Once upon a time, in the Land of Oz, long before Dorothy’s arrival, there were two witches…
So begins Wicked, a musical loosely based on the novel by Gregory Maguire that acts as a prequel of sorts to The Wizard of Oz. The hydrophobic Wicked Witch of the West, the saintly Good Witch of the North, a scarecrow without a brain and a tin man without a heart – Wicked revisits these familiar characters and provides them with a back story, one that completely transforms the orthodox story of good and evil into one about racism, political corruption and human cruelty.
Like The Wizard of Oz, Wicked has become a tremendously popular cultural milestone, one that is a mainstay on Broadway – it is currently the ninth longest-running show ever in American’s famed theater district.
Hailed by the New York Times as “the defining musical” of the 2000s, the plot focuses on the smart but fiery Elphaba (later the Wicked Witch of the West), who is born with ‘ugly’ emerald-green skin and a remarkable talent for magic. Counterbalancing her is blonde beauty queen Galinda (afterwards Glinda the Good Witch), a character so image-conscious that her signature song is ‘Popular,’ in which she warbles: “Celebrated heads of state or / Specially great communicators / Did they have brains or knowledge? / Don't make me laugh! / They were popular!”
The rivalry between these two eventually leads to the unlikeliest of friendships, one that is put to the test when Elphaba decides to overturn the status quo.
The original production saw Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, two pillars of musical theater (and frequent guests on TV show Glee), take on the roles of Elphaba and Glinda respectively. Both actresses’ dramatic brilliance nurtured the popularity of Wicked, defining the roles and leaving big magical slippers to fill.
“I’ve been with the show for nearly six years now and have worked with a lot of incredible Elphabas. It’s very hard not to be influenced by other people. I’m certainly influenced by those I look up to. I’m a bit of a sponge who tends to absorb everything, and what comes out of that is my own Elphaba,” confesses Jacqueline Hughes, who will be performing the role of the Wicked Witch for China audiences in June.
“I think people are so familiar with the original Broadway cast, with Idina Mendel, it won’t go very far with copying somebody,” adds Hughes’ onstage rival, Carly Anderson, who takes on the mantle of Glinda. “You need to find what works for you and apply your own personality and interpretation of the role to it.”
Unlike the two-hour makeup session necessary for musical-land’s only other green star, Shrek, it takes just 20 minutes to turn Hughes green. Like Anderson, she has understudied numerous roles in preparation for the spotlight, describing her Wicked experience as “a dream come true.”
With music and lyrics composed by Grammy and Oscar-winning Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Enchanted), this two-act entertainment is packed with sparkling tunes, including show-stopper ‘Defying Gravity.’ For the lead actresses though, the pivotal scene is a little more understated.
“One of our favorite moments in the show is called ‘Elphaba’s Dance,’ where there is complete silence but it speaks such volumes. You can actually hear the audience breathing. It’s the beginning of their friendship,” says Anderson.
She and Hughes will be singing eight times a week on their tour through the Middle Kingdom, but – at least for the moment – they’re more jubilant than nervous.
“What’s exciting for us about performing in a country where English isn’t necessarily their first language is being able to translate the show as actors and actresses. The theme of friendship is universal. Wicked is such an amazing spectacle. There are so many things going on and you’ll immediately feel immersed in this world that is Oz,” Anderson enthuses.
What has made Wicked a lasting success is the combination of set pieces dedicated to friendship and love with the darker motifs of political suppression and bigoted ideology. When Elphaba attempts to reveal that something is rotten in the state of Oz, she is immediately dubbed ‘wicked’ by the Wizard’s press secretary; her legitimate protests against the establishment are transformed by propaganda into the lies of a dangerous malcontent who must be hunted down and destroyed.
Wicked is undeniably entertaining, but it also invites us to question whether we should turn a blind eye to inhumanity, or stand up to injustice at the risk of our own destruction.
Tickets for Wicked are already on sale. The show is scheduled to run in Guangzhou June 18-27, 7.30pm; RMB280-1,380. Guangzhou Opera House.
[Images by Matt Crockett]
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