Wicked is currently performing on tour in Denver, CO and at Buell Theatre Still Stands Strong. Wicked Cast: Starring Mamie Parris, Alli Mauzey, Andy Kelso, Liz McCartney, Emily Ferranti, Paul Slade Smith, Mark Jacoby and Justin Brill. Here is the review by Lisa Kennedy @ Denver Post Theater Critic.
“Wicked” is an outcast tale, a female friendship parable, a story of corruption and chicanery by authorities we — rather the denizens of the Emerald City — put our trust in. It is a wry reconsideration of good (is it overrated?) and evil (is it misunderstood?) — or at least L. Frank Baum’s version of that eternal tussle found in his classic novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”
On opening night this production, starring Mamie Parris and Alli Mauzey, was quick-witted, generous and deft with the laughs, of which there are many. Still, I couldn’t help wishing for a better blend of the tender and the hilarious.
Parris and Mauzey portray Elphaba and Galinda. Eventually, Galinda adopts her better-known moniker, Glinda. Elphaba will claim her name, her fame or infamy, as the Wicked Witch of the West. Parris has a rich voice that fills out Elphaba’s sorrow and youthful angst. Mauzey brings stop-on-a-dime comedic timing to Galinda’s antics. She’s a tireless, rapid-fire trouper.
“Wicked” wastes little time in evoking one of the more indelible images of the movie, with winged monkeys climbing above the stage. But memories of Dorothy Gale, Kansas and Oz are quickly turned topsy turvy. The sets are evocative: spectacle without the clutter.
As the play opens, Glinda confirms the Wicked Witch of the West’s death by water bucket. “Wicked” then unfolds as a flashback about how the two came to know each other.
The Green and the Good meet when they arrive at Shiz University. The jade-hued daughter of the Munchkin governor has been sent to school ostensibly to keep an eye on her wheelchair-bound, fair-haired younger sister, Nessarose (Emily Ferranti). There is antagonism at first sight, then a tentative friendship and, later, something of a competing love interest in popular guy Fiyero (Andy Kelso, a graduate of Aurora’s Eaglecrest High School), who turns out to be deeper than his deep pockets.
Elphaba is gifted and the school’s Madame Morrible sees it and seizes upon it. The youngster’s talent might even get her an audience with the Wizard (Mark Jacoby). Liz McCartney as the full-figured doyen of the school takes to her role with a brassy aplomb.
Paul Slade Smith makes Dr. Dillamond touching as a horned professor soon to become a target. The rules are changing in Oz, and magical animals are no longer appreciated.
Three songs have approached classic status. This despite the critical ink spilled since the play’s 2003 debut debating whether the musical has any memorable tunes. A great many reviews said no, but then critics are used to losing arguments with audiences.
Read the complete review {Via denverpost.com}
Wicked Musical will play through Sunday, May 20 at the Buell Theatre, 1101 13th St. Get $10 OFF on Wicked Denver CO Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout.
