AFTER BREAKING BOX OFFICE RECORDS
AND SELLING OUT IN RECORD TIME IN 2005,
AND RETURNING BY "POPULAR" DEMAND IN 2007
MUSIC AND LYRICS BY STEPHEN SCHWARTZ
BOOK BY WINNIE HOLZMAN
DIRECTED BY JOE MANTELLO
BASED ON THE NOVEL BY GREGORY MAGUIRE
SPECTACULAR ENTERTAINMENT
REVIEWED BY DONNA BAILEY-THOMPSON
Now that I have seen WICKED, I understand why after eight years it is still packing in Broadway audiences. Beginning with the gigantic, heart-stopping, fire-breathing, winged dragon who hovers above the proscenium, WICKED delivers spectacular entertainment.
Playing in our backyard at The Bushnell in Hartford CT, this is one of the two national tours crisscrossing the USA (or three tours, depending upon which PR release you read) with all the bells and whistles of the Broadway production included. Audiences can't get enough; fans return more than once. And no wonder: there's too much to absorb within almost three hours playing time.
WICKED has won 35 major awards, including the Grammy Award, the Olivier Award, three Tony Awards, six Drama Desk Awards, including Best Musical. Judging from the roars of approval that erupted several times opening night at the Bushnell, WICKED qualifies for an Over-the-Top Appreciation Award.
Based upon Gregory Maguire’s novel WICKED (published in 1995, still on the bestseller lists), the story line is simple; happily, the production isn’t. The time is roughly a generation before what many of us know as Oz from the Judy Garland movie, when the witches were grownups. In WICKED, the good witch Glinda is a young, giddy girl, and a bad witch has just been disposed of. The populace celebrates, and what a collection of colorful, imaginative costumes! Middle earth design motifs are borrowed from around the world. The costuming alone is worthy of seeing WICKED more than once.
During the first six or so minutes of the show, weird, spidery monkeys frantically dart and climb, an evil witch has been dispatched; the benevolent governor lovingly embraces his wife before leaving for an overnight business trip; she immediately continues ongoing adultery with a slime ball; conceives, and super-fast forward is delivered of a baby whose skin is green – emerald green -- shunned by the governor and ultimately by just about everyone. Meet Elphaba. The role is designed for an actress who can act, sing, dance, and exude the charisma that overcomes any issues audiences might have with green skin that’s not on any human color charts.
As Elphaba, Dee Roscioli is nothing short of outstanding.
She plays opposite Glinda who, like Elphaba is a witch-in-training. Elphaba’s green skin is emphasized by wearing black clothing. The intensity of her costumes complement her keen intelligence. Whereas Glinda is, seemingly, all gleaming white and golden froth, a stereotypical airhead. Performed opening night by Megan Campanile, she is delightfully multi-faceted. Her growing up is dotted with inconsistencies, especially phoney smiles and empty blather. However, her acceptance of Elphaba is genuine, paving the way for a friendship that honors transparency. Elphaba becomes the so-called Wicked Witch of the West. .As Glinda matures, she develops wisdom and grows with commonsense into Glinda the Good.
The dynamics unleashed by Roscioli’s and Campanile’s casting are a fitting platform for their totally-in-character vocals. Their singing is pitch-perfect, the meanings behind the lyrics are clear. Roscioli sings with a script-appropriate edge that barely contains her combativeness honed as part of her defense mechanism. Campanile’s pure soprano is as clear in the high registers as a throaty aside at a full key lower. The script overflows with emotions that run the gamut. Quality is not sacrificed. The supporting cast is equally first-rate. Both Mark Jacoby’s Wizard and Randy Danson’s Madame Morrible bring seasoned history to their roles. (Danson’s bearing is reminiscent of Texas Governor Ann Richards.) Stefanie Brown as Nessarose, after winning empathy, shows how self-centered she is. Not one character is static. They change whether by adversity or good fortune.
WICKED is an astounding accomplishment – a polished book, soaring music and lyrics, intricate choreography. Its musical label can’t disguise the fact it also includes the stuff of opera.
That thought prompted a query to Google: “Musical or Opera?” Up popped an article by Anthony Tommasini, published by the New York Times, July 7, 2011: “OPERA? MUSICAL? PLEASE RESPECT THE DIFFERENCE”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/10/theater/musical-or-opera-the-fine-line-that-divides-them.html?pagewanted=all
Mr. Tommasini writes: “Both genres seek to combine words and music in dynamic, felicitous and, to invoke that all-purpose term, artistic ways. But in opera, music is the driving force; in musical theater, words come first.
“This explains why for centuries opera-goers have revered works written in languages they do not speak. Though supertitles have revolutionized the art form, many buffs grew up without this innovation and loved opera anyway. As long as you basically know what is going on and what is more or less being said, you can be swept away by a great opera, not just by music, but by visceral drama.”
Interesting, because for most of WICKED, the lyrics were sung at such a break-neck speed that I couldn’t decipher all the words, but I seem to have grasped the story.
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AFTERTHOUGHTWICKED is another example of the exciting, high-quality theatrical hits entertaining enthusiastic Broadway audiences that come to Hartford. Essentially, they are the same production that opened on Broadway. Sometimes, they feature the same actor in the starring role. Some I saw on Broadway before I enjoyed them again at The Bushnell. I could not detect any differences between the productions. – DBT
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