1/11/2010

Wicked-The Musical

This past weekend one of my very good friends and I purchased tickets to see "Wicked-The Musical" (see countdown above):o) In honor of this exciting event, I decided to give a little history.

The book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West was written by Gregory Maguire in 1995 and was illustrated by Douglas Smith. This tale was a spin-off of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, written in 1900. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a story of a farm girl from Kansas who finds herself in the strange and colorful land of Oz and must find her way out with the help of her new found friends, the Scarecrow, the Tin-man, and the Cowardly Lion, and with a little help from the Wizard of Oz himself! She meets the most interesting characters, such as the Munchkins and Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, and the Wicked Witch of the West, who is keen on seeking revenge from little Dorothy, who's house fell on her sister, the Wicked Witch of the East. She also wants the ruby red shoes that belonged to her sister.

"Wicked" is quite a different tale. The heroine of the story is the Wicked Witch of the West herself! Her name is Elphaba, a poor girl born green, with a natural knack for magic. She finds herself misunderstood and looked down upon at her new school, Shiz University. Her college roommate, instead of her crippled sister, Nessarose, ends up being none other than Galinda, a rich, popular, blonde air-headed girl who doesn't quite have the art of the wand down. Through twists and turns, the two become friends. They even a mutual love interest, the young and handsome Fiyero, who is a bit shallow. The two go through different adventures as this retelling shows how Elphaba became the Wicked Witch of the West, Nessarose the Wicked Witch of the East and how Galinda became Glinda the Good Witch of the North. And perhaps the "Wonderful Wizard" is not as wonderful as suspected. This tale was soon followed by a sequel entitled Son of a Witch.

This retelling was turned into a musical and premiered in San Fransisco in May 2003. The show then found its way to Broadway at the Gershwin Theater in October of the same year. This show had the musical talents of Idina Menzel (Elphaba), Kristin Chenoweth (Glinda), Norbert Leo Butz (Fiyero), Carole Shelley (Madame Morrible), Joel Gray (The Wizard), Michelle Federer (Nessarose), Christopher Fitzgerald (Boq), and William Youmans (Doctor Dillamond). This marvelous musical has been a big success and has opened also in London and several other locations around the world.
All in all, it has an AMAZING soundtrack! Needless to say I am VERY excited to see it!!! Below are pictures of various casts performing.