{"id":1195,"date":"2011-07-25T20:03:12","date_gmt":"2011-07-26T03:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wickedthemusicalticketsonline.com\/blog\/?p=1195"},"modified":"2011-07-25T20:03:12","modified_gmt":"2011-07-26T03:03:12","slug":"northern-alberta-jubilee-auditorium-review-wicked-is-a-musical-spectacle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.wickedthemusicalticketsonline.com\/blog\/northern-alberta-jubilee-auditorium-review-wicked-is-a-musical-spectacle\/","title":{"rendered":"Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium Review – Wicked is a Musical Spectacle"},"content":{"rendered":"

The touring musical Wicked, now parked at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium<\/a> until Aug. 7, is a high flier.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s the green-skinned Wicked Witch of the West levitating on her broomstick or Glinda the Good\u2019s perky descent from the sky on a bubble machine, this is a show that floats on theatre magic.<\/p>\n

Right from the start, Eugene Lee\u2019s set grabs audience attention with some pretty jaw-dropping mechanical gizmos \u2014 a smoke-blowing dragon poised above the proscenium stage and a backdrop of timed cogs, wheels and gears that open and close like spells in a book of enchantment.<\/p>\n

But the heart of Gregory Maguire\u2019s story, a precursor to Frank Baum\u2019s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, lies with two young women that meet at sorcery school.<\/p>\n

Elphaba is an intelligent, magically talented witch that smarts at being treated like a pariah by her peers because she has green skin. Her leading rival is Galinda, later known as Glinda, a vain, cosmetically-perfect gal constantly surrounded by adoring sycophants.<\/p>\n

They end up as constantly bickering, unenthusiastic roommates. But over time the duo forges an ironclad friendship that withstands the greatest crisis Oz must face.<\/p>\n

Through their contrasting personalities director Joe Mantello (Assassins) puts society under a microscope. He examines our preference to embrace image over substance and take the easy road over performing hard, noble acts.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s the dark, power-hungry undertones of the Wizard\u2019s attempt to silence dissenters in the Land of Oz that resonates sharply with the corrupt politicking within our own modern world.<\/p>\n

Ultimately the three-hour musical challenges idealism versus reality, life versus death and friendship versus politics as Elphaba develops a sympathy for the oppressed. And it definitely confronts the certainties of love when both women fall for the same man, Fiyero, a playboy prince.<\/p>\n

Stephen Schwartz\u2019s heavily thematic music and lyrics, resembling more a film score than a traditional musical, soars with a certain majesty and beautifully illustrates the characters\u2019 many moods.<\/p>\n

In this coming-of-age story, both women undergo major personal discoveries. The multi-faceted Anne Brummel as Elphaba is a belter, a vocal powerhouse that stomps around the stage in heart-churning numbers such as I\u2019m Not That Girl and Defying Gravity.<\/p>\n

Equally balanced against Brummel\u2019s robust personality is Natalie Daradich\u2019s Glinda, a singer with a crystal soprano voice that outdoes herself in Popular. She is also a gifted comedienne that imbues her ditsy character with squeaks and coos yet morphs throughout the show into one of Emerald City\u2019s great leaders.<\/p>\n

David Nathan Perlow as Fiyero, the pampered campus stud is loaded with roguish charm and Michelle London\u2019s Nessarose adds a controlling shrewish subtext.<\/p>\n

Jody Gelb\u2019s Madame Morrible, the school\u2019s self-serving headmistress, is appropriately evil and Martin Moran\u2019s Dr. Dillamond, the talking goat-professor compassionately personifies the oppressed.<\/p>\n

Kenneth Posner\u2019s striking light design, Tony Meola\u2019s complex sound design and Susan Hilferty\u2019s elegant costumes also get a special nod for artistic expression.<\/p>\n

Complete Review {Via St. Albert Gazette<\/a>}<\/p>\n

See Wicked at Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium<\/a> performing through Sunday, August 07. Buy Wicked Edmonton Alberta Canada Tickets<\/a>, Use Code AFF$10 to Get $10 OFF on Orders over $350!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The touring musical Wicked, now parked at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium until Aug. 7, is a high flier. Whether it\u2019s the green-skinned Wicked Witch of the West levitating on her broomstick or Glinda the Good\u2019s perky descent from the sky on a bubble machine, this is a show that floats on theatre magic. Right […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[518,516,514,515,283,519],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.wickedthemusicalticketsonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1195"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.wickedthemusicalticketsonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.wickedthemusicalticketsonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.wickedthemusicalticketsonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.wickedthemusicalticketsonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1195"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.wickedthemusicalticketsonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1195\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1196,"href":"http:\/\/www.wickedthemusicalticketsonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1195\/revisions\/1196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.wickedthemusicalticketsonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.wickedthemusicalticketsonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.wickedthemusicalticketsonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}