A Wicked night out

She was born green, but was she born evil?

It’s the Wicked Witch Of The East we’re talking about, and this is the question posed at the beginning of Wicked – the prequel musical to The Wizard of Oz currently enjoying a very long run (the fifth longest running musical currently in the West End in fact) at the Apollo Theatre in Victoria.

With beautiful sets, staging and costumes – at the risk of sounding corny, this musical is a visual feast which really does successfully set the scene for the beginning (and in fact the entire storyline) of the classic movie. Even revealing why there is a Tin Man, a Lion and a Scarecrow living in Oz in the first place.

With the opening act it addresses some very current issues, of looking different (#changingfaces) and dealing with disabilities, along with love, friendship, appearances and rejection. However my criticism of the first half is that none of the songs are particularly memorable – it’s almost Les Mis-esque, in that the sentences almost seem to be sung to progress the story, rather than being actual songs. However, once you get to the second half and Defying Gravity, the musical score really kicks in and the musical is properly defined as being a classic.

Overall I would say that the storyline, costumes and sets of Wicked are truly wicked – even my teenage son really enjoyed it.

Go book while you can!