Steadstyle Chicago
February 2006 Theatre Review by Joe Stead
You can buy theater tickets from gotickets.com such as Wicked the Musical
Wicked
Critical Evaluation: **** out of ****
(Left to Right) Kristy Cates, Stacie Morgain Lewis and Gene Weygandt star in the Chicago cast of "Wicked" at the Ford Center for Performing Arts Oriental Theatre. Photos by Joan Marcus.
A rare phenomenon occurred as I stood in line at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre to buy my $80 ticket to see "Wicked." A young pre-teen girl began to skip and hum one of composer Stephen Schwartz's tuneful pop-flavored Broadway songs from the show. Imagine, a youngster actually touched by a (gasp) show tune! Well, it certainly warmed the heart of this dyed-in-the-wool show queen and inspired hope for the future of the musical theatre.
The 2004 Tony Award voters may have voted with their hearts in giving their top prize to the smaller and edgier "Avenue Q," but while that raunchy "Sesame Street" style musical subsequently bypassed Chicago and the rest of the country in favor of a lucrative Las Vegas sit down deal, "Wicked" has won the hearts of audiences everywhere it has played. The National Tour routinely draws lottery tickets for remaining day of the show tickets, so high is the demand for tickets.
Chicago is now in its second "Wicked" year, one of only three U.S. companies including New York and the National Tour, which opened at the Oriental in May 2005 before handing its wand over to this custom-built company. "Wicked" has had the exact opposite effect of "The Producers," whose luster clearly diminished when the original cast departed. And now that television and Broadway veterans Ana Gasteyer and Kate Reinders have departed the cast, we can see how well the show holds up with complete unknowns in the leads.
I am happy to report that the show is in more than capable hands with the current witches, Kristy Cates and Stacie Morgain Lewis. Cates, in particular, is a revelation as Elphaba. While I did not see Gasteyer or her predecessor Stephanie Block in the role (I did see Idina Menzel's Tony winning turn on DVD), it is hard to imagine anyone better in the role. Her big, clear, luscious voice is a thrill to the ear, and she offers a hugely affecting revisionist take on the classic bad girl role.
Illinois' own L. Frank Baum first imagined the merry old land of Oz over a century ago, and his series of books that included "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" inspired a number of stage and film musicals. Of course, the 1939 MGM treatment of "The Wizard" is the definitive one in the hearts and minds of young and old. The 1976 all-black "The Wiz" gave the old fairy tale a hip beat, while Northwestern University recently produced another variation called "Was."
"Wicked"
takes its cue from Gregory Maguire's creative novel, which imagines
an ingenious back-story to what really happened between the two
witches. Glinda (originally known as Galinda) the Good
(charmingly played by Lewis) is the privileged Valley Girl blonde
cheerleader typed who is loved by all. Elphaba (a composite of
L. Frank Baum's initials) is the green-skinned outsider, a strong-willed
young woman who represents the evils and injustices of a society
conditioned to choose its villains from those inherently "different".
From these two archetypes is spun a wonderfully clever, witty script by Winnie Holzman that suggests friendship is more than skin-deep. "Are people born wicked or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?" Glinda asks rhetorically. Subtle political overtones on fascism, terror and government spying tactics are incorporated, but never at the expense of the entertainment value. A winning mixture of "Harry Potter" and girl power takes our two heroines and arch rivals from their college days at Madame Morrible's school for sorcery to the Emerald City, where Glinda is deified and Elphaba branded a terrorist for her animal rights efforts.
You'll be hard pressed to see your entertainment dollar better spent on a Chicago stage. The lavish sets, costumes and special effects are truly spectacular and enhance an already rich and enchanting source subject. Chicago veterans Rondi Reed (a haughty school of sorcery headmistress and press secretary), Gene Weygandt (a sleazy Wizard) and Heidi Kettenring (as Elphaba's tragically beautiful wheelchair-bound, silver slipper wearing sister) have all worked their own magic on various local stages, and they are all terrific here. Kristoffer Cusick makes an excellent leading man as a spoiled prince who comes to learn that "beautiful" means seeing something in a different way. Perhaps the only truly wicked thing about seeing this brilliant show is that it may cause other shows to be a big let down.
The Chicago company of "Wicked" is now the longest running and highest grossing Broadway musical in Chicago history. It continues its record-breaking open-run at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre, 24 West Randolph Street. For more information, visit www.wickedthemusical.com/chicago. "Wicked" runs 2 hours 50 minutes with intermission.