Phillyist Reviews... Wicked

Phillyist is pleased to welcome our newest contributor, Pamela Charles, to the staff. Pamela is a theater connoisseur (you'd better hit that note, or she will come for you!), excels at sarcasm, and will go toe-to-toe with you in an Eddie Murphy Delirious quote competition any day! Pamela rules her Kitchen-Aid stand mixer with an iron fist and can whip up a chocolate-chip cookie or animal-themed cupcake that will make you pledge to her your undying devotion.

Wicked is back in town and Phillyist "couldn't be happier!" If you haven't had the opportunity to see this gem of a musical theater masterpiece, then now is your chance! From now until the 26th, Wicked will be casting its spell of awesomeness at the Academy of Music. Armed with almost a decade's worth of nominations and awards, Wicked, recently named the "Best Stage Musical of the Decade" (Are we surprised?) by Entertainment Weekly, is a must see for everyone!

Just in case you've been living under a rock since 2003, the show is based on the best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. A documentary, if you will, starring the two most beloved witches of all time, the tragic green girl we love to hate and the perfectly pretty blonde girl that we hate to love. The story follows them on their journey to success and demise. Yes, kids, Wicked is a behind the scenes look at the hoopla and shenanigans that went down in Oz, before and after Dorothy showed up, complete with flying monkeys and a musical score that is sure to be stuck in your head for weeks, if not months, to come. Thank you, Stephen Schwartz.

After seeing Wicked twice at its permanent home on Broadway, I wasn't sure if the touring version of the show would ever live up to that which lives at the Gershwin. After all, there's no place like home. The stage set-up and scenery for the touring cast was extremely impressive—not all sets are cool enough to win Tony Awards— and there were only a few minor changes in some of the scenes, but nothing major. Let's face it, they had a working time dragon clock. Honestly, who cares about the rest of the set, when you have an enormous dragon with glowing red eyes, flapping its wings and breathing smoke into the audience?

As for the cast, the chorus in this production was by far the best I have ever seen or heard. The soloists throughout the major production numbers (e.g., "No One Mourns the Wicked") absolutely nailed their parts and some of them were even—dare I say it?—better than the original cast recording. *gasp*

The role of Elphaba was played by Carrie Manolakos, who was filling in for Marcie Dodd. For a standby, Carrie did a phenomenal job. Her rendition of "Wizard and I" was probably one of the best I have ever heard. She nailed the end of "Defying Gravity," which completely made up for her forgetting lyrics to one of the lines in the beginning of the song. (Hey, "Shiz" happens!) I will say, her songs in Act Two could have been delivered a little better. For example, there were parts in "As Long as You're Mine" when I could barely hear her (microphone issue?) and parts of "No Good Deed" were slightly unintelligible—and yes, I realize the beginning of the song is jibberish. Overall, she was great! She is truly talented and it's obvious her standby days are limited. I look forward to seeing her again.

The role of Glinda was played by Helene Yorke. Helene was good, but she was a bit more over-the-top and Valley Girl Barbie-like than the other Glindas I've seen —the shoes of Megan Hilty and Kristin Chenoweth are some pretty big ones to fill. She has a gorgeous voice, which was more than obvious in "For Good," but the overly nasal character voice she uses throughout most of the show prevents us from seeing her true vocal talent. Regardless, the audience loved her.

I was also very impressed with Marilyn Caskey's portrayal of Madame Morrible; her vocals were impeccable. Don Amendolia, a native of the Philadelphia area, was another favorite; he was absolutely adorable in "Wonderful." In fact, the whole show was just that —Wonderful!

So, if you're still trying to conjure up a resolution for the new year, do yourself a favor and go see Wicked at the Academy of Music. Whether your resolution is to be popular, defy gravity, accept who you are, or rally against social injustice, Wicked is sure to inspire you in all of your 2010 endeavors.