Here's the review that I've written for my college newspaper. Tell me what you think! I'm trying to learn the fine art of writing theatre reviews.
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Undoubtedly the hottest ticket of the Toronto theatre season, the Broadway megamusical WICKED finally begins its highly-anticipated North American tour at the Canon Theatre with much pomp and circumstance. Does the show live up to its hype? Well, despite its weak book script, bland score and banal lyrics, WICKED is surprisingly enjoyable. This is not a great musical, but a good enough one, and the extravagant production values and razzle-dazzle will charm you into forgiving the severe shortcomings in the material.
Based on Gregory Maguire’s novel, WICKED is the untold backstory to THE WIZARD OF OZ and chronicles the life and times of Elphaba, the misunderstood Wicked Witch of the West. Smart and righteous, yet taunted because her emerald skin, Elphaba arrives as a young woman at Shiz University (which bears a remarkable resemblance to Hogwart’s of Harry Potter fame) and meets Glinda, portrayed as a ditzy blond socialite who always gets what she wants. The two iron out their differences and eventually become best friends, and Elphaba begins to explore her mysterious magical powers. Meanwhile, trouble is brewing in the land: civil unrest grows as Oz’ talking animal citizens are disappearing and a totalitarian power slowly casts its shadow over the nation. After her favourite mammalian professor loses his job and is silenced, Elphaba heads to Emerald City with Glinda to seek help from the Wizard. Exposing the truth of events before Dorothy arrives, WICKED positions itself as a parable of how one should not so easily believe what one is told.
Unfortunately, the darker themes of WICKED aren’t adequately explored in this unabashedly commercial show. Provocative issues raised by the story, ranging from genocide to the construction of truth, are glossed over and ultimately abandoned. Sometimes WICKED too readily panders to a spectacle-loving mainstream audience, with contrived plot twists, cheesy dialogue and a mundane love triangle that culminates in a generic and wholly unnecessary love duet titled, “As Long as You’re Mine.” While WICKED proposes to be THE WIZARD OF OZ’s prequel, the ill-crafted book script occasionally contradicts the events in Frank L. Baum’s narrative. The script does succeed, however, in developing a strong relationship between the two central women of the story: Elphaba and Glinda’s lives intertwine in unexpected ways, especially when the story finally meets up with the events in THE WIZARD OF OZ.
WICKED’s weakest feature is its disappointing score. The story should inspire a rich musical interpretation, but instead composer Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Disney’s Pocahontas) has saddled the show with unmemorable, generic pop songs that have the melodic monotony of an American Idol competition, complete with unnerving vocal aerobics and overblown, synthetic orchestrations. More dreadful still are the cringe-inducing lyrics, brimming with clichés and forced rhymes. Some of the lyrics are downright banal; my personal favourite is, “there are bridges you cross you didn’t know you crossed until you’ve crossed.” Such songwriting represents some of the sloppiest in a high-profile musical in recent memory.
Yet, despite all these faults, WICKED is still a very enjoyable night at the theatre, being an exercise in just how satisfying spectacle can be. The artists on the production team have outdone themselves in diverting attention away from the poor writing with lavish sets, a fantastic lighting design, glittering costumes and other such eye candy – and for the most part, they succeed (though the choreography is awkward and campy). WICKED is undeniably fun to gawk at, a big-budget extravaganza with expensive smoke and mirrors. Joe Mantello’s direction impressively makes use of the full dimensions of the Canon’s massive stage. And WICKED does have several moments that soar, such as the Act I closing number, “Defying Gravity,” which brings down the house. The attempts at relaying a message may be flimsy and unsubtle, but why argue with flashy entertainment?
The assembled cast for this new tour is a strong one. Lead actress Stephanie J. Block was absent from the performance I attended (she had suffered an injury during rehearsals), and the producers have brought in New York understudy Kristy Cates to play the Wicked Witch until Block recovers. Fortunately, Cates delivers a fine performance as Elphaba. Her singing is more controlled than other actresses who have wailed through this role, and her classically trained voice gives a certain luster and prettiness to the otherwise dull songs.
Kendra Kasselbaum, however, lacks the stage charisma needed to pull of an affecting Glinda. Her performance verges on annoying, and she struggles through her most vocally-tricky number, “Popular.” Finer performances come from the charming Carol Kane as Shiz University’s matron, Madame Morrible, and particularly David Garrison as the Wizard; he is so natural onstage that it feels like the role was written for him. Also wonderful is Jenna Leigh Green as Elphaba’s sister Nessarose; I’ve previously seen Green in a tiny off-Broadway musical called Bare last May, and she is blessed with a powerhouse voice. She makes the most of a small role here, but it is her take on Elphaba I’d like to see most.
I’ve been told by several people who have read Maguire’s novel that the musical takes many liberties with both the plot and tone. My companion for the evening enjoyed WICKED very much, but found several moments “hokey.” WICKED seems to suffer, then, from the same pitfalls as another high-profile Broadway show, Disney’s retelling of AIDA, which similarly takes dark source material and makes it palatable to a family audience. Both are highly entertaining but ultimately-flawed works of theatre, and I wonder how much more effective these two shows would be if they went for emotional truth rather than glitz and glamour. But I suppose there’s something satisfying about ignoring the feeble man behind the curtain and reveling in the dazzling pyrotechnics before you.
BlueWizard's blog: The Rambling Corner
HEDWIG: "The road is my home. In reflecting upon the people whom I have come upon in my travels, I cannot help but think of the people who have come upon me."
Updated On: 3/25/05 at 11:21 PM
