From the moment the giant dragon clock that ominously overhangs the proscenium at the Hippodrome Theatre comes to life at the top of the show, it is quite apparent that we’re not in Kansas anymore. Actually, it’s more like we’re not in Kanses yet. For anyone that’s been under a theatrical rock for the last 20 years, Stephen Schwartz’s megahit Wicked, which has been selling strong on Broadway for 22 years, based on Gregory Maguire’s hit 1995 book, is the untold “true” story of young Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West when they were roommates and friends in boarding school, told from the Wicked Witch’s point of view. Maguire’s clever story, reflected in Winnie Holzman’s lighter and more comical stage treatment, was actually very predictive of our current political atmosphere, with cautionary lessons in trusting our leaders who usually don’t have our best interest at heart and the ways the “fake media” is manipulated to cover up the inconvenient truth and provide the story they want us to believe (what we affectionately know as the The Wizard of Oz), with forays into the subjects of classism, white privilege (at the expense of green oppression), and the gray area between absolute good and evil. And in the process it cleverly sets up everything we have forever take for granted in The Wizard of Oz.
I will admit, after the past year of constant Wicked overload from the massive, bloated, two part 5 hour total movie—which is admittedly flawlessly cast with the biggest names and immaculately designed with nonstop internet obsession across all social media platforms—I was fully expecting the show to have paled by comparison—or at least lost its luster by oversaturation. The good news is that after 20+ years of performances and numerous national tours, Wicked is still perfect. The talent remains some of the strongest on the road and the performances still tight and sharp with new interpretations. Each tour features a constant parade of new talent fleshing out the roles that doesn’t grow thin. Wicked shows no signs of its age and has become possibly even more relevant in recent years. After the lavish movie treatment, the familiar sets and costumes and all the show’s trappings are like a welcome meal of comfort food, as compared to the bloated 5 hour combined movie which is just too much of everything. On top of that is the ability I will no longer take for granted the ability to just come to the theatre and sit down to enjoy a wonderful musical to soothe the soul, when compared to the trauma drama nonsense coming from our DC sister theater with the new name we refuse ever use. Be thankful for our hometown simplicity.
JESSIE DAVIDSON as Elphaba
When our protagonists are thrown together at the prestigious private Schizz School, popular, perky Galinda, as she was known before adopting her public persona we know from Oz (Zoe Jensen), and green misfit Elphaba (adapted from the phonetic pronunciation of initials of Oz author L. Frank Baum, Jessie Davidson) initially clash, but eventually each soften and develop a genuine friendship—complicated as only the arrival of upper class Winkie party boy Fiyero (Ethan Kirschbaum) who comes between them can make it. Galinda earns points with her jaded roommate by assisting her frail younger sister, wheelchair bound Nessarose (Jada Temple), with a Munchkin boy (although her motives are not totally altruistic, but…..shades of gray). Throw in a Wizard with even more secrets than we know of (Blake Hammond), a social climbing professor who finds ways to capitalize on Elphaba’s budding powers for her own agenda (Eileen T’Kaye), with the lonely Munchkin boy above, Boq (Nicholas Garza), and the ingredients come to a boil for an intriguing and inspiring retelling of the story we think we know.
ZOE JENSEN as Glinda
Davidson (Six, Pretty Woman) and Jensen (Six, The Heart of Rock and Roll) have amazing chemistry together. Davidson executes all the big numbers of the show (and there are many—Schwartz has blessed Elphaba’s track with some of the best songs composed for modern musical theatre) and Davidson nails every last one. She excels with the still chill-inducing “Defying Gravity”, the best first act finale since Les Mis gave us “One Day More” (even better when it’s the original Schwartz ending minus the 15 additonal grace notes Erivo had to tack on because she’s just that extra). Jensen balances Davidson’s serious and studious Elphaba with expert comic timing, hilarious physical comedy, and classically trained musicality. They both deserve special credit for each finding new and individual ways to find their own humor in the roles instead of copying what has worked for a generation of replacements since original cast members Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel defined them.
Kirschbaum (Kinky Boots, Heathers) as charismatic frat boy Fiyero is a perfect love interest—handsome, hunky, strong, funny, with a killer body and an even more killer voice, a true leading man who proves he is significantly deeper than his shallow exterior suggests. At first meeting just a serial student who flops from university to university as a major party boy, Kirshbaum instills a sincerity and depth in Fiyero as he transforms from frat brat to revolutionary, in the process finding his true calling with Elphaba’s cause–as well as her heart.
