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| my ticket |
All of us know Dorothy, the Lion, the Scarecrow, the Tinman, the Wizard
of Oz and even the dog Toto. But few of us knew the Wicked Witch of the West.
That is, until Wicked came. Wicked is a book written by Gregory Maguire that
tells the story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. This book later
becomes a Broadway Musical that won many awards.
I came to know
Wicked through my sister, who borrowed the book from her officemate in 2010. So
when we learned that Wicked would be performed in the Philippines, we didn’t
think twice about watching the show. The Manila performance started last
January 22 and will run until March 9 at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP
Main Theater). Evening performances start at 7:30 pm and Matinee performances
starts at 1:30 pm. The show runs for two hours and 49 minutes with a twenty
minute interval.
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| CCP with a big "Wicked" poster |
Once you entered the theatre,
you will be amazed immediately by the stage design. The backdrop is the map of the
Land of Oz and atop the stage is a dragon head that represents the dragon
clock. On each side of the stage is an intricately designed stairs full of
wheels of machineries, vines and lightings. And every time the stage changes
its settings, you will be amazed on how beautiful and well-crafted the designs
are.
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| the view of the stage |
You might think that since
this is a musical performance that it would be boring and you will end up
listening sappy songs, but your perception is wrong. Wicked is full of humorous
character, from Galinda to Madame Morrible, Fiyero and even Elphaba, that can
throw the punch line even while singing. And every time that a musical number
is finished, you will hear the thunderous claps coming from the audience
especially when Elphaba and Galinda performed “Defying Gravity” – one of their
popular songs. It was an amazing performance. It’s seems like the time stop as everyone
is captivated on how the song was delivered. It was breath taking.
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| my binoculars |
At the end of the show the
performers received a standing ovation from the audience. Noted performances
are from Madame Morrible, Fiyero, Galinda and Elphaba who received a loud cheer
from the crowd.
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| a view of the people that have watched Wicked |
Truly Wicked is a great
story, as it is not only focused on the life of Elphaba as it also
discussed on where “wickedness” came from. Are we born wicked or do we become
wicked, and whether good intentions with bad results are the same as bad
intentions with bad results.
And for
those who have read the book, you might feel a little disappointed as parts of
the story is different from the book. But still, you cannot argue on the great
performance of the whole production team on how they relived the story of the
Wicked Witch of the West.
