It's 'Wicked' good
By: Leslie Katz
February 9, 2009
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| Teal Wicks, right, is Elphaba and Kendra Kassebaum is Glinda in the new San Francisco production of the hit musical “Wicked.” (Courtesy photo) |
SAN FRANCISCO — Teal Wicks, right, is Elphaba and Kendra Kassebaum is Glinda in the new San Francisco production of the hit musical “Wicked.”
“Wicked” is for anyone who ever loved “The Wizard of Oz” — and isn’t that everyone?
By expanding on and artfully drawing from one of the 20th century’s most iconic popular entertainments, the show just in its concept has built-in appeal. But the fact that the production builds so well on and goes so deep into the psyches of its beloved characters is what gives it sentiment and soul.
At the same time, it’s full of magic, sparkle and flash — the things audiences want to see when they pay as much as $99 for a ticket.
Back onstage in San Francisco, where it had its successful pre-Broadway premiere in 2003, the smash Tony Award-winning musical, which opened Friday night at the Orpheum Theatre, will rightly find new audiences in this open-ended run.
The people responsible for the words — and plot — of “Wicked” deserve a huge hand.
Composer Stephen Schwartz and book writer Winnie Holzman create a wonderful, heartfelt, funny story based on Gregory Maguire’s book — the prequel to “The Wizard of Oz” that tells the tale of what happened in Oz before the witches’ paths cross with Dorothy, the Tin Man, Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion.
Elphaba, later known as the Wicked Witch of the West, wasn’t always the cackling meany (so effectively ingrained on the world by Margaret Hamilton’s performance in the 1939 movie).
Teal Wicks plays the role with incredible heart, showing with both subtlety and all-out emotion how the slighted girl born with green skin is simply misunderstood. She’s a great everywoman.
Glinda the Good Witch wasn’t always a sappy sweetheart, either. The pretty, popular girl has sass and compassion. Kendra Kassebaum, who appeared in the role on Broadway, plays her with the perfect, sweet touch of humor, never going over the top.
Even their shared love interest, Fiyero (fine-voiced Nicolas Dromard), has appealing shades of character.
Carol Kane (best known from TV’s “Taxi”) and David Garrison round out the cast as, respectively, Madame Morrible and the Wizard of Oz, whose PR skills wind up playing a huge part in how the witches’ stories go down.
Enchanting costumes by Susan Hilferty and sets by Eugene Lee capture the beauty, whimsy, fear, and drama of Oz, much in the same way the classic movie still does.
Judging by the sweat and talent onstage at the Orpheum, this new production of “Wicked” will take its place as a delightful counterpart to one of the most famous films of all time.
THEATER REVIEW
Wicked
Presented by Best of Broadway
Where: Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market St., San Francisco
When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays-Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays; open-ended run
Tickets: $30 to $99
Contact: (415) 512-7770; www.shnsf.com
