Wicked theatre review

Ten years ago I was surfing the internet for cast recordings to new Broadway musicals I may wish to add to my cart.  The clever website suggested I buy new release Wicked.  I noted that the music and lyrics were by none other than celebrated composer Stephen Scwartz, and gleefully observed that the story revolved around none other than the Wicked Witch of the West.  As a youngster, I read a lot of books by L.F.Baum so it seemed to be right up my street.  I ordered the CD and never looked back.  That CD has received a lot of airplay over the years, not to mention the hours I have spent on youtube watching new casts cut their teeth on the show's many strong stand-alone songs.  I have seen the stage show in Melbourne and London.  I know all the lyrics and even most of the script.  Safe to say, I'm something of a Wickedpedia.

And now I have seen Auckland's production.  I was so looking forward to it, but was also apprehensive that this experience may not live up to the honour I have bestowed upon it, like a handprint on my heart.  I need not have worried.  That show I saw last night was remarkable!!  The cast were so on top of their game and gave such fresh performances I was taken along on that ride as though for the first time.

The show remains largely untouched since its Broadway debut in 2003, and I felt a few stage effects have aged less gracefully than the rest, but the success of the show has been largely due to its compelling story and endearing characters.  Sure, the music is immediately accessible and the book is very clever, but the heart of this story is the friendship between The Good and The Wicked.  Through Galinda and Elphaba's backstory we see how things are not always as they seem.  Life is not always black and white, sometimes it is green...and what do you do with that?

I just love Wicked.  I always have, but this latest experience of it thrilled me more than I had even hoped.  The highlight this time round was Jemma Rix's faultless performance as Elphaba.  She is so warm and real and quirky and charming and knows when to restrain those powerhouse vocals and when to let them defy gravity.  She rocks my world.  The whole cast deliver strong performances, but I was quite flummoxed by Jay Laga'aia's interpretation of the wizard.  In my mind, he got that character very wrong.  He can sing though.  There was nothing wrong with his vocal performance.

See this show as many times as you want, you'll not regret it.