Past Reviews

Regional Reviews: Seattle

Wicked Still Spellbinding for Emerald City Audiences
National Tour

Also see David's review of Orpheus Descending


Carrie St. Louis and Alyssa Fox
Thanks in no small part to a most winning pair of witches, Wicked, the mega-long running Winnie Holzman (book) and Stephen Schwartz adaption of Gregory Maguire's reimagining of L. Frank Baum's Oz universe is back, its national tour delighting Seattle audiences for a fourth time at The Paramount Theatre

After over a decade on Broadway and on tour, few are unfamiliar with how this show starts, from the melting of the Wicked Witch of the West, then flashing back as her best friend and sometimes rival Glinda the Good recounts the backstory behind the day that a little Kansas girl's house touched down in Oz. Here, however, Dorothy is a shadowy presence and doesn't arrive till late in act two. Up to then we learn about how the Wicked Witch of the West was born Elphaba, and her travails being rejected by her family for her green skin. When Elphaba and her sister Nessarose arrive to attend Shiz University she is forced to room with the blonde, beautiful, and popular Galinda, who in time takes the downtrodden Elphaba under her wing, though both fall for the same boy, the handsome if air-headed Fiyero, while Nessarose is smitten with Munchkin Boq who only has eyes for Galinda. Elphaba takes up the cause of fighting for Oz's animals, including her beloved goat Professor Dr. Dillamond, who systematically are being robbed of their powers of speech. Through the machinations of their grandiose social-climbing magic teacher Madame Morrible, Elphaba and Glinda (she had dropped the "a" in solidarity with Elphy's quest) venture to the Emerald City for an audience with the Wizard, who is not only a very bad wizard but a pretty bad man, with ties to Elphaba that are unknown even to him. Elphaba sees him for what he is, and becomes the so called Wicked Witch, while Glinda stays inside the Wizard's good graces. Their friendship, despite rocky roads and their competition for Fiyero, endures as the true love story of the piece.

As Galinda/Glinda, Carrie St. Louis is a bountiful delight, making the character's more bubble-headed youthful giddiness and valley strophes hilariously her own, and maturing into a warm and caring woman through her friendship with Elphaba. Her version of "Popular" ranks among the best I have heard. Alyssa Fox takes Elphaba from sulking loner to spirited and passionate champion of the downtrodden who flirts with true evil, but with a core of goodness that always prevails. Her "Defying Gravity" builds incredibly well from soft to soaring, and even her out of control high belt note at the end of the number sounds effortless. The two actresses are totally in sync in their scenes/songs together, grabbing the comedy of "What Is This Feeling?," finding their connection in the course of "Dancing Through Life," and reducing the audience to waterworks with their emotional duet "For Good."

Ashley Parker Angel is earnest in the underwritten role of Fiyero, and shows off his pop-vocal chops in his featured songs. Kristine Zbornik's Madame Morrible is rather akin to Imelda Staunton's take on Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter films: a grandly bedecked poseur who is wickeder than any wicked witch ever was. Featured star John Davidson as the Wizard was out on opening night, though understudy Keith A. Bearden gave a worthy performance in his stead. Liana Hunt and Lee Slobotkin as Nessarose and Boq are splendid in roles that require quite seismic personality changes, and veteran actor Michael DeVries is a touching Dr. Dillamond.

The production follows the Broadway direction of Joe Mantello and choreography of Wayne Cilento faithfully. All the technical and design elements (from the original designs) remain remarkably well executed. In short, both return fans and children who weren't born when Wicked first hit Broadway can get caught up in its enduring spell.

Wicked runs through August 2, 2015, at The Paramount, at 9th and Pine in Downtown Seattle. There is a $25 per person ticket lottery two and one half hours before each show. For more information go to www.stgpresents.org or contact Seattle Theatre Group at 877-STG-4TIX (877-784-4849). For more information on the tour, visit www.wickedthemusical.com.


Photo: Joan Marcus

- David Edward Hughes