Witches of `Wicked' go way beyond Oz
How many scores of times have we watched the movie The Wizard of Oz and never questioned where Glinda the Good Witch or the Wicked Witch of the West come from or how they got to be who they were?
We simply accepted at face value that these famous good vs. evil characters simply were.
Not so with the magnificent musical Wicked, an otherworldly epic that ingeniously weaves a fascinating back story around the evolution of these witches. This tale, adapted by Winnie Holzman from Gregory Maguire's novel, offers a complex mix of magic, misunderstanding, moral ambiguity, passion, greed, injustice, and -- most of all -- friendship.
To top it all off, this show's score offers a memorably passionate mix of music by Stephen Schwartz -- creator of Godspell and Pippin -- in styles that range from pop ballads to vaudeville.
This Tony Award-winning musical is loosely based on Maguire's 1995 novel, which is much darker and has an even more complex story than the stage production.
Lead roles powerful
The brainy, green Elphaba and the beautiful, blond Glinda meet at Shiz College, where their unlikely friendship develops. The pariah Elphaba (Julia Murney) is saddled with caring for her disabled sister, Nessarose, while the fluff-chick Glinda (Kendra Kassebaum) focuses on her own popularity and sucking up to those in power.
It's refreshing to see two strong women's roles in a musical, and to see both done so powerfully. The musical story is condensed, but appearances are as deceiving as original author Maguire intended, asking probing questions about the nature of evil.
This fantasy coming-of-age tale, which is about finding a backbone and standing up against wrong, is billed as a family show but children ages 10 and up would likely understand and appreciate it best.
As Glinda, Kassebaum carries a good 90 percent of the show's humorous one-liners, which she mines to perfection. During the adorable number Popular, her Glinda is a hilarious combination between spastic toddler and cheerleader-from-hell, doing multiple herkies across the stage.
As Elphaba, Murney offers a deep, rich speaking voice and a beautifully controlled vibrato as a singer. She fleshes this witch's emotional complexity, including her youthful idealism and her longing to be loved.
Murney is awe-inspiring in No Good Deed, a huge turning point in her witchiness. Both the music and visuals are momentous in Defying Gravity, the Act II closer, as Elphaba discovers her power to levitate. But she doesn't fly around here, staying in one place while holding her broom to her side as hidden cast members shake reams of dark fabric underneath her.
Also engrossing is a love triangle that features the hunky Sebastian Arcelus as the rich, slacker-turned-rebel lover.
Staging dramatic
The production values for this tour are incredibly high, including Eugene Lee's magnificently textured set. The stage is framed by clockworks featuring an intricate array of gears and cog wheels, as well as a frightening-looking, massive dragon with spread wings that hovers above the proscenium.
Neither the clock motif nor the dragon does anything to further this musical story. The dramatic clock design element is inspired by a heavy, threatening ``time dragon clock'' motif in the book.
Susan Hilferty's costumes are fantastical, with women's bustles jutting out in bulky, skewed manners, and wigs protruding at odd angles for looks that border on the grotesque. Hilferty describes the look as ``twisted Edwardian.''
This alternate world also has a vocabulary of its own, including words such as ``de-greenified.''
Wicked isn't a big dance musical but there's plenty of movement, and the show's vocal ensemble is top-notch. Musical stager Wayne Cilento creates a number of nice-looking visual tableaux with the chorus.
And boy are those flying monkeys creepy.
In the musical's only weak spot, an unbearably long dance party scene is surprisingly lifeless, nearly stopping Act I dead in its tracks.
Dorothy's nearly an afterthought in this tale. Holzman pokes light fun at Frank Baum's more than century-old story, including a nod to the Yellow Brick Road where Glinda worries about giving bad directions, and a slyly comical reference to the movie line ``Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!''
Wicked will be remembered both for its bewitching personalities and its technical wizardry. The story has a number of ingenious surprises, including one brilliantly staged moment that's shock-inducing.
