Spectacular, entertaining 'Wicked' was worth the wait

By: PAM KRAGEN - Staff Writer | Friday, July 28, 2006 1:31 PM PDT ∞

It's almost cruel to say how spectacular the long-anticipated touring production of "Wicked" is to those who don't have tickets. After all, the local engagement of the Stephen Schwartz/Winnie Holzman musical ranks as the fastest-selling show in Broadway/San Diego history and all available seats disappeared within hours of going on sale last spring.

But if you can get your hands on tickets for "Wicked," it's worth the price. The ear-pleasing musical, based on Gregory Maguire's novel about what happened in Oz before Dorothy dropped in, looks to be the most elaborate and expensive stage tour in Broadway/San Diego history. Even better, the massive sets, exciting special effects and lavish costumes are wrapped around an engaging, clever and funny story about friendship between two young women ---- a plot rarely seen in musical theater.

And the two actresses cast in the lead roles are exceptional. Julia Murney has enormous vocal range and power, and a sweet, sad stage presence as the misunderstood Elphaba, the green-skinned boarding school student who morphs into the Wicked Witch of the West. And Kendra Kassebaum is hilarious as the vain and shallow Galinda (who becomes Glinda the Good Witch). Her deft comic timing and goofily awkward physicality, particularly in the show's biggest hit, "Popular," is one of the show's best features.

The musical's book is drawn from the middle section of Maguire's dark novel "Wicked," though characters and major plot points have been changed. In the musical, Elphaba (a name drawn from the initials of L. Frank Baum, author of the original "Wizard of Oz" book), and Glinda are unhappily thrown together as roommates at the Shiz Academy. Slowly the ice between the two girls thaws after they do each other favors (Glinda gives Elphaba a makeover while Elphaba gets Glinda into sorcery school). And when Elphaba's rare and long-suppressed magical powers earn her a private invitation to meet the Wizard of Oz, she invites Glinda along for the ride.

The story has a dark side, though. The Wizard is a fraud who uses spies (in the form of flying monkeys) to sniff out unrest, and his discriminatory laws silence both critics and the underprivileged (in this case, animals, who are losing their speaking abilities and the rights to hold jobs and roam freely). With the help of Shiz headmistress Madame Morrible, the Wizard hopes to use Elphaba's powers to control the kingdom. When she refuses, they launch a smear campaign to turn the public against her. And when Fiyero, the Winkie prince who falls for Elphaba (despite Glinda's best efforts to keep him for herself), is arrested and tortured, Elphaba vows to use her mystical powers only for wicked ends.

The musical's book cleverly weaves together Baum's and Maguire's stories so that Dorothy's arrival and the backstory on her three companions on the Yellow Brick Road (Scarecrow, Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion) are neat, eye-opening surprises.

Schwartz's score is magical, packed with big-finish ballads, harmonizing romantic and friendship duets and big ensemble numbers, without a clunker among them. The most thrilling numbers are Elphaba's show-stoppers, which all end on a stratospheric top note, including the optimistic "The Wizard and I," the high-flying first-act closer "Defying Gravity" and the formidable song of defiance "No Good Deed." The second-act friendship duet between Elphaba and Glinda, "For Good," brings tears to the eyes.

In keeping with Maguire's book, the show has a dark, Industrial Age look with large wheels, clocks, cogs, rivets and clanking machinery that mask the corruption inside the Emerald City. Eugene Lee's huge sets (and special effects) seem hardly scaled down from the Broadway original. An enormous, steam-snorting metal dragon, complete with flapping wings, moving head and glowing red eyes spans the entire width of the stage's proscenium arch. Glinda comes and goes in a soap bubble-spewing metal globe. And the effect of the flying monkeys, one of whom sprouts wings before our eyes, is thrilling (and a little creepy). But unlike some other effects-heavy shows like "Phantom of the Opera" and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," "Wicked" has a lot of heart and character development inside its flashy exterior.

Sebastian Arcelus makes a hunky Fiyero; P.J. Benjamin is surprisingly likable as the Wizard; Jennifer Waldman is sweetly manipulative as Elphaba's wheelchair-bound sister Nessarose (the one who ends up underneath Dorothy's house in Munchkinland); and Alma Cuervo brings a cruel imperiousness to Mme. Morrible. The large ensemble cast are all strong singers and dancers, and no expense was spared on Susan Hilferty's richly designed costumes.

The only downside of the "Wicked" tour is that it's in town for only two weeks and tickets are scarce. But ticketless fans with a lot of cash or time on their hands might be in luck. Dozens of pairs of tickets are available for resale on eBay (the going rate for orchestra seats is $250 to $500 a pair). And if that's out of your budget, Broadway/San Diego is holding a daily lottery for up to a dozen orchestra/dress circle seats. Three hours before each show, queued-up ticket buyers will be given a number, and a half-dozen numbers will be drawn in a lottery an hour later. Those whose numbers are selected can buy up to two main-floor tickets for $25 each. Winners must be present.

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