PREPARE TO BE SPELLBOUND

What is it that makes WICKED so desirable? It's being billed as 'the untold story of the witches of Oz' and focuses on a time pre-Dorothy, when two very different girls, Glinda and Elphaba, become friends. One oozes goodness and innocence from every pore, while the other was born green and possesses a talent for magic that knows no boundaries. Naturally, she turns 'bad' and, as with every good story, there's a man at the heart of it.

Perhaps WICKED's popularity has something to do with the fact that the film The Wizard of Oz is a story many of us hold close to our hearts. Even the most hardcore musical hater can't fail to be intrigued as to what could have possibly happened before the precocious little girl and her puppy wandered in from Kansas, whinging about her black and white home.

Perhaps it's the music; the kind of score that tugs at every heartstring before making you snort your wine back out through your nose with laughter. You'll crease during 'Popular', when Glinda's giving Elphaba a makeover, and bawl during 'For Good', when the unlikely friends realise they have to go their separate ways. It could quite possibly be the cast in their exceptional, quirky costumes. You really get a colourful taste of what it must be like to live over the rainbow and the continuous nods at the film will leave you smiling. For example, the stripy stockings Nessa wears before 'that unfortunate incident' and the cocktail that's served before the dialogue, 'lemons and melons and pears' - 'oh my!'. These and more serve as tiny but special reminders that we're witnessing the work of a protective force, who've strived to ensure the original legend of Oz doesn't get lost in the razzle and dazzle. In fact, the show will probably make you want to dig out the movie that inspired a hundred fantastical imaginings when you were a kid. Perhaps the magic you used to believe in never really died? Perhaps it just comes in a hundred, slightly more achievable forms, as you grow up.

Watch WICKED with a good glass of wine and a packet of hankies, and prepare to be spellbound. It's a magical masterpiece of musical theatre that's bound to sell out every performance and close to a standing ovation, as it has done every night since it started. WICKED is truly 'wicked'!

Becky Wicks

BACK TO REVIEWS