One Wicked show

One Wicked show

Familiar faces from Oz join the Wicked cast at Centennial Concert Hall
By Jackie (Doming) Wild

A chilling cackle.

That’s possibly the only nasty quality possessed by Elphaba (played by standby Alyssa Fox), co-star of the Wicked Broadway musical tour.

You might recognize Elphaba as the evil green-skinned sorceress, also known as the Wicked Witch of the West, from The Wizard of Oz. In this re-envisioned play, she takes on the role of a slightly self-conscious, wholly animal loving, prodigious student at Shiz University – all unlikely qualities compared to her traditional counterpart. She belches tunes besides the characteristically blonde and bubbly Glinda the Good (Kara Lindsay).

The play describes the untold tale of how the Wicked Witch of the West came to be. The truth is, she isn’t as bad as the Wizard and Emerald City make her out to be.

Wicked exposes an interesting dynamic between the two witches in training. They start off on the wrong foot as roommates and enemies, decide to make peace, return to loathing each other over the boyishly handsome Fiyero (Matt Shingledecker), and ultimately come to terms with their undeniable connection and friendship.

As expected from the award-winning and internationally-acclaimed play, the musical featured a number of uplifting and memorable tunes, including Defying Gravity, Popular and I’m Not That Girl.

Performances by the touring cast were energetic and entertaining. Most notably, Glinda’s perky hilarity carried the show. Other standout performers include Madame Morrible (Kathy Fitzgerald), a two-faced university administrator who convinces Elphaba to help the Wizard, and Nessarose (played by understudy Lauren Haughton), Elphaba’s handicapped sister who takes a political power trip in the name of her love for a munchkin named Boq.

Overall, Wicked was infinitely wicked – in all the best ways possible.