By DAVID MATTESON
As the green witch rises in the air, the chorus sings beneath her and the audience holds their breath at the spectacle before them. When the curtain falls and the goose bumps subside, spectators know that the scene they just watched is nothing short of magical.
Wicked arrived at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center on Friday Feb. 25. Based on Gregory Maguire’s novel by the same name, the musical features songs such as “Defying Gravity” and “Popular.” Wicked is a parallel story to L. Frank Baum’s iconic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and tells the background story of classic characters such as the Wicked Witches of the West and East, Glinda the Good Witch and the Wizard.
Elphaba (Jackie Burns, Broadway’s revival of Hair) is the play’s protagonist. Burns portrays the green skinned, future Wicked Witch with great skill and captures the tragic nature of this character. Audiences will be blown away at her vocal skills, which shine in the climactic number “Defying Gravity.”
However, the true star of this production has to be accredited to Chandra Lee Schwartz (Broadway’s Hairspray) who plays Glinda. The actress depicts the attention grabbing, shallow character with great hilarity. She provides comedic relief to the musical’s dramatic plot, specifically in her solo “Popular.” Like Burns, Schwartz has incredible vocal skills and together they perform several breathtaking duets such as “For Good,” which will move one to tears.
Overall the play is wrought with fantasy and glamour. Clouds of bubbles, flashing green lights, sparkly glitter and artistic costumes make this play a spectacle to behold. It will surely provide the escape one seeks when attending the theater. However, the true beauty of Wicked lies in the moral question Glinda asks rhetorically at the beginning of the play “Are people born wicked, or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?”
Whether one is a fan of Wicked or seeing it for the first time, the performance at the Bob Carr is worth attending. Everyone deserves to be swept up in the magic of this fantastic musical.
Wicked will be showing through March 27. Five out of five stars
To purchase tickets click here.