It might be looking tired, but Wicked is still the ultimate musical feast.

Capitol Theatre, Sydney

September 24, 2014

With a Broadway musical and film adaptation, along with countless other spin-offs, L. Frank Baum’s tale of Oz has been practically exhausted. Yet, there’s another untold story – one that occurred just before Dorothy arrived. This is the story of Wicked, a musical juggernaut that returns to Australia in a celebratory 10th anniversary season.

It’s a brilliant and engaging narrative that is, beyond the basic premise, starkly different from Baum’s classic, and Gregory Maguire’s Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (upon which the musical is based). Winnie Holzman delicately weaves these existing stories within her own, twisting the story to focus on the two protagonists and their unlikely friendship. Glinda is popular and privileged, and Elphaba is the green-skinned outcast. Along the way, Holzman also introduces other familiar characters: the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Lion, and The Wizard.

Not only does Holzman establish a fresh perspective of a hackneyed tale, and a unique vernacular and comedic style, but she also manages to subtly tackle matters of political, environmental and social justice. Elphaba is the main crusader of these issues, and through her, Holzman has given birth to one the strongest female voices in contemporary musical theatre.

Having performed the green witch since the beginning of the Australian tour in 2008, Jemma Rix approaches the role of Elphaba with unsurprising aplomb. The Wizard and I, and Defying Gravity are the most celebrated of Elphaba’s canon, but it’s not until No Good Deed that the green wallflower blossoms. While her voice is arguably too ‘pop-music’, Rix gives her interpretation of the songs with remarkable ease and purity.

Opposite Jemma Rix, Lucy Durack (as Glinda) has become a golden girl of Australian musical theatre. Yet in this performance, she seemed decidedly subordinate. From the very opening, Durack was reserved and her voice lacked power. By the Finale, she was clearly pushing and straining her voice. The role was performed dismissively, and even the shtick, for which Durack is known, seemed distant and robotic. After so many years, perhaps Durack no longer embodies the role of Glinda, but simply regurgitates it.

Reg Livermore makes a return to the Australian stage, as The Wizard. His first appearance, at the beginning of A Sentimental Man, was welcomed by the audience with insuppressible applause. Livermore is charming, enthusiastic, and despite a loose accent, brings freshness to the role. It’s a wonder why he wasn’t asked to reside over Oz sooner, and a shame that he will leave the position at the conclusion of the Sydney season.

Wicked newcomers, Steve Danielsen as Fiyero and Emily Cascarino as Nessarose, provide a youthful energy. However, it is Edward Grey who manages to capture the pathos (and the audience’s hearts) in his supporting role as Boq.

There’s so much to love about Wicked, but after touring the Asia Pacific region since 2008, it’s obvious that some elements of the production are tired. Most noticeably, the reduced orchestra serves very little justice to Stephen Schwartz’s original score. The layered, cleverly constructed, cinematic orchestral sound is replaced with a tinny synthesised electronic feel. Visual projections (rain, flying monkeys, Dorothy’s house, Elphaba’s demise) seem tacky and outdated, and some of the blocking is cringe worthy (physical movements during The Wizard and I, Elphaba’s cape in No Good Deed, and the Yellow Brick Road fight sequence of Act II). Even the sound design is flawed (it is generally muddy and indistinguishable, the balance between orchestra and vocalists is uneven, and the effects on Rix’ track are obvious and isolated).

As with many musicals, Wicked can be appreciated just at face value. With its multisensory bombardment, it’s not surprising that many audience members passively lap up the spectacle of Oz. At this level, it is the ultimate musical feast. The imposing beauty of the set design, the quirky and detailed costumes, the choreography, and of course, Schwartz’s score.

The show may be getting tired, but with such an extraordinary cult following, it doesn’t look like the cogs will ever stop spinning within the Time Dragon Clock.

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