TIL 7 July 2017
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A DECADE OF BRILLIANCE<br />
FOR WICKED<br />
Apollo Victoria Theatre<br />
I first saw Wicked on the Opening Night<br />
nearly 11 years ago and have always<br />
remembered it as an exceptional<br />
performance with great sets, amazing<br />
soundtrack and an interesting twist on the<br />
Wizard of Oz story. I was worried that by<br />
seeing it again I may be disappointed but<br />
far from it. The standards are as high as<br />
ever, the new cast exceptional and I was<br />
singing the songs (in my head) the whole<br />
way home.<br />
Wicked is based on the novel by<br />
Gregory Maguire and is often described as<br />
a ‘prequel’ to ‘The Wizard of Oz’ written by<br />
L Frank Baum (although, in actual fact, it<br />
takes place before, simultaneously and after<br />
the familiar Oz tale). It reveals the other<br />
side to the story of how the Wicked Witch<br />
of the West came to terrorise Oz and how<br />
Glinda the Good helps the Wizard protect<br />
the people of Oz from all that is evil.<br />
The way in which Wicked builds up the<br />
story and (without giving too much away)<br />
the details they have added in linking the<br />
plot to ‘The Wizard of Oz’ is brilliant.<br />
I haven't seen the film in years, yet was<br />
able to see both the subtle and more<br />
obvious nods to the famous tale. And my<br />
husband who, although Russian, is very<br />
familiar with the book through the<br />
translated version they have called ‘The<br />
Wizard of the Emerald City’, was able to<br />
see the connections and he loved it.<br />
Having said that, even if you are not<br />
familiar with the original, Wicked is a<br />
fantastic story in its own right and you<br />
don’t need to know the Wizard of Oz to<br />
appreciate it. It has a way of drawing the<br />
audience in so you become emotionally<br />
attached to the characters and their plight.<br />
You go with them on their journey, through<br />
the twists and turns of the plot, and are<br />
fully behind them by the climax of the<br />
show.<br />
Wicked is an outstanding musical and<br />
certainly deserves its reputation as a<br />
defining show of its time – it just gets<br />
better and better!<br />
Sara Macann<br />
WICKED – Defying Gravity.<br />
Photo: Matt Crockett.<br />
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t h i s i s l o n d o n m a g a z i n e • t h i s i s l o n d o n o n l i n e
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