The Secret Life of Oz: Wicked
Written by Peter Burdon Thursday, 31 July 2008
Wicked is rightly called a phenomenon. It has no business working at all. The story is a travesty, should you perchance have read Gregory Maguire's delicious novel on which the musical is, er, based. Composer Stephen Schwartz’s lyrics are risible (“Like some terrible green lizard … defaming our poor wizard” is perhaps the most toe-curling). You could go on for hours.
But no. Wicked is a smash, three hours and ten minutes of escapist bliss, and lead me to the merchandise!
The Australian cast is superlative, with Amanda Harrison and Lucy Durack as Elphaba and Glinda on a par with their illustrious US counterparts. The production is amazing, with more movement and colour (admittedly, with a bias towards green) than you can imagine. Far too much movement, actually. You’d be tempted to shout out “Stop!” if you weren’t so busy clapping.
So what is this marvel? Well, unless you’ve been living as a hermit, you’ll know that Wicked is a musical version of a ‘prequel’ to The Wizard of Oz that explains just how the Witch of the West became Wicked! An ugly duckling, Elphaba, teased mercilessly at school, forms an unlikely friendship with the vivacious Glinda. Alas, Elphaba turns to the dark side, and falls from grace.
Wicked is peppered with catchy songs, with Glinda’s 'Popular' and Elphaba’s show-stopping Act I curtain 'Defying Gravity' the best known, though that honour arguably belongs to their closing duet, 'For Good'. It’s a moot point whether you remember a note of any of the others, but you know you enjoyed them!
Apart from the stellar performances of Harrison and Durack, there is a very strong supporting cast of uniform excellence. Rob Guest hams it up as the Wizard, and Rob Mills positively surprises with the quality of his performance as the handsome Fiyero. Maggie Kirkpatrick channels the Freak as the mean and malicious Madame Morrible, while Anthony Callea exploits both voice and stature as the passionate Munchkin Boq.
As Wicked approaches its fifth anniversary on Broadway, the Australian production is just beginning, but heaven knows, it ought to last. Do yourself a favour and book a weekender in Melbourne. It’s worth every cent.
http://blaze.e-p.net.au/theatre/the-secret-life-of-oz-wicked.html
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