BWW Reviews: Capitol Theatre's WICKED

Over a decade after it first opened on Broadway, hit musical Wicked still continues to make audiences rise to their feet in standing ovation all around the world. Last night, Thursday the 25th of September, marked Wicked's return to Sydney after a few years absence and it was as though it never left. The streets surrounding the Capitol Theatre have embraced Wicked just as they did when it first arrived, everything is green. No, everything is positively emerald and the scene was set for a spectacular opening night. Noone was disappointed.

Just in case you have lived under a rock the past decade, Wicked brings a new twist to the famous story The Wizard of Oz and tells the story of how the two witches of Oz knew each other long before Dorothy and Toto arrived. It is an intelligent and witty musical which celebrates the power of friendship and at the same time alludes to bigger world issues like racism and corrupt governments in a comedic, non-confronting way.

There have been a few notable cast changes since the show last graced the Capitol, with Reg Livermore replacing Bert Newton as The Wizard and Steve Danielsen replacing Rob Mills as Fiyero. Whilst I enjoyed the performances of the two prior actors, I must say that on first viewing, the two new male leads seem stronger and more suited vocally to the roles whilst perhaps Rob and Bert out-acted their counterparts.

The heart of Wicked is of course, the two female leads; Glinda (the Good Witch if you only know Wizard of Oz)
and Elphaba (The Wicked Witch of the West). In these two roles are two every experienced Glinda and Elphabas with Lucy Durack who has been the lead Glinda since Wicked first came to Australia and Jemma Rix who took over from original Australian Elphaba, the incredibly talented Amanda Harrison following a run as her Standby Elphaba as well as previously playing the role at Universal Studios in Japan. The chemistry and comraderie between the two is obvious from the minute they are on stage together and has developed over the years into arguably one of the best Elphaba and Glinda pairings that has ever been seen in a Wicked cast anywhere in the world. On opening night, Jemma's vocal and acting strength was apparent to all and for the not the first time, I was blown away by her Defying Gravity and her truly wicked No Good Deed. At times Lucy seemed to struggle a little vocally, understandable given she has recently been sick but this was likely only noticeable to those like me who have seen her smash every note convincingly many times in the past. Her vocal range is truly incredible. As always, she stole the show with her hilarious comedic timing and brilliant overall acting. I particularly enjoyed her latest version of the "toss toss".

There is no show I have seen more often or in more locations than Wicked and yet I still get chills and I still laugh despite having heard the punch lines so many times. If you have never seen Wicked, book your tickets now. If you have seen it overseas or in Melbourne but have never seen Wicked in Sydney, book your tickets now. If you saw Wicked in Sydney last time, you should still book your tickets now. The show seems to just get better and better.

For more information and tickets visit: http://wickedthemusical.com.au/

photo credit: Jeff Busby