Theater Review: Wicked

by John Garcia of John Garcia's The Column

Damn, what does a green girl have to do to get some nookie, her sister off her back, a PETA protest off the ground, and her blonde best friend to believe in her? If your Elphaba, you grab hold of a magical book, get a total makeover, and an army of flying monkeys to do your bidding.

Wicked, the mega blockbuster hit, returns for a second engagement at the Music Hall at Fair Park, which opened April 18.

This would be my third walk down the yellow brick road that leads to this splashy, glitzy, glittery, spectacle. My first visit was the original production, the weekend after it had opened on Broadway in October 2003. This starred the magnificent Idina Menzel and the superb Kristen Chenoweth. My second visit would be its first national tour here in Dallas a couple of years later in October starring Stephanie J. Block as "Elphaba" and Kendra Kassebaum as "Glinda". Currently Ms. Block is the lead in the new Broadway musical The Pirate Queen, while at the Gershwin, Ms. Kassebaum is in the bubble as "Glinda" on Broadway.

Last night was my third visit to Oz. We all know the story, so no need to replay that part again. A dangerous trend that comes with tours is that after the first national tour, the physical aspects of the production become victims at the hands of stingy producers who cut corners to save a few bucks. Sets become backdrops, costumes are modified, cast is slashed in half, and so on. A perfect example is Beauty & the Beast. The original national tour had all its bells and whistles intact, but when the 3rd national tour came around, it had only a couple of bells and a whimpering sound of a whistle.

Thus, it was a sigh of relief to see that this current tour of Wicked still had every bell and whistle still attached. Mind you, the modifications and cuts from the Broadway production to the tour are still there from the first tour.

Such as the opening. We still have the monkeys open the show, where as on the Gershwin stage in New York it is a massive, billowing witch's hat that takes front and center. The towering clock at the beginning of the show and the tiny buildings for Shiz University are still painted backdrops. On Broadway, the clock and the buildings are actual, physical 3-D set pieces. Another change is the costumes for the "Dancing Through Life" company number. The Broadway production contains these massive, billowing gowns for the Oz Ball, but the tour still only has the black and white costumes.

But the rest of the physical beauty of the original is still there in the tour to marvel at. There are Eugene Lee's towering, majestic epic sets that are a rarity in today's tours. Susan Hiferty's exquisite, marvelous costumes are all there. You really need to sit up close to marvel at the amazing detail on them. The various fabrics, stones, colors, patterns, and shapes she uses for coats, gowns, skirts, hats, and shoes are all gorgeous.

They seriously need to do a fashion show of these works of art done with cloth. Finally, there is Kenneth Posner's mouth watering lighting design. So many amazing details, colors, gobos, and specials are splashed all over the grand sets. I still gasp and take it all in when it comes to WICKED's spectactular designs in set, light, and costume.

Here are some fascinating facts about the Wicked tour:

• Over 2.214 million people have seen the Wicked national tour over the span of 107 weeks (838 performances) since it launched in March 2005. That's an average of 2,642 people per performance.
• The Wicked tour has played to an average capacity of 99.5% per performance.
• The Wicked tour has gross over $155 million. That's 98% of its gross potential.
• During the week ending December 4, 2005 the Wicked national tour grossed $2.045 million in a single eight-performance week in St. Louis. This remains the highest weekly box office gross in North American touring history.
• The four-week engagement of the show at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC sold out in a record seven hours.
• The Costa Mesa engagement at the Orange County Performing Arts Center sold out both weeks of performances (and setting house records for each of those performance weeks) without ever having gone on sale to the general public.

So how does this cast measure up to the original leads and the first tour? For the most part, pretty even.

As "Glinda", Christina DeCicco brings the same blonde bimbo overtones as the previous golden hair beauties, but it is her attack to the darker, more dramatic elements of the character that makes her performance both immensely moving and powerful to watch.