JADA TEMPLE as Nessarose and NICOLAS GARZA as Boq
Garza is winsome as a shy Boq who changes and is changed by Nessarose. Although it’s probably not a spoiler as there is virtually no one left since the movies came out who hasn’t seen this musical at least once, I will not divulge the clever paths this trio take to morph into the Ozian characters know to us. They are of course aided by Holzer’s clever foreshadowing references to being “brainless”, “thoughtless”, “mindless”, or “losing my heart”, as well as a sly costume salute in a brief glimpse of Nessarose’s stockings.
EILEEN T’KAYE as Madame Morrible
Hammond is the patsy of the piece and his Everyman looks suit his portrayal well as the fraud we know from the movie who is under the thumb of shady aide de camp Madame Morrible. T’Kaye, last seen in town as Fanny Brice’s well-meaning but meddlesome mother in Funny Girl, deliciously plays against that type as the true devious villainess of the piece.
But Wicked is not the behemoth it is just because of smart writing and talented performances. The technical ends of the show likewise pull out all the stops. Set Designer Eugene Lee provides a barely scaled down version of his now iconic Broadway set, highlighted by the aforementioned dragon clock that hovers over the audience the entire evening and a clock that tells time in base 13 hours. Admittedly, after watching 9 million tulips hand planted amidst theme park ready facades on the IMAX big screen, what was once grandiose could well now seem underwhelming and outdated. But on the contrary, the look is now almost quaint in the best ways, like the welcome return to a favorite locale.
Lighting designer Kenneth Posner (with strong assists from projection designer Elaine J. McCarthy) creates some of the best lighting effects in modern theatre, providing constantly shifting mood and enhancing special effects, peaking at the brilliant design for “Defying Gravity” that assists the illusion of Elphaba’s first magical flight. The sequence, 22 years later, still provides chills and takes the breath away..
Susan Hilferty’s stylized costumes create the definitions of whimsical Ozian fashion and work particularly well under Posner’s lights (Elphaba’s second act “black” dress is actually a dozen different dark variegated colors and textures to play with his lighting), even in harsh green washes in which usually nothing looks good. Her flamboyant excesses for Madame Morrible and Glinda are a nice contrast with the stark simplicity of Elphaba and the Wizard, with fun variations for all the ensemble roles from the asymmetrical cut school uniforms at Shizz U, to the sleek flying monkey unitards and the frivolous green frills of the Ozians.
Wayne Cilento’s original musical staging likewise devises a lexicon of original spastic and quirky dance movements to create the language of pop dance in Oz. It’s also refreshing to watch his familiar work after suffering through about
a thousand “What Is This Feeling” dance challenges in the internet. Additional special effects by Chic Silber up the ante for all the witches’ magic in the lands. In the same vein, Holzman’s gripping book incorporates lightness by creating regional colloquialisms that sound like English but are not (“definish”, “congratulotions”).
But the testament to the commitment to the show is Joe Mantello’s razor sharp direction and Schwartz’s now immortal score which resounds from the fluffy and fun “The Wizard and I” (full of delightful contradictory predictive lyrics to the familiar story), “What Is This Feeling”, and “Popular” in the first act through the breathtaking first act finale “Defying Gravity” to the three building 11:00 numbers (“As Long As You’re Mine”, “No Good Deed”, and the pinnacle, “For Good”, all featuring Davidson who sublimely takes the show home). Their delivery is safe in the current cast’s hands. It’s going to take more than the last minute arrival of some random little girl dropping a house on them to bring down this powerhouse of a show.
So yes, as I stated before, Wicked absolutely still holds up and is as inspiring, entertaining, and fascinating as it was when it first opened. Put your thoughts about the megamovie aside and check your prejudices at the door. Don’t compare the two because they both hold up on their own merits. I will venture to say, though, if the second half of the 5 hour combined landmark movie is now being hyped as For Good, the original iconic musical that started it all, playing through the holidays at the Hippodrome downtown, is definishly For the Better.
All photos courtesy of Joan Marcus
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours 45 minutes with one intermission
Wicked currently plays through January 11, 2026, at the Hippodrome Theatre in the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center at 12 N. Eutaw Street. For tickets call the box office at 410.752.7444. or purchase them online