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Big and 'Wicked,' it's good and bad
(by Herb Hammer - August 27, 2009)
THEATER, BY HERB HAMMER
Big and 'Wicked,' it's good and bad
The Gershwin Theatre on 50th Street just north of Times Square is a massive spectacle of a place. Its enormous stage and wide, deep auditorium make it the perfect New York place for "Wicked," the prequel musical to the 1939 classic movie "The Wizard of Oz."
"Wicked" is returning to Cleveland's Playhouse Square this November. Whether or not it can come close to matching the show at the Gershwin, where it's been settled in for the past six years, remains to be seen.
The Stephen Schwartz music and lyrics are sure to be the same, and Winnie Holzman's book based on Gregory Macguire's novel should be the same, if it hasn't been cut down to manage the trouble these shows run into when they hit the road.
Those who don't make it to New York, as I managed, are sure to see something close when "Wicked" opens downtown on Nov. 18.
The plot in Act 1 is a mishmash of complex stories: animals who talk and then ruled not to speak; witches who are good and then bad; and a mix of a ruler who governs by using fear tactics; and nothing that has to do with Dorothy and her three friends.
By Act 2, things begin to change. Winnie Holzman's book begins to tie the movie version into the show. Dorothy isn't there, though we know she's close by, and we are told how the Tin Woodsman, the Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow came to be. The biggest laugh is when the screwball Glinda tries to tell the unseen Dorothy the road to Emerald City. "I never did have much sense of direction," she admits.
At the outset, Glinda arrives in a gleaming bubble to confirm the witch's melting. Don't expect Billie Burke. This Glinda is a gorgeous blonde, who, through her mixed-up mind, has all the laugh lines in the show.
Green-skinned Elphaba has spent her life ridiculed by everyone in Shiz University, where a goat teaches history. This is before the wizard has decided animals were not to speak. Elphaba, who eventually releases the flying monkeys, goes from good to bad and, out of nowhere, melts from the bucket of water accidentally tossed at her. We're given nothing that would explain why water would make her melt, but it works, and you knew all the time this was bound to happen.
Much of the show, especially Act 2, only drops hints of the original story. But a house does drop on the witch's sister, and the ruby slippers do set the tone for the conclusion.
New York tourists adore "Wicked" mostly for its size, humor and relationship to the 70-year-old movie. Mr. Schwartz's driving score has a modern rock sound that kills off much of the old sentiment the shows needs, while Miss Holzman's book, though filled with lightweight humor, has much too much plot to make it very interesting.
With a stage full of singers and dancers, the overblown show is a sure audience pleaser. We won't know if this can be accomplished at Playhouse Square for two or three more months.
"Wicked," however, will be touring for some time to come. And judging from the packed house at the Gershwin, the show, directed beautifully by Joe Mantello, will be there for seasons to come.
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