Best of Broadway: Wicked

There’s no other way to say it. Wicked is, simply, a phenomenon. A world-wide smash hit, after more than 7 years on Broadway, it’s currently the 25th longest-running show in musical theatre history and the 17th longest-running Broadway show. 

A few facts to get us started:

• Wicked has broken box office records around the world, holding weekly records in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, St. Louis, and London, and the record for biggest opening in the West End.
• Both the West End production and the North American tour have been seen by over two million theatre-goers.
• The show was nominated for ten Tony Awards, winning for Best Actress (Idina Menzel), Scenic Design and Costume Design.
• Broadway success led to productions of Wicked in Chicago, Los Angeles, London's West End, San Francisco, international productions in Japan, Germany and Australia, and two North American tours.

 Wicked is based (loosely) on Gregory Maguire’s very adult and subversive novel: “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West”, a political, social, and ethical commentary on the nature of good and evil, featuring the famous characters of L. Frank Baum’s Oz. Maguire’s Oz, however, is a different place altogether. In the years leading to Dorothy's arrival, the novel centres on Elphaba, the misunderstood green-skinned girl who grows up to become the Wicked Witch of the West.

The musical focuses on Elphaba’s relationship with Galinda, later Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. Their friendship begins at Shiz University, where they struggle with opposing views on everything from politics, friendship, education, and even a rivalry for the same love interest, ultimately leading to Elphaba’s (unfair) public fall from grace. With plenty of clever and knowing references to Baum’s world (particularly 1939’s classic The Wizard of Oz), Wicked has become the envy of musical producers worldwide- a bone-fide family theatre smash hit. Think Phantom of the Opera, but with even more family appeal. If you listen closely, you can hear the cash registers chiming.

Wicked is one of those productions that inspires a certain level of obsession in its most ardent fans. It’s most ardent fans tend to be teenagers, and teenagers can be loud and very passionate (speaking as someone who, as a teenager, was loud and very passionate). But the truth is that Wicked inspires this passion because it deserves it. It’s so much fun. The musical’s book may be sometimes confusing to those unfamiliar with the source material (especially the subplot about Animal rights), but Stephen Schwartz’s songs are accessible and memorable, the costumes and staging are divine, and every cent is up on that stage. Performed by incomparable original cast members Idina Menzel (as Elphaba, the green girl), and Kristin Chenoweth (as Galinda/Glinda, the popular girl), songs like the epic Defying Gravity, impossibly catchy Popular, the sweet I’m Not That Girl, the heartbreaking For Good, and the haunting No Good Deed showcase the power, terrific acting, perfect timing, and range of Wicked’s leads. The wholly original Elphaba, in particular, is not a role to be taken on by a lightweight.

The divine Idina Menzel

I’ve seen Wicked in New York, Brisbane, and in Melbourne, and the electricity in the audience is something that strikes me each time. Wicked may be a musical powerhouse, but its themes of friendship and independence strike chords with theatre-goers worldwide. And when Elphaba "Defies Gravity", well, that's Broadway at its most magnificent.

Best of Broadway: West Side Story

Among my friends and family, it’s a well-known fact. I’m not ashamed to admit it. So, here goes. I am a huge musical theatre nerd. I’ve even shared this nerdiness with the internet. I am rarely happier or more content than when I’m sitting amongst a theatre audience, watching insanely talented performers sing, dance, and act on stage, live in front of me.  It started a long, long time ago, my love of musicals. I’ve said before that all my favourites movies as a kid involved people bursting into song at random and inopportune times. C’mon! What a perfect way to express emotion: love, hate, happiness, sadness, a song for every feeling. I know I can’t be the only one who shares this musical obsession, so, now’s the time to show yourselves! I’m going to talk about some of my favourites, and I’d love to hear what you think too. Let’s start at the top, with West Side Story. 
 

West Side Story is my favourite musical, and its pedigree is simply without peer. A legend is behind WSS at every turn. The book? By Arthur Laurents. The music? Leonard Bernstein of course! And those lyrics? Why, that would be the incomparable Stephen Sondheim. Let’s start with the story, based on Romeo and Juliet. Set in the 50s, The Puerto Rican Sharks and the working-class white Jets rule their turf on the West Side of Manhattan. Tony, a former Jet, is trying to grow up, but Riff, the Jet’s current leader, pleads with Tony to come to a dance at the gym, where the Jets will challenge the Sharks to a rumble. Bernardo, the head of the Sharks, has a younger sister Maria, and when she and Tony meet, it’s love at first sight. At the rumble, a knife is pulled and Riff is killed by Bernardo, and Tony kills Bernardo in a moment of blind rage. Bernardo’s girlfriend Anita runs to tell Tony that Maria wants to meet him, but the gang harasses her, and she tells them that Maria has been killed by Chino. Tony goes to find Chino to be killed himself, since his life is meaningless without Maria, only to find her alive. The shocking and heartbreaking end has Chino shoot Tony dead. Phew!

Amongst the melodrama, the love and hate and dancing and emoting, are some of the most gorgeous songs Broadway has ever produced. Somewhere, Maria, the sublime One Hand, One Heart, I Feel Pretty, Tonight, the hilariously pointed America; the dreamlike quality of Bernstein’s music lifts the cruelty of the story, giving it an almost otherworldly quality. The tension of songs like Tonight Quintet, just before intermission, is almost unbearable. There's no doubt something bad is going to happen here. Performed live on stage, that anxiety is both palpable and irresistible. But despite the raw naturalism of the narrative and setting, the romanticism of Tony and Maria’s love is undercut perfectly by a poetic tone, lifting West Side Story to a level of musical theatricality that is so rare. 

Dance played a major part in the development of West Side Story, with the show originating with choreographer Jerome Robbins. To see West Side Story onstage is a rare treat, and one that every musical fan should take if given the opportunity. If staged effectively, it is unmatched as a production. I had the pleasure of seeing the Broadway revival in 2009, and left the show with a tear in my eye. It was perfection on stage, aided by the interesting choice to have the Sharks often speak in their native Spanish, and the brilliance of Karen Olivo's Tony-winning portrayal of Anita. Most valuably, with all the elements working together (performance, staging, music, book), we remain completely invested in the story. This, for me, makes West Side Story the ultimate musical. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!