WICKED - the musical

A few months ago I read Gregory Maguire's novel, Wicked and while it was certainly not my favorite novel, I did read it because I had started listening to the music from the 2004 musical and something about the story seemed appealing. When I had the chance to see the Broadway Across America production in Providence, I figured - why not? I attended the touring production this past weekend at the gorgeous Providence Performing Arts Center and I felt as underwhelmed by the performance as I did by the book. As I sat in the massive theatre with modern chandeliers and a seemingly neverending orchestra and mezzanine levels, I was reminded of the Citi Performing Arts Center's Wang Theatre when I first saw RENT in high school and felt too far away from the action.

For Saturday's performance of Wicked I sat halfway up the second mezzanine section off a center aisle. My overall view of the stage was great - I had a bird's eye view of the orchestra pit, stage and enormous dragon positioned about the stage. However, this distance meant that I never saw the facial expressions of the performers. They were simply too far away. Additionally, I found their voices weak. In a space as immense as the Providence Performing Arts Center, a singer's voice needs to reach the rafters every time for every audience member to experience the production. Even with amplification, the singing seemed hollow.

Like when I started Maguire's book, I wanted to enjoy Wicked. I knew the liberties the musical took with the novel's plot, which given how little I enjoyed the novel's contrived complexities, did not bother me in the least. However, the plot manages to be an oversimplification of the novel while simultaneously too complex for a light musical. The musical assumes too much about the audience's prior knowledge. Because of the novel, I knew about the dragon clocktower and its significance in Maguire's rendering of Oz and the Emerald City, but those who have not read the novel found the large dragon confusing and unnecessary. As a student my professors taught me that as a director you should not put a gun (or any other prop, set piece, etc), unless you are going to use it. The dragon above the stage did move, but remained unexplained and this flaw is indicative of the primary problem with Wicked. It is a production overflowing with lavish mechanics - a flashy set with many moving parts and vibrant costumes. While not necessarily bad features, I found these choices did not make the production more compelling.

This dilemma of flash v. focus in a production is something with which I struggle. I am interested in the problem of how much of the set, lights, costumes is too much if the performances fall flat? I am more drawn to productions with creative and careful design elements that do not overshadow the performances, but rather amplify the talents of the performers and directors. The other issue for me revolves around what I want from a musical. Do I want a meaningful story? Do I want the story to reflect some level of reality? If there is an interesting and complex issue at stake, how much focus does it receive in the storytelling? Do I want show stopping numbers? When I think about the musicals I have enjoyed I think it boils down to very strong performances and primarily in the strength of the performers voices. I go to a musical expecting to leave humming the tunes I heard on stage. I did not leave Wicked with those songs in my mind and on the tip of my tongue. I think my tendency to turn away from flashy musicals is that I want the focus to be on the amazing power of the singer's voice. Also, in the story of Wicked, there is a complex issue at stake - who is truly good? It seems no one is entirely good or bad and it's all in perception, but this issue receives very little attention. It lingers in the background of a highly mechanized production. Then again, performances with high production value get attention and often garner more ticket sales, and performing arts companies need the revenue. Like the wizard says when he first meets Glinda and Elphaba, "sorry for all this (gesturing to the giant talking head), some people need it." Maybe that was the point?

- KER