Wicked is a musical based on the novel by Gregory Maguire. The musical portrays the characters from The Wizard of Oz in a perspective quite different from how they were originally presented. It re-imagines the classic story from the point of view of Elphaba, who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. The post-modern approach to Oz is disappointing. Instead of augmenting the original film, the writer merely alludes to it and turns away from it. The musical numbers were mediocre for this caliber of musical. The songs/dances sounded/looked the same—all in dire need of raw emotion. What Wicked lacked in music, it made up for in full force with set design, effects, and lighting. These elements were flawless and crafty, enveloping us in this newly-imagined, though feigned, universe of Oz.
The greatest disappointment concerning Wicked is the scale and setting of the story. With the original Oz, we had the tale of an epic journey in the same tradition as the Lord of the Rings. Wicked, on the other hand, was the equivalent of a 1980’s John Hughes’ high school drama. Wicked claims to be the untold story of the Wicked Witch. Reflecting on The Wizard of Oz, I see the Wicked Witch to be true evil, not a misunderstood green girl. I may be an Oz purest, but it was upsetting to see the Scarecrow embrace Elphaba in the end of Wicked. The story of young Elphaba suffering racism and stirring activism to end animal cruelty could survive without being stapled to the world of Oz. Instead of thoughtfully utilizing the story’s existing themes and character development, Wicked only uses them as a spring board. It then springs far away from Oz, by making the Wicked Witch misunderstood. The original film viciously depicts her evil nature, while Wicked flips it around. Glinda is rendered a popular moron who is evil in her selfishness, leaving Elphaba as the victimized outcast. The use of the Lion and Tin Man were also annoying, considering the musical never comes to terms with the Witch being the center of their despair in the original Oz. The one element I thought was well-played is the idea of the Wizard being the architect Oz’ downfall. What kind of guy stands behind a robot head and yells at you? The kind of guy doing bad things from behind the curtain.
Since the release of Wicked, its popularity has seized the attention of countless families full of children. Outside of the theatre, one hears talk of its amazing music and how every member of the family has a copy of the soundtrack. I wasn’t impressed. The musical numbers felt redundant with no real emotion behind them. Instead of propelling the story, I felt like they took me out of it and put me in a trendy pop music video. Every time I heard Elphaba and Glinda sing with each other, it reminded me of a 13-year-old girl listening to her pink IPod. The next tracks had to be from Hannah Montana or the Cheetah Girls. Not to say that any of this is poor quality; it just doesn’t resonate with me. The end of the first act was by far the best musical piece in the show. When Elphaba rushes off stage and comes back flying in with lights beaming through fog, the music takes a downturn into a darker melody. If Wicked offered more moments where the music represents the psychology of its characters rather than the characters just singing along the music, it would have been a much stronger show.
The magic of Wicked wasn’t in the music or story, it was in the set design, effects, and lighting. The set transitions flow perfectly and the audience hardly notices, as gear panels slide out and beds appear from thin air just in time for witches to jump onto them. The special effects were an achievement for the stage. The first thing we see is a smoke-breathing dragon flapping its wings and whipping its head around. Then, monkeys fly from vines in front of a giant fantasy clock that a Dungeon and Dragons fan would want as a center piece. Next, we see a witch in a radiant gown float down on a bubble-blowing contraption. And Elphaba, in her witch hat, flies her broomstick through gleaming smoke. On all occasions, my mouth dropped. The stage design was perfect; they must have had the actual Wizard of Oz on a laptop controlling it all back stage, laughing to himself as people’s eyes lit up in amazement. To augment these moves, they had extremely well-planned lighting schemes. These allowed them to easily transition us into another scene or to make a special effect appear magnificent. Again in “Defying Gravity,” the light beaming through the smoke as Elphaba flew above the stage was masterfully orchestrated.
On stage, Wicked fails to grasp my heart as it did for most people, but the magic off stage with the effects and set design held me enough to appreciate the musical. The music was just too poppy for my tastes and seemed to lack passion. Finally, the story deceived The Wizard of Oz instead of playing off of its themes and enhancing Wicked’s relationship with the film.
The greatest disappointment concerning Wicked is the scale and setting of the story. With the original Oz, we had the tale of an epic journey in the same tradition as the Lord of the Rings. Wicked, on the other hand, was the equivalent of a 1980’s John Hughes’ high school drama. Wicked claims to be the untold story of the Wicked Witch. Reflecting on The Wizard of Oz, I see the Wicked Witch to be true evil, not a misunderstood green girl. I may be an Oz purest, but it was upsetting to see the Scarecrow embrace Elphaba in the end of Wicked. The story of young Elphaba suffering racism and stirring activism to end animal cruelty could survive without being stapled to the world of Oz. Instead of thoughtfully utilizing the story’s existing themes and character development, Wicked only uses them as a spring board. It then springs far away from Oz, by making the Wicked Witch misunderstood. The original film viciously depicts her evil nature, while Wicked flips it around. Glinda is rendered a popular moron who is evil in her selfishness, leaving Elphaba as the victimized outcast. The use of the Lion and Tin Man were also annoying, considering the musical never comes to terms with the Witch being the center of their despair in the original Oz. The one element I thought was well-played is the idea of the Wizard being the architect Oz’ downfall. What kind of guy stands behind a robot head and yells at you? The kind of guy doing bad things from behind the curtain.
Since the release of Wicked, its popularity has seized the attention of countless families full of children. Outside of the theatre, one hears talk of its amazing music and how every member of the family has a copy of the soundtrack. I wasn’t impressed. The musical numbers felt redundant with no real emotion behind them. Instead of propelling the story, I felt like they took me out of it and put me in a trendy pop music video. Every time I heard Elphaba and Glinda sing with each other, it reminded me of a 13-year-old girl listening to her pink IPod. The next tracks had to be from Hannah Montana or the Cheetah Girls. Not to say that any of this is poor quality; it just doesn’t resonate with me. The end of the first act was by far the best musical piece in the show. When Elphaba rushes off stage and comes back flying in with lights beaming through fog, the music takes a downturn into a darker melody. If Wicked offered more moments where the music represents the psychology of its characters rather than the characters just singing along the music, it would have been a much stronger show.
The magic of Wicked wasn’t in the music or story, it was in the set design, effects, and lighting. The set transitions flow perfectly and the audience hardly notices, as gear panels slide out and beds appear from thin air just in time for witches to jump onto them. The special effects were an achievement for the stage. The first thing we see is a smoke-breathing dragon flapping its wings and whipping its head around. Then, monkeys fly from vines in front of a giant fantasy clock that a Dungeon and Dragons fan would want as a center piece. Next, we see a witch in a radiant gown float down on a bubble-blowing contraption. And Elphaba, in her witch hat, flies her broomstick through gleaming smoke. On all occasions, my mouth dropped. The stage design was perfect; they must have had the actual Wizard of Oz on a laptop controlling it all back stage, laughing to himself as people’s eyes lit up in amazement. To augment these moves, they had extremely well-planned lighting schemes. These allowed them to easily transition us into another scene or to make a special effect appear magnificent. Again in “Defying Gravity,” the light beaming through the smoke as Elphaba flew above the stage was masterfully orchestrated.
On stage, Wicked fails to grasp my heart as it did for most people, but the magic off stage with the effects and set design held me enough to appreciate the musical. The music was just too poppy for my tastes and seemed to lack passion. Finally, the story deceived The Wizard of Oz instead of playing off of its themes and enhancing Wicked’s relationship with the film.
