I was in love with Wicked before the curtain even went up – that fabulous Dragon mounted above the stage. Everything about this prequel to the Wizard of Oz is great, tremendous and wonderful.
G(a)linda. Elphaba, the lion, the scarecrow, the tin man. The back story of all of those plus the flying monkeys. The music, choreography, voices. The headmistress of the school, the professor who was a goat. I don’t remember the love story from the book. Was it in there? Did I miss it? I know the book didn’t end up with that stroll off stage while everyone was focused on the new leader, Glinda.
Starting off with Elphaba’s death, then beginning at the pre-beginning and ending with her resurrection. A great piece of theater – and the legerdemain / special effects. I was awed and dazzled, I who seldom go to mainstream bestselling theater.
Under all of that wonder, even during the performance, I was pondering the complex, nuanced and downright contradictory tale – one version believed by the cheering, then jeering, then bloodthirsty crowd, and the other version we saw before our very eyes. More on that as my pondering resolves itself.
In the meantime, take yourself to the Aronoff for a real treat.