Review: WICKED at Kansas City Music Hall

Musical theater reviewers infrequently and pleasantly rediscover an old friend.  “Wicked,” just opened at the venerable, 2400 seat Kansas City Music Hall with a recently refreshed cast, is an entertaining example.

At its heart, “Wicked” retells the story of two, very familiar, best school friends. They are Glinda (Claudia Bennett) and Elphaba (Aline Mayagoitia).  These two lead actors must have clicked from the very moment they first took the stage together in Dallas on June 9.

Aline Mayagoitia is a mature, Broadway, movie, and tour veteran at only age 31.  Mayagoitia possesses a strong, expressive, contralto voice and offers a consistent, many layered take on a familiar character. 

We unfairly know Elphaba as the “Wicked Witch of the West.”  This Elphaba understands injustice almost from the beginning; what she must discover is whether she possesses the courage to resist it. Plus, It ain’t easy being green.

Vocally, Mayagoitia has the necessary command. “The Wizard and I” begins with guarded hope and expands into an exhilarating declaration of possibility.

“Defying Gravity” supplies the first-act thunder, but its effectiveness comes from more than volume or the famous airborne climax. Mayagoitia makes the number a decision rather than simply a vocal exhibition.

Claudia Bennett is a relative rookie… a 2025 graduate of the University of Southern California.  Bennett has a well-controlled, lilting, soprano voice that blends exceptionally well with partner Mayagoitia.  She has learned the trick of singing the high notes without being shrill.

Bennett also has arguably a tougher role.  As Glinda, she carries the comic relief load of the piece.   Young actors often rush the laugh lines.  Bennett is fearless. She waits for the gag to hit and pushes delightfully onward. I admire the restraint.  It is scary up there on that stage alone.

Glinda must be ridiculous without becoming tiresome, vain without becoming cruel and funny enough to dominate “Popular” while leaving room for the character’s eventual moral growth. Bennett handles that balancing act with buoyant comic timing.

This “Wicked” works well.  But can a great, new and excellent company make the familiar journey through Oz feel immediate again? This national tour answers with an emphatic yes.

The chemistry between the two actresses is crucial. Their “What Is This Feeling?” has the snap of a genuine personality collision, while the quieter scenes show affection developing almost in spite of them. Consequently, “For Good” retains its considerable emotional force.

Ethan Kirschbaum makes an appealing Fiyero, initially presenting the handsome prince as a young man who has converted idleness into a philosophy.

Tom McGowan is particularly effective as the Wizard. Rather than turning him into an obvious villain, McGowan plays him as an ingratiating showman whose warmth almost disguises his appetite for control.

Susan Cella supplies Madame Morrible with polished authority and an increasingly chilling composure. Drew McVety gives Doctor Dillamond’s comparatively brief story dignity, while Cristina Sastre’s Nessarose and Pablo David Laucerica’s Boq help reveal the personal damage created by larger political manipulations.

The physical production remains a handsome piece of theatrical machinery. Eugene Lee’s immense clockwork setting, Susan Hilferty’s inventive costumes and Kenneth Posner’s lighting surround the actors with a wonderfully eccentric Oz. The flying sequences produce their intended excitement,

Winnie Holzman’s book is strongest in the first act, where the friendship develops within the comic bustle of school life. The second act moves more abruptly, racing to connect its story with the familiar events of “The Wizard of Oz.” Stephen Schwartz’s score also ranges from the irresistible to the merely serviceable.

“Wicked’s” central argument asks who controls a society’s story, how easily dissent can be branded as evil, and why respectable people so often remain silent until resistance becomes personally costly. “Wicked” delivers ideas without allowing them to crush the entertainment.

With Mayagoitia providing the fire and Bennett supplying the sparkle, this “Wicked” remains what a touring Broadway production should be—lavish, accomplished and emotionally alive.

The producers need to be noticed for obvious reinvestment in their product.  In particular, sound was excellent. I’m told that a newish, digital sound system makes the show more listenable.

“Wicked” plays at Kansas City’s Music Hall through Aug. 30. The production runs approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes, including intermission. Performance and ticket information

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