Eugene’s Hult Center gets Wicked
The national touring company of “Wicked,” the Tony Award-winning musical, opened at the Hult Center on April 20 for a two-week run, the longest a Broadway show has stayed in Eugene.
“Wicked,” which started in 2003, has gained huge popularity among audiences and has since become one of the longest-running Broadway shows.
However, when the show originally opened, it received mixed reviews, namely from “New York Times” theater reviewer Ben Brantley, who criticized the score as bland and the show’s lead heroine, Elphaba, as boring.
Brantley got it wrong.
Though “Wicked” has its flaws, the overall experience is both enchanting and unique, drawing in audiences with dramatic and elaborate scenery as well as, for the most part, entertaining music and plot.
“Wicked” is based on Gregory Maguire’s book “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” which was inspired by the original film and book “The Wonderful Wizard of OZ.”
The stage show focuses on the life of Elphaba, before she became known as “The Wicked Witch of the West.”
Contrary to what we know from “The Wizard of OZ,” Maguire paints a picture of Glinda the Good Witch and Elphaba as friends, even though they started off as enemies.
The audience is led to believe, at first, that Elphaba is totally evil and Glinda is good.
The political undertones in the plot are fairly obvious. The Wizard acts as both an intimidating ruler and a dirty politician who creates an enemy — in this case the talking animals — for the people of Oz during times of turmoil and dissatisfaction. But Elphaba won’t stand for this and, with her unique magical powers, frees the animals but soon becomes the new enemy to Oz.
It’s fun to see where Maguire and the creators of the musical take the plot of “The Wizard of Oz.”
Though Elphaba, played by Anne Brummel, is the heroine of the show and has a powerhouse voice (particularly on “The Wizard and I” and “Defying Gravity”), Glinda or “Galinda,” played by Natalie Daradich, is the real gem of the show. Glinda’s character is both funny and “blonde,” while also being lovable, big-hearted and just as much a heroine as Elphaba.
The set is breathtaking in its own way, and has completely transformed the Hult Center.
There are some points in the plot that lag, or are just downright silly and, given that the show is just under three hours long, it can be taxing on the audience when the excitement level is low.
But overall, “Wicked” is quite the spectacle and is well worth the price to see it live. While the grandeur of the show is amazing, at the heart of it, “Wicked” is a funny, slightly biting take on the much beloved “The Wizard of Oz.”
More Information:
Wicked Touring Schedule and Ticket Information
