I bet a lot of us are just plain “Wicked”-ed out at this point.
Not only has the smash-hit show been running on Broadway since 2003, making it the fourth longest-running Broadway musical of all time, but we’ve also just had its blockbuster movie adaptations released at back-to-back Thanksgivings. It wouldn’t be a shock if this retelling of the classic “Wizard of Oz” from the villain’s perspective lost some of its sparkle. Pittsburgh isn’t a stranger to the show, either; this is its sixth visit in the past two decades, and it’s returned to run through Feb. 15 as part of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh series.
Still, looking over a packed house at Thursday night’s performance at the Benedum Center in Downtown Pittsburgh, it’s clear that fans aren’t tired of Elphaba and Glinda yet. And thanks to an exemplary cast of actors, it’s impossible not to get swept up in the magic.
The musical was adapted by the novel “Wicked” by Gregory Maguire, and boasts a score and lyrics by Carnegie Mellon University grad Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. Flipping the classic story on its head, it follows Elphaba — or the Wicked Witch of the West — and Glinda the Good Witch. We learn that Elphaba wasn’t as evil as we were always told, and that maybe not everything is so wonderful in the world of Oz.
The two lead roles in “Wicked” are any Broadway diva’s dream and they’ve been played by some of the biggest stars of the stage. Originated by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, they require a lot of skill in humor, physicality and, of course, singing, from Elphaba’s dramatic belting to Glinda’s sweet operatic trill.
Jessie Davidson’s Elphaba is a somewhat novel interpretation, a three-dimensional mix of wry, righteous and even joyful. Whether it’s standing up for her persecuted professor Dr. Dillamond (Drew McVety) or staring in awe at the Emerald City, her emotions feel palpable. At the end of the first act, even hearing it for the 10,000th time, her “Defying Gravity” still packs a passionate punch.
She also has amazing onstage chemistry with Zoe Jensen as Glinda (or Galinda, if you leave two-thirds of the way through Act One). Jensen is as frothy and adorable as a thickly-frosted pink cupcake, though she still lends lots of heft to her character’s dramatic moments. She elicited wall-to-wall laughs from the audience with masterful physical comedy and winking charm, but Jensen’s Glinda is more than just an airhead; her heartbreak is poignant at times, especially in Act Two opener “Thank Goodness.”
The second act duet “For Good” has gotten a lot of attention with the recent film rendition, and these two actors pulled it off perfectly. There were plenty of sniffles around me as the two friends, driven apart by circumstance, sung a heartfelt goodbye to each other one last time.
Then there’s Fiyero, the male lead and love interest of both friends, who develops from spoiled ne’er-do-well prince to conscientious fighter for justice. Ethan Kirschbaum has the swagger to pull off the character’s early scenes and the softness for the later ones. He and Davidson give a heated performance in ballad “As Long As You’re Mine.”
As for the bad guys, Eileen T’Kaye is a standout as Madame Morrible, the propaganda arm of Oz’s government whose machinations paint Elphaba as “wicked” to begin with. Her gravitas makes the darkly clever character all the more sinister. And then there’s the Wonderful Wizard of Oz himself, Blake Hammond, who makes himself endearing and charismatic, until you realize that he’s creating literal scapegoats to cover up his own incompetence.
The trope of telling the “real story” of how the bad guy isn’t so bad after all was already popular when Gregory Maguire penned the book “Wicked” in 1995. But the musical does something interesting with the concept. It’s a sort of meta-commentary on the genre itself, examining the ways that false and twisted narratives can warp history, turning the victors into heroes and the defeated into villains. It’s an evergreen message about how the powerful will shape any circumstances to fit their needs — and how effective those stories can be, even if they don’t hold up to scrutiny.
But aside from the serious stuff, “Wicked” is a bright, fizzing, sparkly spectacle of a musical. Taking cues from the original “Wizard of Oz,” much of the musical feels like it’s in Technicolor, whether in Glinda’s pink dresses or in the verdant lights of the Emerald City. The backdrop is designed like a giant timepiece, and the scenes shift like … well, clockworks. Settings by Eugene Lee and projections by Elaine J. McCarthy brought to life an endless parade of scenes, from classrooms to the Wizard’s chamber to the Wicked Witch of the West’s castle. While the lighting by Kenneth Posner was dazzling during some scenes, it was the bleak and moody lighting in Elphaba’s darkest moments that really carried the drama. And the costumes were incredible, thanks to Susan Hilferty — with a large ensemble and so many iconic characters to bring to life, eye-catching outfits are paramount.
Speaking of a large ensemble cast, director Joe Mantello kept everything ticking right on time, even with so many moving gears. No one missed a beat in the choreography and the portrayals were fresh and real, even in such a well-known and fantastical show.
Even if it was available at a movie theater near you in the not-so-distant past, heading down the Yellow Brick Road to see this musical onstage is still worth it.
“Wicked” will run through Feb. 15 at the Benedum Center in Downtown Pittsburgh, part of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh series. To get tickets, visit trustarts.org.