Wicked Tour arrives in Little Rock’s Robinson Center Music Hall for a two week run playing through November 14, 2010.
Wicked, which arrived with its “must see” status fixed permanently on its black witches cap. Celebrity Attractions booked the show for two weeks — a huge bet on demand — and, if word of mouth is as golden as marketers believe it is, then they’ll walk away winners. This “Wicked,” bolstered by lead performances of Vicki Noon as Elphaba and Natalie Daradich as Glinda, is everything a huge musical should be — tuneful, funny, compelling, fantastical, glittery and odd. Musicals strain at credulity to begin with and the story in “Wicked” is one that makes your head hurt if you think about it too much.
And you do care about the fate of the two girls who will eventually become the Wicked Witch of the West (Noon) and Glinda the Good Witch (Daradich). “Wicked,” with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman, works best when exploring the relationship between the two in which they begin as enemies and end as friends. The highlight is the school dorm room scene where Daradich, playing the blonde, self-absorbed Glinda to the hilt, teaches Elphaba, born with the scream-inducing green skin, to be “Popular.” Daradich struts and faints and pulls out every laugh imaginable.
As Elphaba, Noon is the central figure in “Wicked” and, as such, has the showstopping numbers such as “Defying Gravity,” which she belts out with wicked power. “Wicked” is smart in the way it consistently works in quotes and totems such as the broomstick from “The Wizard of Oz.”
On many occasions the touring shows that pull into Robinson have young, uneven casts — that isn’t the case with this “Wicked.“ The large cast is strong across the board. The set, which often looks is like the inside of a moving clock and packed with special effects, the lights and costumes are dazzlers. Don’t miss your chances to watch “Wicked” in Little Rock’s Robinson Center Music Hall.
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