The Wicked Witch of the West is painted in a different light in Broadway’s musical Wicked.
Broadway musical hits Calgary stage
We all remember the promise made by the Wicked Witch of the West an antagonist that gave Dorothy a hard time — after Dorothy’s house caught up in a tornado in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz — lands on the witch’s evil sister and kills her.
“I’ll get you my pretty” she cackles “and your little dog too.”
But is the emerald-skinned tyrant really so wicked ? Most people would be pissed off if their sibling’s belongings (those ruby-red slippers) were given to the very person who killed them.
The Broadway musical Wicked in Calgary as part of its North American tour attempts to answer the question; Is the witch really that evil? Wicked tells the story of the witch’s younger years in Oz based on the novel of the same name by Gregory Maguire.
In Calgary the role of Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) is played by Anne Brummel. She’s been with the show for three years and says while her favourite character growing up was Dorothy the Wicked Witch is not the villain she is made out to be.
“It’s one of the greatest roles for females that has been written in a long time” Brummel says. “She’s an exceptionally strong woman. She sort of becomes the hero at the end. She really is the underdog.”
Wicked deconstructs the widely known Wizard of Oz delivering a much-needed lesson for audiences considering certain world events. It forces audiences to consider whether our own compassionate acts are the real thing or simply an attempt to look good.
And indeed it appears the road to hell is paved not with yellow bricks but with good intentions. Because with every kind act or selfless deed Elphaba commits it seems there are some disastrous consequences. In the end we all know what happens.
Is it only the outcome that matters or do our intentions count as well? If they do then many of us who purport to be good (governments included) are wicked wicked wicked.
And that’s an idea that has resonated with audiences. Since the curtain opened in the fall of 2003 more than five million people have seen Wicked on Broadway. More than eight million have caught the show at some point during its North American tour. The popular musical has been a cash cow grossing more than $1.6 billion since opening night.
For the actors says Brummel there really is no place like home and being onstage with the rest of the cast feels like home. “It’s a great group to work with and I’m very honoured and blessed to be a part of it.”
But it hasn’t always been easy — not in the Emerald City or on the stage. Reviews now are glowing to say the least. But in 2003 Wicked was hit with scathing criticism. New York Times ’ theatre critic Ben Brantley called the production “lopsided” and went on to say that Wicked “so overplays its hand that it loses its power to disturb.”
Reviews now though would make other productions green with envy. Time magazine calls Wicked a musical that would “make the Bush administration squirm” and adds “if every musical had a brain a heart and the courage of Wicked Broadway would be a magical place.”
The Wall Street Journal says Wicked could run for a decade or two it’s that good. Even the New York Times has changed its tune.
