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WOW! Went to see WICKED tonight at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle. What a fantastic show. I purposefully did not research the plot too much so the show would be fresh for me. So many twists and turns, I am just blown away by all the imagination that went into producing this production. The story lines alone are amazing.
I won’t do a review, I’m sure there’s plenty out there. And besides, IT WAS FRIGGIN’ AWESOME! That’s all you need to know. Go see it. Ok, so maybe being a critic reviewer isn’t in my future. Visit the official Wicked website at http://www.wickedthemusical.com/
The thing that most delighted me was the plot line. WE ALL LOVE THE WIZARD OF OZ (If you DON’T like the WofOz, then I want you to go right now and wash your brain out with soap), and this musical delivers. It’s like watching the Wizard of Oz all over again for the first time. But the SUPER DOOPER COOL part is…………well, I knew the play involved background and character development for the witches……but the SUPER DOOPER COOL PART IS….that the plot line ran not only from the early years (which even a dummy like me knew that much), but the plot line continued right through the Wizard of Oz movie plot and beyond. So all in all, the movie of the Wizard of Oz might have all taken place within a very short segment of Wicked.
So as Wicked is presented, it’s the full story going on behind the scenes, while only the public saw the one dimensional media spin, ie: the MOVIE the Wizard of Oz.
The gift given to us, or the curse if you must, is that we will never see the Wizard of Oz the same again. We see it with new eyes, new perspective. The play is all about perspective, about how history is written, and sadly much of it is all too appropriate concerning current world affairs. I can’t help but wonder if some of the dialogue was tweaked a little to be a modern commentary.
Sets were cool, flying monkeys, flying witches, awesome costumes, incredible singing, perfect orchestra…..blah blah blah blah blah. But what blows me away is the plot and character development. Absolutely amazing. It hurts my brain to think how they must have come up with this. It is a real brain teaser.
Did you see the movie Sixth Sense? Remember as you drove home from the theatre you were thinking of all the twists and turns….and all those AHA! moments of realizing what was actually going on. That is what WICKED is all about. The whole time going AHA! – that’s what REALLY happened in Oz.
The musical takes two dimensional type-cast characters and makes them full 3D, and makes you feel guilty for judging people. WICKED is pure entertainment, but has plenty enough commentary for deeper discussions and introspection on how we see the world around us, and how we can only make judgements based on the information we have at hand. When we have more information. (read here: The CORRECT information), our viewpoint can change drastically.
Can’t get a ticket? I got my tickets on Ebay from a seller with very high sales count and good feedback. My tickets were $30 BELOW the sales price, I was very surprised.