Wicked Musical is currently playing at Reynolds Hall in the Smith Center for the Performing Arts through October 07, 2012.

Here is the review by Don Chareunsy at Las Vegas Weekly.

The song could be about “Wicked” itself, as the Broadway smash based on the 1995 novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” by Gregory Maguire has become a theatrical phenomenon, winning three Tonys in 2004 and thrusting its two dynamic lead actresses Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda (or Guh-linda, with a Guh), and Idina Menzel as Elphie (Menzel, facing off against Chenoweth, went home with the statuette) into the spotlight.

No matter that “Wicked,” a prequel and parallel of Frank L. Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” and the 1939 Hollywood classic “The Wizard of Oz” starring Judy Garland, has divided critics from day one (it was nominated for 11 Tonys and notably lost Best Musical, Best Book and Original Score to “Avenue Q”); it is critic proof — in the vein of the “Twilight” books and films — and has a devoted (fanatic) following like its predecessor “Rent.”

The scenic and costume design (the other two Tony winners) at Reynolds Hall on Thursday night were exemplary, and the supporting cast — Kim Zimmer (Madame Morrible — and, yes, Reva Shayne from “Guiding Light,” which garnered her four Emmys), Cliffton Hall (Fiyero), Tom McGowan (the Wonderful Wizard of Oz) and Demaree Hill (Nessarose) — under director Joe Mantello were very good.

But it’s no surprise that Parker and Murin are the exceptional standouts, and they hold their own against role originators Menzel and Chenoweth, respectively — big red ruby slippers to fill, indeed.

Murin is a comedic, ditzy blonde delight as Glinda, and she does the book by Winnie Holzman (“My So-Called Life”) proud with every hilarious vocal and physical delivery. Her rendition of “Popular” was a highlight of the evening; it’s good to be Glinda the Good Witch, who travels by bubble.

The audience heaped praise before, during and, in the valet line, post-show. The full standing ovation was immediate — and not just for Parker and Murin — and rousing.

“Wicked” is popular, and it will be po-pu-lar for many years to come. It’s Oz-some.

Read the complete review {Via LasVegasWeekly.com}

Wicked will continue performances at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts through October 07, 2012. Buy Wicked Las Vegas Nevada Tickets Online at discounted prices.

Wicked Broadway musical tour is currently performing in Montreal Canada from August 01 to August 26, 2012. Here is the Wicked musical review by Anne Sutherland, The Gazette.

The strength of the musical Wicked lies in the two leads, the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good. For all the sumptuous costumes, fancy sets, dry ice, flying monkeys and production numbers, it all boils down to whether these two dames can belt it out.

To state the obvious, the two leads are wicked good.

Wicked, the touring version that just touched down at Place des Arts for almost the entire month of August, is blessed with the gifted pipes of Jeanna de Waal as the saintly sweet Glinda and the superb Christine Dwyer as the flawed but ultimately redeemed Elphaba, the witch of the title.

It’s the story that purports to tell the tale of what happened before Dorothy and her house landed on the Witch of the East in the classic children’s book and 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz.

Based on a series of books by Gregory Maguire, the musical backstory of the friendship of these two divergent characters has been a juggernaut on Broadway, London’s West End and broken all sorts of attendance and box office records since its debut in 2003. And it’s a great show, with outstanding songs culminating with the goosebump-raising vocals on Defying Gravity.

The story opens with widespread jubilation as the citizens of Oz celebrate the passing of the Wicked Witch of the West, a dastardly green creature who has been bedevilling the land. As fans of the story know, she was done in by a bucket of water tossed by Dorothy. Seems her soul was so unclean that pure water could melt her.

Elphaba is destined for great things, Morrible says, and will be introduced to the great Wizard of Oz, her lifelong dream.

The costumes are quite brilliant, particularly the numerous hues of green in the Emerald City tableaus and the candy-coloured gowns sported by the good witch.

Read the complete review {Via MontrealGazette.com}

Wicked musical showings at Salle Wilfrid Pelletier Place Des Arts continue until August 26, 2012. Experience the Spell of Wicked. Wicked Musical Montreal Quebec Canada Tickets are in full Demand! Avail $10 OFF on Wicked Place des Arts Ticket Orders of $250 or more by using code SUMMERFUNTN at Checkout!

Wicked is currently playing on tour in Durham, NC and the performances at Durham Performing Arts Center continue through Sunday May 27, 2012.

If your first question about the return of “Wicked” to the Durham Performing Arts Center is if you should see it again, the answer is yes. “Wicked” was here two years ago for a blockbuster month, and it will spend most of May at DPAC for a popular return engagement. The first time or second time you see this fly-away Broadway hit, you will like something different about it than the person sitting in the seat next to you. And there’s much to like.

This reviewer went into this show thinking about the roles of the strong leading women, noted by producer David Stone in an interview with The Herald-Sun last week. Elphaba (Christine Dwyer) and Glinda (Tiffany Haas) are powerful women and have a powerful friendship that transcends what keeps them apart. Like many college students who are thrown into rooming together, they come from different worlds and different perspectives. Yet both have qualities that bring them together as friends, and audiences like them, too. Dwyer and Haas excel in their roles.

