It's Wicked!

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.

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.  

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.

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.

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.