a flashback of Elphaba’s beginnings. I never thought I’d see a simulated birth sequence in a modern day musical… but there it is!

WICKED also explores hero worshipping and society’s need to elevate individuals to celebrity status, and aspire to be like them — and how disappointing the reality is, when a person’s true, empty, fake nature in revealed, once the façade is stripped away. History and the world now is riddled with false gods, just as it is with all these universal themes.

In both style and substance, WICKED has been described as ‘generic’.* It does seem very familiar at times. The tick-tock set is very White Rabbit / Alice In Wonderland; non-human creatures as teachers, channels Harry Potter; the subsequent struggles of the animals in Oz add a touch of George Orwell’s Animal Farm to the narrative as well.

Musically, there is a familiar, Phantom of the Opera tone, as Fiyero and Elphaba flee The Emerald City and descend into a dark and gloomy forest. Visually, the opening scene in Act 2 (which is strangely flat on opening night) has Glinda looking like a dead cert for Eva Peron in Evita. The styling of the mean human teacher, who replaces the poor scapegoat, is obviously Nazi in design and performance. The backdrop of a map of The Land Of Oz is very The Lord of The Rings in its style.

The one aspect of WICKED I find odd, is the overall structure. While the first half leaves me tingling with pleasure (with the exception of the seemingly gratuitous dance of the three big-headed clowns with extendable necks, which my daughter aptly describes as “freaky”), the second half seems a little untamed and wild at times, nearly dissolving into pantomime at one stage. In terms of the music, choreography and staging, to me, it seems a little messy and off the story-line-rails, when the monkeys take flight… Yet, as I am sitting there thinking it’s all a bit style and bedazzle over substance and structure, my 9 year old daughter declares this scene as her favourite — why? Because it’s “crazy and full-on”. So. Two contrasting perspectives, separated by 35 years. 

What I find most captivating about the second half is the clever weave of storylines, characters, and even the occasional iconic phrase from The Wizard of Oz, into the WICKED timeline. Totally satisfying for fans of both musicals.

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_(musical)

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Musical reinterpretation of classic American fairytale captures the irrepressible optimism  

The iconic American fairytale with its catalogue of strange symbols and puzzling metaphors proves to be fertile ground for a musical extravaganza that conjures up intriguing back-stories for the wonderfully weird inhabitants of Oz.

The reinterpretation adds deeper shades of ambiguity to the hidden meanings and strange psychological overtones of the original story.

In a very contemporary inversion of the distinction between good and bad the Wicked Witch of the West is revealed to be a misunderstood outsider who grows into a rebellious spirit committed to social justice. [More]

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