Long-running ‘Wicked’ returns ‘home’ to Boston

By Rich Fahey

BOSTON – When you see the musical theater phenomenon that is “Wicked,” you’ll be seeing a lot of green. And it’s not just the Emerald City

It makes a lot of sense, because the iconic show is marking its 23^rd straight year running on Broadway, the fourth-longest run in Broadway history, and has generated $7.2 billion in worldwide sales. That’s a lot of green.

The North American tour of “Wicked” is making an extended stop at the Citizens Bank Opera House through Nov. 15, and the good news is that the elements that made it a worldwide hit are largely intact.

This is the musical’s seventh stop in Boston since 2006, all at the Opera House, and the first and last runs are now a generation apart.  That means many first-timers seeing the musical may have also already seen the  two “Wicked” movies – which grossed $1.3 billion worldwide — based on the musical and the Gregory Maguire novel.

“It ain’t easy being green,” Kermit the Frog once famously sang. And if you think it’s not easy for a frog, it sure as heck isn’t easy for a young woman, even if she has special powers.

That would be Elphaba, the heroine — or is it villain? – of the musical. Even in touring mode, “Wicked” remains one of a great theatrical spectacle of recent decades. It features a compelling, character-driven story, dazzling colors and dramatic special effects.

The numbers in the staging of the show are staggering. There are 144 moving lights, 4,000 twinkle lights and 1,086 controlled fixtures, to name just a few.

“Wicked” is the backstory of two of the major characters of L. Frank Baum’s book “The Wizard of Oz”: Glinda , the Good Witch, played by Claudia Bennett, and Elphaba (Aline Mayagoitia), who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West.

The plot of Winnie Holzman’s book for the musical dovetails nicely into the events of “The Wizard of Oz” itself, purporting to offer explanations on how there came to be a Tin Man and Scarecrow, the twister that brought Dorothy and Toto to Oz, and the machinations of The Wizard himself.

There’s something about bad girls. Elphaba has the more interesting story of the lead duo and the better songs (“Defying Gravity’) from Stephen Schwartz’s score. At times, Mayagoitia’s Elphaba even evoked the cackle reminiscent of the late Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch of the West in the movie “The Wizard of Oz,” and whose face launched a million nightmares.

 “Wicked” opens with the death of Elphaba, who was conceived during an affair between the Munchkinland governor’s wife and a mysterious stranger with a bottle of green elixir.
Glinda tells the residents of Oz the story of the events of her and Elphaba’s lives, and asks them to consider her side of the story, as Elphaba  was rejected from the moment she was born.

In the musical, Glinda has a good heart but is a bit of a vacuous valley girl, prone to malapropisms. As the ever-popular blonde, she is occupying the highest rung on the social ladder, from where she can look down upon others — including Elphaba — at the Shiz University run by Madame Morrible (Revere native Susan Cella), who sees in Elphaba a promising sorcery student who deserves to meet The Wizard (Tom McGowan).
While at the school, Elphaba is caring for her crippled sister Nessarose (Cristina Sastre), who becomes smitten with the Munchkin Boq (Pablo David Laurecita).  

Elphaba, meanwhile, is distraught at the way The Wizard, aided by Madame Morrible, treats the half-human, half-animal creatures of Oz such as Dr. Dillamond (Drew McVety), the half-goat, half-human former professor who loses his job at Madame Morrible’s school and ends up being caged.

Elphaba makes it her mission to rescue the animals now being caged, making her an outlaw and an outcast. There’s also the love triangle involving Glinda, Elphaba and a Winkie prince named Fiyero (Ethan Kirchbaum). McGowan’s Wizard is all smoke and mirrors, and in this telling is complicit in rounding up and caging the animals.

The dazzling set by the late Eugene Lee — whose wonderful scenic designs were featured at Trinity Rep in Providence and Boston theaters — is part of the spectacle. The green sparkles and lights, the amplified, pumped-up Oz machine operated by The Wizard, and the fire-breathing dragon are all part of the show. Lee won a Tony for his work, as did Susan Hilferty for her endlessly creative costumes for the witches and the various residents of Oz.  

Schwartz’s score includes songs that have become part of the pop song catalogue (“Popular,” “Defying Gravity” and “For Good”) and other songs (“No One Mourns the Wicked”,” “Wonderful” that set the tone and advance the action.

“Wicked” remains a sterling evening of entertainment and an uplifting, inspiring look at friendship, engagingly performed and spectacularly displayed, and will be the Opera House in Boston.

The North American touring production of “Wicked.” Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, book by Winnie Holzman, based on the novel by Gregory Maguire. Directed by Joe Mantello. Musical staging by Wayne Cilento. Scenic design by Eugene Lee. At the Citizens Bank Opera House , Washington Street, Boston through Nov. 15. www.broadwayinboston.com