Wicked Tickets:24 recommendations
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Spectacular smash-hit musical telling the untold story of the witches of Oz
About Wicked
Opening on Broadway in 2003 to mixed reviews, the visually spellbinding Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz has gone on to break box office records throughout the US, with productions in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and a tour that has played to over two million people.
The momentum of Wicked is not limited to America, with productions opening the Apollo Victoria Theatre, London in 2006, where it holds the record for the fastest West End opening, taking £100,000 in its first hour. In 2007, Wicked opened in Stuttgart and Tokyo, and Australian and other European productions are in development.
Based on Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Gregory Maguire’s dark prequel to L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, drastic changes have been made to the complicated plot to not only make it appeal to a wider audience, but to tie up loose ends quickly and neatly to make a long book into a cohesive whole that would not be too arduous to watch.
These changes made, Winnie Holzman’s book tells the tale of the witches of Oz, Elphaba and Glinda who become the Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch of the North respectively, and how these two friends came to fill the roles they are known for in a story of friendship, equality, love, politics, good and evil.
The original music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (who wrote music and lyrics of the 1971 classic musical Godspell and also the lyrics for soundtrack of the 1995 Disney film Pocahontas) include huge dance numbers, touching ballads and soaring, powerful vocal performances that not only carry the plot effectively but stand as excellent listening on their own.
Wicked truly is a show for everybody; a story that appeals to all ages, fantastic music and visual effects that defy belief (and gravity). You can forget what you thought you knew about the Wicked Witch of the West; you’ll be rooting for her in the end as over one million London theatregoers have.
Book Wicked
Photos
Wicked Elphaba
Reviews
The Stage
Stephen Schwartz’s score, arguably his best so far, is an ebullient mix of grandiose anthems and lyrical ballads while Winnie Holzman’s book expertly blends fairytale whimsy with broad moral issues.
The Daily Telegraph
At times the show undoubtedly slips into the preachy, but mercifully Winnie Holzman's script keeps the gags coming as it cleverly subverts the film that spawned it. And Joe Mantello's production, on a Heath Robinsonish design by Eugene Lee, is packed with spectacular coups de theatre and some magical lighting effects by Kenneth Posner.
