Review: Broadway’s ‘Wicked’ returns to Charlotte in a pandemic. How does it hold up?
“It’s good to see me, isn’t it?”
That line is delivered early on in the beloved Broadway smash “Wicked.” It’s spoken by Allison Bailey as Glinda, as she descends amid the bubbles and onto the stage for this story set in the world of the witches of Oz, long before a certain dog-toting Kansan arrives.
The audience response to Glinda’s query at Ovens Auditorium Thursday night was a resounding yes.
At this point in the coronavirus pandemic, it’s great to see any touring Broadway show in Charlotte after a 19-month absence, let alone a venerable Tony-winning, crowd-pleaser like “Wicked.” (This production is the first Broadway tour to restart in the U.S. during COVID-19, and Charlotte is its second stop. It opened here on Wednesday.)
Like many at Ovens, this was my first time inside a theater since the pandemic began. It’s a place I live for, a community that’s long been a part of my life. Theater provides me solace and joy, especially musicals. They can uplift, challenge, enlighten and of course entertain.
I did feel a little nervous returning now, even with a mask mandate and enhanced HVAC and other systems. But when the curtain rose, and the citizens of Oz sang, “Good news,” I was ready for the journey to begin.
Despite COVID-19’s delta variant-fueled resurgence, being able to see a show again in person, hearing a top-notch orchestra and surrounded by fellow theater fans represented to me a reaffirmation of the importance of art, of theater in particular, of joyous and healing shared experiences.
A timely message
Although “Wicked” debuted 18 years ago, it still feels timely, fresh and ever so, well ok, wonderful. That’s a testament to Stephen Schwartz, who crafted the magical music and lyrics, and Winnie Holzman’s indelible book.
Their message of tolerance, of accepting people who are different than you. The dangers of blindly following leaders with smiling faces and hidden agendas. The enduring empowerment of friendship, especially among young women. These are all elements that resonate with vitality and urgency.
The show itself, for the few uninitiated, depicts the intertwined lives of the two witches. There’s Bailey’s Glinda “the good,” a soprano who hits all the right notes, but brings her character down to earth in the melancholy reprise of “I’m Not That Girl.” She also gets the timing just right on several throwaway comic bits.
And Talia Suskauer’s green-hued “wicked” Witch of the West, Elphaba, simply owns the role from the start, whether it’s her yearning softly that “I’m Not That Girl,” or the crowd-pleasing, first act finale belting “Defying Gravity.” No one is gonna bring her down.
.%20Photo%20by%20Joan%20Marcus.jpg "Talia Suskauer as Elphaba in the North American Tour of WICKED (B). Photo by Joan Marcus.jpg")
We learn their backstory as they go to school, vie to be pop-u-lar, know love and loss, and gain the attention of a certain wizard and his assistant.
The cast was uniformly in top form, from Sharon Sachs as the steely scene-stealing Madame Morrible to DJ Plunkett’s love-torn Munchkin, Boq. Jordan Litz deftly conveys how the seemingly bad-boy hunk Fiyero is not merely “dancing through life,” while the ebullient old wizard, Cleavant Derricks, does a nice soft shoe but holds secrets of his own.
And let’s hear it for the ensemble. To a person, they inhabited their roles with verve and panache, whether it’s a fleeting look of guilt after a disturbing incident in Doctor Dillamond’s class, or a jaunty wave of a cigarette holder exiting ”One Short Day” in the Emerald City.
It’s attention to detail. It’s art and craft and theater and theatricality. And it’s more welcome than ever. “Good news” indeed.
‘Wicked’ in Charlotte
Where: Ovens Auditorium
When: Now through Oct. 3. Performances are: 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays.
Tickets: www.BlumenthalArts.org; Details: www.WickedTheMusical.com.blumenthalarts.org
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This story was originally published September 10, 2021 at 1:24 AM.
