Wednesday, October 5, 2016

'Wicked' 2016 in Review - till 20 Nov 2016


Wicked- Still defying gravity after all these years
by Alan Tay

Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Musical staging Wayne Cilento
Directed by Joe Mantello
29 September – 16 October 2016
Grand Theatre, MasterCard Theatres at Marina Bay Sands

It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Good and well-paced story, exquisite music with intelligent lyrics and funny rhetoric, beautiful harmonious voices, wonderfully executed choreography, extraordinary dazzling costumes, bigger than life sets. Green never looked so breath-taking. I forgot my sun-glasses though!


Talk about looking at life through rose-colored glasses. Green is the colour. Research says that it has a calming effect. However, under all that glitz and glamour, is the story of an unlikely friendship between the popular ditzy blonde Glinda and the green skinned outcast Elphaba. Ever eternal themes like trust, loyalty, integrity, resilience, tenacity, honesty, kindness, seeing the best in another, are juxtaposed against lies, betrayal, despair, treachery, and the like as the two friends go to meet the Wizard of Oz to address and hopefully curb the issues that were engulfing munchkin land. Naivety and wide-eyed wonder get a fast reality check as the truth enfolds and both of the lead characters have to make hard choices that change the course of their lives.





The technical support was a bit of the let down. When the opening song started I thought something was wrong with my hearing. From where I was seated, the music was unbalanced and the diction was bad. Hopefully these issues will be resolved later into the run.

Fortunately by the time Elphaba started to sing, all was forgiven. She has a beautiful, crisp voice. Add the chemistry of the two leads brought to life memorable songs like “Popular”, “For Good” and “Defying gravity”. Even the supporting cast pulled their weight, adding dimensions that involve and engage the audience, young and old alike.


For those who are familiar with the cinematic version of The Wizard of Oz, this is a prelude story of how the main characters come to be: the cowardly lion, the tin man, the scarecrow and even Dorothy and the flying house… I’m not going to give more away. You have to go watch it! It was well worth every bit of the 2½ hours. I was glued; riveted to my seat as I soaked in every bit of wonderful that came my way.



Wicked runs at the MasterCard Theatres at MBS till 20 November. Check out the Events Page for information on tickets! 

Wicked has some amazingly detailed sets and costumes that have to be seen upclose. Check out our exclusive production pictures and backstage tour pictures on our Facebook Group! 

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