After a three-year absence, Wicked once more swoops down on Milwaukee. Alighting again at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, the touring production ably demonstrates why Wicked has become the 12th-longest running show in Broadway history. It opened at Broadway’s Gershwin Theater in 2003, one of Broadway’s largest houses, where it continues today.
The national tour, which started a month-long Milwaukee run (that in all likelihood will be extended), has much to offer. Wicked newbies will undoubtedly be dazzled as much by the spectacular lighting, costumes, scenery and production effects as the characters themselves. But on opening night, where more than a few princess tiaras, striped Wicked leggings and even a few top-to-toe Wicked ensembles were spotted in the audience, one might guess that Wicked’s arrival was also awaited by loyal fans.
This tour more than lives up to Wicked’s hype, with one exception (to be discussed later). It captures all the mystique of an otherworldly place, where characters wear outlandish-looking outfits (except perhaps, on designer runways) and have a strange way of speaking.
The opening scene begins with a gruesome-sounding celebration, as the populace cheers the death of their common enemy, Elphaba, the Wicked Witch. The show comes alive with the aerial entrance of Glinda, who first appears as a glittering beacon in her bubble. She is treated with royal respect by her subjects – until the thorny subject of her relationship with Elphaba is mentioned. Although Glinda isn’t afraid to rewrite history, playwright Stephen Schwartz wants the audience to see and judge for itself. The celebration segues into a scene that depicts Elphaba’s “unnatural” birth. Poor Elephaba, born as green as the Green Giant of TV advertising fame, is shunned by her authoritarian father and suspiciously regarded by everyone else.
One of the show’s recurring themes is accepting yourself for who you are, whether overcoming a disability (the green-tinged Elphaba, as well as her wheelchair-bound sister, Nessarose) or fighting to make your voice heard, even when your voice is silenced (Jay Russell as a marvelous Dr. Dillamond).
Playwright Stephen Schwartz uses several reoccurring themes. One noticeable aspect of this tour is the lifelong bond between the two witches. Although Elphaba and Glinda don’t exactly hit it off when they first meet at school (told in the clever song, “Loathing”), their unlikely friendship gradually grows. As Glinda, Hayley Podschun takes the lead in drawing the audience’s attention. She adds her own personal sparkle to the part, most evident in the dorm-room scene when she tries to do a “makeover” on Elphaba. All the voices here are incredibly good, but Podschun’s is perhaps the most memorable. In order to draw a contrast between the witches, Jennifer DiNoia (as Elphaba) holds back a bit too much in the early scenes. She makes it clear that Elphaba is clearly out of her element at school (where Glinda takes to school like a fish to water). Adoring students seem to follow her everywhere; this is not surprising for someone who invests her energies in being “Popular.” However, DiNoia’s Act I closer, “Defying Gravity,” is all it should be. Still, this is the first “Wicked” production this critic has seen in which Glinda outshines Elphaba.
As the main characters grow older, they must play out the choices they have made. In addition to the two women, there’s the handsome, carefree Fiyero (David Nathan Perlow). Once he arrives on campus, Glinda immediately nabs him for herself. (They are the best-looking couple, Glinda decides.) However, Glinda learns that love has its own power. Even to the end, she cannot fully accept the loss of her love to the strange-looking, independent Elphaba. Interestingly, the production emphasizes Fiyero’s growing indifference to Glinda to the point where one might wonder if he ever cared for her. One senses his desperation at finding Elphaba, who has dropped out of sight since her awful introduction to the Wizard (Walker Jones).
Jones is a seasoned character actor who impresses during his brief scenes onstage. But this is a show about the two women, how they learn from each other and maintain their friendship through good times and bad. Overall, the cast “clicks” quite nicely, as the characters define their similarities and differences. Together with an above-average supporting cast, fabulous dancers and a talented pit orchestra, Wicked is a not-to-be-missed summer highlight. It has all the elements to “elevate” the young and old, and those who believe that dreams – even ones that take unexpected turns – eventually can come true.
