BWW Reviews: WICKED Takes Off For Another Spectacular Run at TPAC

No matter how many times you see Wicked - the Stephen Schwartz/Winnie Holzman-penned musical juggernaut now onstage at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Jackson Hall - you cannot help but be moved by the sheer storytelling power of the musical and by all of the remarkable physical trappings of its production.

Telling a universal tale of friendship and the power of love to overcome hardship, prejudice and the callous disregard of an ill-informed public, Wicked represents musical theater at its very best: The story intrigues you, the characters engage you, the music touches your heart in ways that might surprise you and the production's stunning design aesthetic provides you with an unparalleled visual feast. No wonder the national touring company has found its way back to Nashville a mere two years after it set records at TPAC, pumping millions of dollars into the Music City economy, only to do so once again, no doubt setting new records while entertaining an appreciative audience.

Performed by a remarkably skilled and focused cast (How do they manage to keep the show so alive and fresh night after night? Truly, it's a staggering feat of commitment and talent on display in Jackson Hall.), led by the superb performances of Anne Brummel and Tiffany Haas, as Elphaba and Galinda, the two girls who will grow up to become The Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good, Wicked is as good as any musical theater offering could possibly be. If you see it, instantly you will be drawn into the story, finding yourself completely enraptured by the stage spectacle playing out before your very eyes.

Brummel and Haas are joined in presenting a musical theater master class by an ensemble that is, from top to bottom, as skilled and as impressive as you could possibly hope for, ensuring your complete and rapt attention.

The story, based on the best-selling book by Gregory Maguire, isn't so much a sequel to L. Frank Baum's original The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, rather it's a parallel re-telling or re-imagination of the story, focusing on Elphaba and Galinda's early years and enduring friendship instead of young Dorothy Gale, The Farmgirl who blew in from Kansas only to take a dead woman's shoes and wreak havoc in Oz (Dorothy does, however, make a memorable cameo in the musical's final scenes).

The musical's two leading ladies, taking on two of contemporary musical theater's most iconic roles (in fact, Elphaba and Galinda/Glinda represent new 21^st century archetypes), somehow manage to deliver original and fresh takes on their roles, ultimately supplanting previously revered performers (and performances) in your own recollection.

Brummel's Elphaba is fiery and emotional, certainly, but the actress manages to telegraph the character's vulnerability in unexpected ways, making her performance all the more moving and powerful. Her performance of "Defying Gravity" is nothing short of awe-inspiring, her vocals soaring to the rafters while she flies miraculously to her lofty perch above the stage. Brummel's sweetly romantic interactions with David Nathan Perlow as Fiyero are evocative and unfettered by stage convention (their second act "As Long As You're Mine" is fueled by an unexpected erotic tension), while her chemistry with Haas is palpable, lending further credibility to the time-honored characters.

Haas' Galinda/Glinda (oh, how I love the clever stage business that accompanies most mentions of her character's name; it makes me giddy in a ridiculous way) likewise seems to be a departure from earlier characterizations by other actresses. Previously, so much of the character seemed to be drawn directly from the original performance by the beloved Kristin Chenoweth, but clearly Haas has made the role her own. Certainly, there is enough of the Glinda we all know and love - and come to expect - yet under Haas' care she seems to be more grounded in a way that allows her to reach new dramatic heights (and which makes her take on the role more revelatory). Haas' "Popular" is infectious and fun and her duet with Brummel on the hymnlike "For Good" is extraordinarily beautiful, eliciting gasps from an audience struggling to stifle their sobs.

Perlow is perfectly cast as the charming, though "deeply shallow...and callow" Fiyero, adding some debonair dash to the proceedings with his full-throttle performance that casts Fiyero as so much more than a princely airhead of a handsome lad. It's easy to see how two women so diametrically opposed character-wise like Elphaba and Glinda can be so taken with him and so caught up by his athletic grace and heartfelt sincerity, however well-hidden in might be initially. You're likely to find yourself singing "Dancing Through Life" after hearing the Perlow-led performance of it in this version of Wicked.

Jody Gelb, elegant and haughty as the imperious Madame Morrible, the girls' professor at Shiz University who later becomes the press secretary to the Wizard of Oz (her political machinations underscore the script's lighter and more fanciful moments with suspense), gives a richly textured performance that allows the audience to go on the journey of her character's dramatic arc in a completely believable way. Her initial scenes, in which she realizes Elphaba's great promise, will draw you in, while her later manipulations repel you, challenging your preconceived notions and prejudices.

Don Amendolia is well-cast as The Wizard of Oz, capturing his character's basic carny-like flim-flaminess with a graceful ease that is disarmingly attractive, making his second act comeuppance all the more effective and the accompanying plot revelations more startling.

Among the ensemble's principals, Martin Moran is impressively understated as Doctor Dillamond (another professor at Shiz, who happens to be a goat), as are Dan Pacheco as Boq and Emily Ferranti as Nessarose (Elphaba's physically challenged sister who becomes the Wicked Witch of the East), whose scenes together are artfully acted.

The exceptional performances of the cast notwithstanding, Wicked comes alive onstage via the exquisite scenic design by Eugene Lee that brings the play's fantastical settings so memorably to life and by the imaginative costumes created by Susan Hilferty which clothe the cast in fashions that are almost otherworldy, yet ideal for the characters, time and setting (as are the wigs and hairstyles designed by Tom Watson). Kenneth Posner's lighting design is moody and evocative, vibrant and gorgeous. Conductor Adam Souza's orchestra - which include five other traveling musicians in addition to him and ten Nashville players who've joined them for the TPAC run - perform Schwartz's music with an expert blend of power and beauty.

Holzman's book for the musical delivers the story to the stage in a fanciful way that seems effortless, while Schwartz's music and lyrics have become standards in American pop culture, bringing "Broadway showtunes" into a new century with new verve, perhaps establishing new idioms for the genre. With musical staging by Wayne Cilento that moves the large cast about the stage with stylish glee, and the direction by Joe Mantello that gives the actors plenty of high-flying opportunities to excel at their craft,

Wicked is a musical experience you cannot deny yourself. Much like Elphaba and Glinda's final musical entreaty to each other, it will leave a handprint on your heart.

 

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