Review: WICKED Stimulates the Senses at the Eccles Theater

The national tour of WICKED, currently playing at the Eccles Theater in Salt Lake City, is providing Utah theatregoers the opportunity to see the treasured story unfold live on stage.

The part-prequel, part-parallel story to THE WIZARD OF OZ, which debuted on Broadway in 2023, relates the tale of the intertwined lives of the Wicked Witch of the West (here named Elphaba) and Glinda the Good. The smash hit musical has been adapted to an acclaimed two-part major motion picture, with the Oscar-winning first part recently released and the finale coming out this November.

WICKED is a worldwide blockbuster for good reason--the appealing book by Winnie Holzman (based on Gregory Maguire's novel) and inspired score by Stephen Schwartz tug at the heartstrings while the spectacular staging (including elaborate costumes by Susan Hilferty, hair and wigs by Tom Watson, sets by Eugene Lee, lighting by Kenneth Posner, projections by Elaine J. McCarthy, and other special effects) stimulates the senses. There’s close to 100 people backstage, including 65 traveling crew members and 28 local Utahns, working together to make the magic possible. All these elements can be counted on to make any visit to Wicked's Ozian world a memorable one.

The lights used by the touring company have recently been replaced with over $1 million of LEDs, which actually changes the dynamics of the visuals more than one might expect.  They’re brighter, crisper, and more modern in appearance, with mixed results. But they certainly give a new flair to this visit to Salt Lake.   

Lauren Samuels as Elphaba and Austen Danielle Bohmer as Glinda are well-matched scene partners, as they both bring a maturity and a larger-than-life approach to their respective characters. Xavier McKinnon as Fiyero also brings those same qualities. 

Three Broadway veterans light up the stage: Blake Hammond as a truly smashing Wizard, Aymee Garcia as a formidable Madame Morrible, and Kingsley Leggs as a forlorn Doctor Dillamond. They are joined by the cute but fiery pair of Erica Ito as Nessarose and Alex Vinh as Boq.

Tickets are still available, so if you want the chance to see the ending before the movie comes out later this year, here is your chance!

WICKED plays the Eccles Theater for a limited engagement through Sunday, May 25, 2025. For tickets, call ArtTix at 801-355-ARTS (2787) or visit www.artsaltlake.org.

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