She finds some exciting, new, vivid shades to the emotional pain and betrayal she feels from her best friend (Elphaba) and beau (Fiyero). Both the book scenes and tragic, painful ballads that she performs in expose heartbreaking pain and dark pathos. Observe her brilliant work in "I'm Not That Girl" and "For Good". Her eyes overflow in tears as she bids farewell to her best friend will grasp hold of your heart and never let go. Her comedic skills are also terrific and hits the comic bulls eye every single time she's on stage. Her vocal range is sublime. She goes from an operatic coloratura to big, belting Broadway razzle-dazzle. Ms. DeCicco is phenomenal in this production. In fact, she's the first "Glinda" who steals the show from "Elphaba".

Victoria Matlock portrays "Elphaba", our heroine whose skin tone is granny smith apple green. Ms. Matlock brings a very different approach to "Elphaba" than what I've seen in previous productions. She has a more laidback, internal, passive approach to the characterization. The humor of the role comes to her like an afterthought, which does work and results in some hysterical scene work. She possesses a terrific sense of comic timing that generates great laughs. She is a tall beauty covered in radiant stage presence. Her chemistry with her co-stars is vividly strong and honest.

It is her singing voice that I'm still on the fence about. She does have a sparkling set of vocal pipes. But she tends to sing more internally, quietly than previous witches. This is fine, except the sound balance between her voice and the orchestra is not always on her side. There were times when the bombastic crescendos coming from the pit would overpower her vocals. Examples of this sadly include her big Act One finale, "Defying Gravity," and in the second act's "No Good Deed". For "Defying Gravity", she struggled and with a small hiccup of a crack to reach the big, belting, soaring soprano note that is needed for that number.

No one can match Menzel's powerhouse lungs (the original Elphaba), even Stephanie Block on the first tour didn't exactly match that mega power note either. Now don't get me wrong, Ms. Matlock still does have a beautiful singing voice and she does do great work in the vocal department. It's just odd not to hear that big belting note that accompanies those big songs. It didn't help matters that the orchestra overpowered her here as well. Nonetheless, she gives a terrific, brilliant performance.

One of the great surprises here is the performance of the actor portraying "Fiyero". On Broadway, Norbert Leo Butz sleepwalked through the role, making it forgettable. In the first tour, the actor portraying the romantic role of this spoiled prince was a little too fey and bland. This time around Cliffton Hall takes a firm, masculine hold of the role and delivers a dynamic, exciting, and vivid performance. This is first time ever that I actually enjoyed hearing the songs sung by this character. Hall has a pop tenor quality to his voice that worked magic on the songs. It's a powerful tenor voice that blended beautifully with his female co-stars on the duets. Hall has great stage presence and handsome features that is matched with solid acting chops. His chemistry in the second act with Elphaba is very sensual and exciting to watch unfold. Hall is splendid as the prince who falls for the witch.

Within in the large company also delivering exceptional work include Barbara Tirrell as the backstabbing Madame Morrible, Josh Lamon as Bog (Glinda's rejected suitor, the munchkin), P. J. Benjamin as The Wizard, Tom Flynn as the compassionate Doctor Dillamond, and Deedee Magno Hall as Elphaba's wheelchair-bound sister Nessarose. Speaking of Ms. Hall, if you saw the first national tour of Miss Saigon when it came through Dallas, then you saw her give a great performance as "Kim".

This tour of Wicked still looks immaculate and dazzling as the original, and within its sparkling center is an excellent cast delivering performances that still look pristine and vibrant.

Today's market no longer has grand epic tours like this anymore. To see grand musicals like this you have to go to New York and see them on the great white way. Here's your chance to see them in your own background!

GRADE: A+

The tour runs until May 6. Single tickets, ranging from $32-$75, can be purchased at area Ticketmaster outlets, by calling 214-631-ARTS, or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Also, you can find out more on the lottery of getting the best available seats for $25, by clicking here.