Who doesn’t love a good musical that has a stellar plot, interesting characters, and talented actors? Wicked has won the hearts of millions around the world, both book lovers and fine arts fanatics. As one of the longest running Broadway shows in history, it can hold up on its own as the book and the musical are quite different from each other. A 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire, his story leads into L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In 2003, the novel was made into a musical production produced by Universal Pictures and directed by Joe Mantello with musical staging by Wayne Cilento.
With several different actors taking up the roles of Elphaba Throbb, aka the Wicked Witch of the West, Galinda Arduenna Throbb, later known as Glinda the Good, and other characters; Calgary’s jubilee auditorium was fortunate enough to host this musical delight! I’m not a huge fan of the Wizard of Oz, but Wicked blew my mind. All I knew about the story was that it was the life of the Wicked Witch of the West before she received the title. So I was up for a lot of surprises, such as the political, social and ethical commentary on the nature of good and evil. I don’t want to spoil anything for you, so I’ll be vague and hope that this review is useful to you.
Like all good stories, there is a twist that most people would have never expected, unless they’re really good at guessing plots. As a green-skinned girl, Elphaba has faced discrimination her whole life and the audience members felt the unfair situations she was put in. Galinda, assuming the role of a snob and fashionista is completely the opposite of what Oz fans remember her as. 
Throughout the Broadway, you eventually see Galinda mature and Elphaba earn her title of wickedness. However, the references to the original Wizard of Oz story made were generally inconsistent. Some of it made sense, but most of it seemed like they tried too hard to reference the two stories. The traits of the main characters of Wicked seem to clash with themselves in the original story. You learn about the story of Elphaba and Glinda, who you sympathize with. In the Oz story, the Wicked Witch seemed heartless and selfish; plus in both stories, the reasoning for taking the ruby slippers don’t line up. It seemed out-of-place to pull out scenes from The Wizard of Oz as they conflicted with the actual personalities of the characters, especially when a love triangle was inserted into the musical.
This really bothered me as I thought about the Broadway some more, but during it I was too distracted with the catchy tunes and lyrics. However, it was difficult to understand what the actors were singing. Perhaps it was the spot which I was sitting in (Center stage, right terrace and center row), but for a couple of the songs, the orchestra drowned out the actors’ voices and when the background singers erupted into their own number I had no clue what they were saying. The solos were brilliant, however in the beginning Galinda’s vibrato was more distracting to the song than it was enjoyable. Eventually it worked into her songs as the notes weren’t as high and the background music was quieter.
Despite this, the musical was very enjoyable with beautiful sets, seamless scene changes and lovely costumes. The performers were topnotch in their singing and acting and the story was compelling and complex. Even though there were some inconsistencies and small plot holes, it was well worth the three hours! They completely sped by and I was craving for some more after it was finished. The ending was a bit of a let-down, but everything leading up to it was so awesome! In addition to that, it seemed like the ending of Act I was the actual ending (the girl sitting next to me never came back afterwards), but I was so glad to see and hear some more of Wicked.
I highly suggest to see this movie as there are still tickets available to purchase! Also, here’s one of my favorite songs (that doesn’t really have any spoilers) that I loved, even before I watched the Broadway!
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