Review: WICKED at Civic Center Of Greater Des Moines
It's good to see Wicked, isn't it.
13 years ago, on October 30th, Des Moines Performing Arts was part of something very special. It opened its third run of "Wicked" on what happened to be its 10th Anniversary of opening on Broadway. The tour was supposed to return in 2020, but we all know what happened then. Finally, the show is returning, and I have a rhetorical question for you about its return to Des Moines. It's good to see "Wicked," isn't it?
In case you haven't had the opportunity to see the show, or have avoided seeing the movie, "Wicked" starts right at the end of "The Wizard of OZ" with a group celebrating the death of the Wicked Witch of the West. When Glinda the Good arrives, we learn she and the Wicked Witch, whose name we have learned is Elphaba, went to school together. We see Glinda, known as Galinda in college, and Elphaba, who at first loathe each other, become friends. They soon get to go to OZ and meet the Wizard. By the end of this trip, they reach a fork in the road where their choices influence the characters we have known from "The Wizard of OZ."
For a show that has been running for 30 years, I found it has aged well. The themes of the show still feel relevant today. My biggest issue with the show was some odd sound mixing at the start of the performance I attended, but it seemed to sort itself out as the show went on.
One of the things I appreciate about seeing "Wicked" is the gorgeous costumes designed by Susan Hilferty. She makes the costumes stunning to see from a distance, but there are some textural details on each costume that you can only see up close. The details don't end there. I love how Eugene Lee's set takes the concept of the Time Dragon Clock and works it in a way that lets the audience see the mechanics of how the pieces are moved around on stage. When mixed with Kenneth Posner's lighting and Elaine J. McCarthy's projections, audiences get a visual feast of storytelling.
What I enjoyed watching the most was seeing cast members find new choices that made their characters pop in ways I didn't expect. One of those was Pablo David Laucerica as Boq. He found so much humor in the character that I hadn't seen before. I especially enjoyed how he let it fester each time he got called Biq, until his character could no longer take it and explode on stage. While Laucerina's Boq hides his character's true feelings, we get a sense that he's not the only one hiding. We see Ethan Kirschbaum as Fiyero, hiding his true self from everyone except Elphaba. Both of these men are a great foil to Cristina Sastre's Nessarose, who is always open about who she is and how she feels about everything.
Another person who took their character in an unexpected direction was Susan Cella as Madame Morrible. While she commands the stage whenever she's in a scene, it's some of the subtler choices she makes that truly give audiences the chills villains are meant to. At the same time, the show's vision may be that this is a puppet show in the Time Dragon clock; the way Cella interacts makes her Morrible the one pulling the strings and puppeteering those around her, especially Tom McGowan's more compassionate Wizard of Oz.
I can't review Wicked without taking a moment to talk about the two women who together make pink go well with Green. The first of those two women at my performance was Claudia Bennett as Glinda. While I may have had some concerns during "No One Mourns the Wicked," she ended up winning me over, becoming one of the funniest Glindas I have ever seen. Her comedic timing was spot on, and I honestly can't remember laughing as much as I did during her "Popular."
The role I was most looking forward to seeing was Elphaba. When I heard Aline Mayagoitia was going to join the tour as Elphaba, I knew Des Moines audiences were in for something special. I had the honor of seeing her perform as Itzel in "Real Women Have Curves" on Broadway in May of 2025, and it has stuck with me ever since. I found her performance to be one of the most nuanced Elphabas I have seen. Her Elphaba was nuanced in ways I hadn't seen before. You really see her belief that the Wizard can fix things, and the pain when she finds that he is the cause. She had the audience in the palm of her hand, cheering as she rose to the rafters for "Defying Gravity."
Whether it's your first time seeing "Wicked" or, like me, your eighth, this show is sure to make you want to spend "One Short Day" more by seeing it again. The sets, the lights, the costumes, and the cast all come together, keeping this show just as amazing as it was when it opened on Broadway in 2003. Hopefully we don't have to wait another 13 years for the show to return to Des Moines, but for now we can say yes, it is good to see "Wicked" again. Performance continue at Des Moines Performing Arts through September 20. To find out more or to purchase tickets, visit Wicked - Des Moines Performing Arts.
Photo Credit: Joan Marcus
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