Northeast Ohio audiences still have a chance to get seats to the most thrilling musical to land here in years. Playhouse Square has some newly released box seats, standing-room only seats, as well as a lottery for first- and second-row seats before each show.
We simply accepted at face value that these famous good vs. evil characters simply were.
Not so with the magnificent musical Wicked, an otherworldly epic that ingeniously weaves a fascinating back story around the evolution of these witches. This tale, adapted by Winnie Holzman from Gregory Maguire's novel, offers a complex mix of magic, misunderstanding, moral ambiguity, passion, greed, injustice, and -- most of all -- friendship.
To top it all off, this show's score offers a memorably passionate mix of music by Stephen Schwartz -- creator of Godspell and Pippin -- in styles that range from pop ballads to vaudeville.
This Tony Award-winning musical is loosely based on Maguire's 1995 novel, which is much darker and has an even more complex story than the stage production.
Lead roles powerful
The brainy, green Elphaba and the beautiful, blond Glinda meet at Shiz College, where their unlikely friendship develops. The pariah Elphaba (Julia Murney) is saddled with caring for her disabled sister, Nessarose, while the fluff-chick Glinda (Kendra Kassebaum) focuses on her own popularity and sucking up to those in power.
It's refreshing to see two strong women's roles in a musical, and to see both done so powerfully. The musical story is condensed, but appearances are as deceiving as original author Maguire intended, asking probing questions about the nature of evil.
This fantasy coming-of-age tale, which is about finding a backbone and standing up against wrong, is billed as a family show but children ages 10 and up would likely understand and appreciate it best.
As Glinda, Kassebaum carries a good 90 percent of the show's humorous one-liners, which she mines to perfection. During the adorable number Popular, her Glinda is a hilarious combination between spastic toddler and cheerleader-from-hell, doing multiple herkies across the stage.
As Elphaba, Murney offers a deep, rich speaking voice and a beautifully controlled vibrato as a singer. She fleshes this witch's emotional complexity, including her youthful idealism and her longing to be loved.
Murney is awe-inspiring in No Good Deed, a huge turning point in her witchiness. Both the music and visuals are momentous in Defying Gravity, the Act II closer, as Elphaba discovers her power to levitate. But she doesn't fly around here, staying in one place while holding her broom to her side as hidden cast members shake reams of dark fabric underneath her.
Also engrossing is a love triangle that features the hunky Sebastian Arcelus as the rich, slacker-turned-rebel lover.
Staging dramatic
The production values for this tour are incredibly high, including Eugene Lee's magnificently textured set. The stage is framed by clockworks featuring an intricate array of gears and cog wheels, as well as a frightening-looking, massive dragon with spread wings that hovers above the proscenium.
Neither the clock motif nor the dragon does anything to further this musical story. The dramatic clock design element is inspired by a heavy, threatening ``time dragon clock'' motif in the book.
Susan Hilferty's costumes are fantastical, with women's bustles jutting out in bulky, skewed manners, and wigs protruding at odd angles for looks that border on the grotesque. Hilferty describes the look as ``twisted Edwardian.''
This alternate world also has a vocabulary of its own, including words such as ``de-greenified.''
Wicked isn't a big dance musical but there's plenty of movement, and the show's vocal ensemble is top-notch. Musical stager Wayne Cilento creates a number of nice-looking visual tableaux with the chorus.
And boy are those flying monkeys creepy.
In the musical's only weak spot, an unbearably long dance party scene is surprisingly lifeless, nearly stopping Act I dead in its tracks.
Dorothy's nearly an afterthought in this tale. Holzman pokes light fun at Frank Baum's more than century-old story, including a nod to the Yellow Brick Road where Glinda worries about giving bad directions, and a slyly comical reference to the movie line ``Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!''
Wicked will be remembered both for its bewitching personalities and its technical wizardry. The story has a number of ingenious surprises, including one brilliantly staged moment that's shock-inducing.
Northeast Ohio audiences still have a chance to get seats to the most thrilling musical to land here in years. Playhouse Square has some newly released box seats, standing-room only seats, as well as a lottery for first- and second-row seats before each show.
