Wicked review, Victoria Apollo

So Wicked it's... wicked. Wicked is a musical I first saw three years ago with a 16-year-old. We came out on a high because the music was so good, but were disappointed by the thin story and disjointed production. Tonight at the Apollo, Victoria, it was like seeing a different show. There is no mention in the notes of the production having a revamp, but even with three understudies it worked at every level: structure, story, scenes, set and, of course, singing. The music is so complex that even we tone deaf become acutely aware of the difficult atonal harmonies and key changes mid-song. The result is that the music keeps you on edge as the highs and lows unfold.

Wickedly good

Wicked is the prequel to the Wizard of Oz. A best selling novel by Gregory Maguire, it was turned into a musical with a soaring score by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holman, and its success rests on two witches.  Elphaba will grow up to be the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda, is the pretty blond one who puts Dorothy and Toto on the yellow brick road to Oz. In this production, Elphaba is played by Louise Dearman, a singer with the most beautiful tone, and Gina Beck who, as Glinda, has to hit some dizzyingly high notes. They're terrific. 

As time is reeled back, we discover Elphaba isn't green because she's wicked, but because her mother was seduced by a man who poured green liquid down her throat. Indeed, there's no wickedness in her at all: she's an outlaw because she tried to save talking animals from being struck dumb. It sounds unlikely, but works very well within the fantastical setting of the Emerald City, and all the settings from castles to schools to Kansas, are works of art in themselves. 

In conclusion: The end of Act I is an absolute showstopper as Elphaba defies gravity and takes to the air. The heart skips a beat and you don't want the number to stop. The show includes a series of modern classics that anyone will enjoy including For Good, Popular, Defying Gravity, I'm Not That Girl and No One Mourns the Wicked.

References

Wicked, Buy Tickets

Apollo victoria, 17 Wilton Road, London SW1V 1LG       Production runs to May 2014