Day 8.3 - Wicked!

I realised on my last full day that I still hadn't got around to seeing Wicked, one of the things on my Really Must Do list. I got my way to the Gershwin Theatre, having gone via TKT (closed) just in case they had tickets. I got to the theatre early afternoon, and was behind two women trying to buy four tickets for the following night's show. The best they could get was four singles ($130 ea) in various parts of the theatre. They stepped aside to confer (they later did buy the four singles), and I enquired what was available for that night. The bloke apologised, saying he only had Premium tickets left ($250 each). I paused for a moment, and then though, bugger it, I'm going. Of the half dozen or so single Premium seats left, I asked him to choose the best one, and walked away with a seat for row 5 (EE 103). It was indeed a very good seat with excellent view of the stage, marred only slightly by the small child seated to my right who could not sit still.

I returned to the theatre around 7:30pm - there were plenty of signs warning that they began very promptly at 8pm, snarfled my apple pie dessert, and took a pic of the poster in the lightbox with my iPhone (I left my camera at home, knowing I couldn't take photos of the show).

The story is based on a book written by Gregory Maquire, heavily adapted (I've heard the book isn't great). The set-up is that Elphaba was conceived during an illicit liaison between her mother and a travelling salesman who supplied an intoxicating green liquid. Her father practically disowned her when she emerged from her mother's womb as a decidedly and permanently emerald infant. An awkward misfit, she was sent to school as an aide for her favoured but crippled sister and ended up sharing a room with the blonde and popular Galinda. Initially sworn enemies, a misunderstanding sees them become firm friends, a friendship later challenged by their love for the same boy.

It is explained to us how the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow come to be, each a victim of good intentions, and how Elphaba became the Wicked Witch of the West (a victim of bad press). Like all good musicals, the songs advance the plot, and there is a happy ending. One of my favourite songs was "Popular", partway through the first act, during which Elphaba gets a make-over, or rather, gets "Galinda-fied". There's another, which I can't remember the title of (Google tells me it's "Wonderful", which discusses how it's the victors who write history, or in the Wizard's words "Where I'm from, we believe all sorts of things that aren't true. We call it 'history'.", asking "Is [a man] a crusader - or ruthless invader?"


I think my most favourite part of the whole show was the costumes, which were a sort of steampunk (faux Victorian with a twist). I did buy the souvenir program, which has some pics, but all of these are taken from the interwebs.

In fact, the site (www.signplay.com) that I took that from has a collage of lots of pics, as well as a detailed synopsis of the play. Here are some other pics:

These really don't do it justice - go have a look for yourself, online to start with, and then the show.

Seriously, if you haven't seen it, and you can possibly afford it, go see it. Even if you don't like "The Wizard of Oz". Heck, particularly if you don't like "The Wizard of Oz" - Dorothy is definitely the baddie in this play. (Really, who pinches a pair of shoes from someone they killed 'by accident'?)