Wicked: Everything That's Great About Broadway

Wicked premiered on Broadway in 2003, two years after I first moved to New York. Last month, more than a decade after its premiere, I finally went to see the show. The musical is still playing to sold-out crowds at the Gershwin Theatre so you don't really need me to tell you to watch it. But, in case you're a procrastinating New Yorker like me, I'm going to anyway.

The show is based on Gregory Maguire's novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. I read this book in college and couldn't understand why the musical was such a huge hit if it was based on such a massive and (in my opinion) dull tome. Thankfully, the musical takes extreme liberties with the story, resulting in a delightful and whimsical two and a half hours of musical theater. The story follows Glinda and Elphaba, the two girls who will grow up to become the Good Witch of the South and the Wicked Witch of the West who meet Dorothy during her adventures in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The green-skinned Elphaba is shunned by her family and schoolmates, but she has extraordinary powers of sorcery. She is a kind-hearted girl, who wants to stand up for the downtrodden, but over the course of the musical, we will see how her good intentions go awry and she transforms into the much misunderstood Wicked Witch. In the meantime, Glinda is a perky blonde, who lacks Elphaba's talent but has oodles of personality. We get to see how she navigates Oz's power structure to become the Good Witch and how her relationship with Elphaba matures over the years.

It's a complicated and powerful story about what it really means to be good or wicked and how much morality is in the eye of the beholder. But if you don't want to get deep, it is also a fantastic Broadway musical, brimming with beautiful costumes, stunning sets, and of course, one of the greatest scores ever performed on the Broadway stage. You can listen to the original Broadway cast recording with the powerhouse vocals of Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, but the songs only truly sink in after you've watched them live on stage. I need to especially highlight Jenni Barber, who is currently playing Glinda on Broadway and delivered a brilliant rendition of "Popular." While no one could match Kristin Chenoweth's vocal prowess, Barber lent so much comic flourish to this song and added so many extra bits and side gags that it became a hysterical masterpiece.

That's the reason people keep returning to watch this show (and other Broadway gems) multiple times. The power of live theater is that it's constantly evolving, never stale, and the performance I saw will be completely different to what you see. However, Wicked has a solid foundation, with an intriguing story, brilliant music, and a tantalizing mix of comedy, drama, satire, and romance. The show seamlessly weaves in familiar elements from the Wizard of Oz in surprising ways that will delight any fan of that story, and everything is wrapped up rather beautifully at the end. It's a wonderful tale and well worth all the hype.