“Defying Gravity!”
As the “tkts”- booth on Times Square is popular among both New Yorkers and tourists for making a good bargain on Broadway-tickets, there is one musical we never see displayed on the screen: “Wicked”. After its debut in 2003, “Wicked” is still known to be the most sought-after musical on Broadway. Besides “Premium Seats”, tickets to see this musical – praised as being “The best show in town!” and “A must-see!”- are sold out months in advance. Surprisingly, I good lucky and got two tickets after waiting for two hours on the ticket-return-line, tickets that had been cancelled by someone and were then sold back to the public. I thought I knew what was going to expect me since I was very familiar with the music, but “Wicked” exceeded my expectations by far! “Wicked” is everything we imagine when we think of a “Broadway Musical”: extravagant costumes, mesmerizing songs, lavishing sets and dramatic effects. The spectacular coups de theatre combined with breath-taking music and vocal performances engaged the audience in such a way that I could have never imagined.
“Wicked” is a re-imagining of L. Frank Baum’s classic story “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”, told from the two witches of Oz point of view, set prior to Dorothy’s arrival from Kansas. Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, are the two main characters in the musical. Elphaba is an intelligent yet misunderstood girl who is shunned by society for her green skin. The actress’ entire skin is airbrushed in green and her costume rather simple – held in black, which stands out only because of its simplicity compared to the other costumes – making it absolutely believable that she is bullied by society for her appearance. Glinda on the other side is a pretty, popular girl who amuses the audience because of her ditsy-ness. She is beautifully dressed in the most eye-popping, fairytale-like dresses; no matter where she is on the stage, she stands out as soon as the lights hit the heaps of crystals on her dresses. Throughout the show their friendship struggles to endure extreme personality conflicts, opposing viewpoints and rivalry over the same love-interest and, of course, Elphaba’s eventual fall from grace. The audience witnesses the growth in both characters and the marvelous truthful performance by the actors allow the audience to fully engage in their emotions. Not one second was I disconnected from the story.
The grandiose music in “Wicked” staggeringly captures the audience right from the beginning. Arranged by the award-winning Stephen Schwartz, music and lyrics enthrall the audiences’ ears, leaving them humming the melodies long after the show. The hit-song “Defying Gravity”, which suggests the climax of the musical, has the audience sitting on the edge of their seats. The vocal range the two main characters and the ensemble show-off during this song are exemplary. Amazingly, no scene in “Wicked” looks for feels the same. The set changed constantly and so does the appearance of the ensemble. Set and costumes seems to only increase in their lavishness, which make the changes in setting absolutely convincing. Effects used to complement the changes and music here are mind-blowing. Actors suspended from ropes flying over the audience, flashing light-effects that allow the audience to fully immerse in the setting and circumstances of the musical, and fog coming out in all kinds of colors, create a superlative spectacle.
As soon as I entered the Gershwin Theatre – being lead to my seat by an usher in a wizard costume, seeing the huge, mechanical-looking dragon suspended down, overlooking the entire theatre – I knew I was in for a unique experience. It is safely said that “Wicked” deserves every single one of the 12 awards it has won already, including Tony’s and Grammy’s. It is a fantastically spell-binding show that anyone will enjoy regardless of age. “Wicked” is Broadway at its best!
October 31st, 2007 at 7:06 pm
o.o
the theater itself sounds amazing let alone the actual musical
i’ve always loved really good recreations and extensions of old stories, fairy tales, and legends
i think there’s a book called wicked which retells the story of elphaba so that she actually isn’t so evil
October 31st, 2007 at 7:35 pm
i youtubed the song defying gravity and it’s such a powerful and inspiring song especially when she rises up and towers over everyone with her arms outstretched in victory
i can’t imagine what it must’ve been like to actually witness and hear that in person. i probably would’ve forgotten how to breathe
November 1st, 2007 at 12:07 am
i have never seen the wizard of oz… or wicked
i know the story of both… but i just never have seen it
i should really get on that
November 1st, 2007 at 6:53 pm
I watched Wicked last year in school as it was one of the 2 musicals our high school music department sets up each year. It was actually pretty good, many of my chorus friends were in it and their acting wasn’t half bad along with their voices. I wonder how they’d compare with the real thing, I guess I’ll have to check it out one day
November 2nd, 2007 at 11:50 am
ok so according to ur review wicked is really awesome and i think i’m going to check it out soon! I was always wondering whether or not to go see it, but you made it sound really awesome so now I’ll definitely go see it.
November 2nd, 2007 at 11:14 pm
I never heard of the story of Wicked and I was absolutely fascinated when I read that it was the story of the Wizard of Oz from the points of the evil witches. What a twist on such a classic.