It's Not Easy Being Green

Hey everyone! Ever since I heard the book Wicked was being made into a broadway musical, I've been dying to see it. My wish was finally granted when the touring production came to Denver and Thomas, Jen, Dave and I went this past Saturday night. I read the book about ten years ago when I was living in Arkansas and I was entranced. Everyone knows the story of the Wizard of Oz and you pretty much accept it as fact that the Witch is evil, 'nuf said. Wicked just blew my mind because it tells the story from her perspective - how did she get to the point in life where she was so desperate for those ruby slippers that she ended up melting for them. In his book, Wicked, Gregory Maguire tells the story of a young girl named Elfaba (derived from L. Frank Baum's initials) who thanks to her green skin is a born outsider. She also happens to be a devoted animal rights activist hence the flying monkeys that surround her. She meets Glinda (aka the Good Witch) in college and their relationship evolves throughout the story. Maguire also spends a good bit of time explaining the politics of Oz, particularly the status of the animals. They start out as speaking, sentient beings and are then forced to become caged, unintelligible beasts. You also get to find out how the Tinman and the Scarecrow came to fruition and all sorts of other good stuff. Basically, the first 3/4 of the book rock, but as Larissa reminded me it is a bit slowgoing at the end. I still heartily recommend it.

Anyway, the musical. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm a big fan of spectacle in general and the sets and costumes were enough to please me on their own. Tons of emerald green sets and dresses (and skin). Both were extremely creative. Elfaba was played by Stephanie J. Block and Glinda by Kendra Kassebaum. Also starring were Carol Kane (remember her from Taxi and Scrooged) and the guy who played the Bundy's next door neighbor, Steve on Married with Children. Glinda totally stole the show for me. She was so funny and lively that you couldn't take your eyes off her, no matter who was on the stage. I thought Elfaba's voice was a little better, but Glinda provided almost every laugh during the show with all of her little quirks, movements and voice inflections. Wicked's worth seeing just to see her in action. Given how complicated the story is, I thought they did a pretty good job explaining it, how Elfaba turned wicked, and the relationship between Glinda and her. The audience was extremely enthusiastic, providing a standing O and raving about the production. And I was just as enthusiastic up thru intermission. However, once it was over, as Thomas said, the music kind of sucked. And for a musical that's a pretty big deal. You don't leave the theatre singing any particular song. There's no catchy "We're Off to See the Wizard" or anything like that. As Thomas also noted, the music and lyrics were very Celine Diony. Not sure if that's just the current fad in musicals or what. Two of the musicals I've seen in the past ten years where I really loved the music were Lion King and Rent (I actually had to see it twice, I loved it so much and seriously considered buying the cd). Not so with Wicked. Some of the songs were good in the moment and the ones that had all the cast up there dancing I enjoyed, again for the spectacle. My other complaint is there was no grand finale, which we've all come to expect from musicals. That big number that brings in all the cast and ratchets up the emotion so you want to jump to your feet. That was missing. They did have a good finale right before intermission, but strangely enough it was missing from the actual end of the play. It reminded me of the Creede fireworks this year. And I get that this isn't Dorothy's story, but I would have appreciated a glimpse of her and Toto. So, if you're a fan of musicals and/or a fan of the book, I do definitely recommend Wicked, the musical, but go in there with some realistic expectations. If you haven't read the book but enjoy musicals, I can highly recommend it whether you're a fan of the fantasy genre or not.

-sunday