Elphaba, Glinda, Madame Morrible (Marilyn Caskey) and Nessarose (Catherine Charlebois) are all examples of how to ascend to a power position, for good or evil. There’s Elphaba with her natural and earnest power, Glinda with her popularity power, Morrible with her diabolical behind-the-scenes power, and Nessarose, with her power given by nepotism and held onto with might. Except for Morrible, perhaps, we all see the good in these powerful women, even when they make bad choices.

That all this is pulled off in a musical with spectacular songs, fabulous sets and costumes and a compelling story is quite a feat. You won’t leave “Wicked” without kind words to say about it, whether you were most impressed by the technical, vocal, musical or writing talent. It’s too bad that audiences can’t see the orchestra, because they beautifully exemplify what this score can do.

Not to leave out the men: Billy Harrigan Tighe is charming as Fiyero, Timothy Britten Parker is convincing as goat professor Dr. Dillamond, and Dan Pacheco is spot on as Boq. The Wizard (Paul Kreppel) gives one of the best speeches heard on any Broadway tour – sung, of course – about politics and its smiling nefariousness. Kreppel is wonderfully cast as the Wizard. He does a superb job.

Read the complete review {The Herald-Sun}

Buy Wicked Durham NC Tickets Online. Get $10 OFF on Wicked Durham Performing Arts Center Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout.

Wicked is currently performing on tour in North Charleston, SC at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center is a magical experience. Anne Brummel stars as Elphaba and Tiffany Haas is Glinda in the touring production of “Wicked.”

Wicked flown into the North Charleston Performing Arts Center for a nearly two-week engagement from April 18 to April 29, 2012.

Here is the review by Laura J. Gough @ The Post and Courier:

The PAC has been transformed into the magical land of Oz, complete with Munchkinland and the Yellow Brick Road.

“Wicked” tells the story of Elphaba and Glinda before Dorothy and before they became their more famous alter egos — the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.

Anne Brummel (left) stars as Elphaba and Tiffany Haas is Glinda in the touring production of “Wicked.” Theatergoers young and old showed up in elaborate costumes and greeted each other in the lobby as if they had known each other for years. They had only just met. As audience members entered the auditorium, the stage already had been brought to life by a red-eyed, smoke-breathing dragon hovering above the stage.

The scene was complete with a glittering map of Oz, and even the ushers were adorned with green bow ties. As the first round of Munchkins jumped and danced on stage, the excitement of the evening really set in. Soon entered Glinda (played by Tiffany Haas), floating down from above on her make-shift bubble. They rejoiced — the Wicked Witch was dead.

As the cast started into the first number, “No One Mourns the Wicked,” Haas got off to a shaky start. By the end of the first act, Brummel reminded us all that the Wicked Witch was worth rooting for in her amazing rendition of “Defying Gravity.” The end of the song has Brummel flying high above the stage bringing to life the tragic split of the friendship between her and Glinda.

Read the complete review {Via PostandCourier.com}

The Tony- and Grammy Award-winning blockbuster Wicked Musical will be at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center through April 29, 2012. Get $10 OFF on Wicked North Charleston SC Tickets Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout.

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.

Wicked Musical Review at the Apollo Victoria Theatre by The Fan Carpet Youtube Channel.

Wicked is a standing production in the London GL at the Apollo Victoria. It’s well worth seeing. Buy Wicked London, United Kingdom Tickets Online, Use Code AFF$10 to Get $10 off on Wicked Apollo Victoria Ticket Orders over $350!

The national tour of the blockbuster musical, Wicked is currently performing at Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, 166 Capitol Ave. Hartford. This is a return engagement at the Bushnell of the hit show, now in its eighth year on Broadway, and still the top-grossing show there.

The back story of the Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba) from “The Wizard of Oz,” based on Gregory Maguire’s fanciful book and her relationship with Glinda, the Good Witch.

All the bells, whistles and flying monkeys are here. Solid performing throughout — especially Dee Roscioli as Elphaba and Amanda Jane Cooper as Glinda. Roscioli has the right dry take to deliver Winnie Holzman’s sardonic lines for the outcast character. She also has the pipes to deliver the emotionally rich big notes that composer Stephen Schwartz sprinkles throughout the show. Cooper is a hoot as the self-centered Glinda but also goes deeper as we see the character grow from good-time girl to someone with a moral center. Nice jobs, too, by Randy Danson as Madame Morrible, Mark Jacoby as the Wizard (has the role ever been as well sung?) and Colin Hanlon as Fiyero.

Read the complete review Via {courant.com}

Wicked runs until September 11, 2011 at the Mortensen Hall Bushnell Theatre. Buy Wicked Hartford CT Tickets Online, Use Code AFF$10 to Get $10 off on Orders over $350!

If you’re a fan of The Wizard of Oz, then Wicked is the must see equivalent in musical form. Though the story is different, many of the same characters are dealt with, and this musical is fun, romantic, and creative.

While The Wizard of Oz focuses on Dorothy Gale and her trip to the magical land of Oz, Wicked is a bit different. This musical focuses on Elphaba (known in The Wizard of Oz as the Wicked Witch of the West) and Galinda, later known as Glinda (the Good Witch). The musical explores Elphaba and Glinda in their younger days when they attended school together, and the way that it progresses helps to demonstrate how Elphaba became perceived as evil and how this is an entirely incorrect interpretation.

Read the complete Review via TheCelebrityCafe.com

Wicked is currently playing on tour in Eugene-OR (April 20 to May 01, 2011) and Buffalo-NY (April 27 to May 22, 2011). Check out the complete Wicked Tour Schedule.