1. Wicked
Opened October 30, 2003 – still running
Wicked is, without a doubt, the most financially successful new musical of the decade. Since hitting Broadway in late 2003, Wicked has been constantly breaking records for weekly grosses. The show broke yet another record just last week – the week ending January 3, 2010 – making over $2.1 million with just their Broadway production. The North American box office gross for that week – including Wicked‘s two national tours, and the long-running San Francisco production – exceeded $7 million. And the success is, if I do say so myself, very well deserved.
I saw Wicked when it did a recent, month-long stint at the Paramount Theater. From beginning to end, I was thrilled. I laughed, I cried, I applauded madly during the standing ovation. I even went back to see it a second time towards the end of its run in Seattle. The show is produced by Universal Studios, so it is one of those big, flashy musicals. Thousands of lightbulbs illuminating the stage, six or seven costume changes per ensemble member, and, well, the story begins with a prissy-looking girl riding onto the stage in a giant mechanical “bubble.” I love the charm of a high-energy, low-production show just as much as the next theatergoer, but there is something so deliciously exciting about a completely over-the-top production.
Wicked is a Wizard of Oz spin-off, based on a novel by Gregory Maguire, about two accidental college roommates, who just happen to later become “Glinda the Good Witch of the North,” and the “Wicked Witch of the West.” At first, the outcast, green-skinned girl simply loathes the shallow, blonde popular girl, and the feeling is mutual – but eventually, the two become best friends, connecting on their differences. It’s a story about being the outcast – you’re bound to feel outcast if you were born with green skin like Elphaba (the “Wicked” witch), whose character is introduced by one her first lines: “No, I am not seasick; yes, I have always been green; and no, I didn’t eat grass as a child!” It can also be seen as a story about strong women, struggling with friendship and self-identities. It’s one of the few musicals with two female leads, rather than two males, or a male and a female.
The music, composed by Stephen Schwartz (who also penned the scores of Godspell and Pippin), is a delightfully complex score for both the orchestra and the performers. The vocal performances follow an all-encompassing path to match the emotional journey of the characters in the show, and range from soprano opera (No One Mourns the Wicked,) to perky pop (Popular) to classic, Broadway-style belting number (Defying Gravity), creating two of the hardest leading roles I’ve ever witnessed in musical theater. After careful study of most of the women who have ever played Elphaba or Galinda (who, towards the end of Act I, changes her name to Glinda), I have found that no one less than spectacular has ever been placed in either role. The vocals required for a performance of Wicked are so stunning that it is absolutely worth seeing the show, even with understudies on for both leads.
It’s been said by many reviewers greater than me, there’s something in Wicked for everyone: kids, teens, and adults, all genders, and all types of music fans. I would give it an above-top rating – an eleven on a scale of one to ten. Anyone who enjoys musicals, or music in general, or even a good, heart-wrenching, emotional story should absolutely see Wicked if they get the chance.
Images taken from webblogs.ctlv.com and idina-here.com.
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