Wicked

Knowing that the majority of my blogs thus far have been about movies and books, you are probably expecting that Wicked refers to the novel. Sadly for you, this assumption would be wrong. It is, in fact, referring to the Broadway/stage production based on the book by the same name.

That's right! I went to the theatre with my family for my sister's birthday. And the journey to get there is a story in itself. Let me make it brief without taking away the   thrills of the adventure. My parents both went to school and/or lived in Toronto in the past and so feel that they know the city fairly well. Note: it has been a long time since they have been downtown on a regular basis. We pulled into a parking lot a block or two away from the Mirvish block of theatres and walk of fame stuff. My parents were under the impression that the Ed Mirvish theatre was in this area. If you know Toronto, you know that they were wrong. But no one had bothered to check directions because they both assumed that the other person would do it. By this time we had already paid for parking so we took a half hour walk across the city and arrived 10 minutes late.

Luckily, it was easy to pick up what we had missed. It helps that it is the backstory to The Wizard of Oz, so I could use the movie as a reference point for some things. The play is about two very different young witches. One with great potential who fears her powers and one who thinks that she is going to be great even though she has no reason to believe it. Their names are Elphaba (Elphi) and Galinda. Elphaba's only friend is her sister because she scares people away with her magic and green skin. Elphaba's sister is in a wheelchair because of her magic. They all attend a boarding school for potential witches and wizards where Galinda is the most popular student. Until prince Fiyero arrives.

Elphie and Galinda are made to room together and so become good friends, except that they both like Fiyero.

Eventually, things start to go wrong, as they always must. For some reason the animals of Oz are being captured and losing the ability to talk. When their goat professor gets fired, Galinda protests by changing her name to Glinda (since he pronounced it this way). When a captured lion is brought in for the students to see, Fiyero helps Elphie set it free. Then thanks to hre abilities, Elphie gets a chance to meet the Wizard of Oz. She knows this to be her opportunity to get him to set things right. However, it was also Glinda's dream to meet the Wizard, so she asks for her friend to be allowed to come along.

The Wizard reveals that he is not the person the girls believed him to be, and neither is their headmistress. When Elphie is tricked into doing something she believes to be wrong, she runs and becomes a fugitive. After this point, the plot of The Wizard of Oz becomes the backdrop as we see what was happening behind the scenes. Thanks to Elphie, we discover the origin of the ruby slippers, the tin man, the lion, and the scarecrow. I won't tell you more specifics because it would ruin the outcome, and I want you (whether by watching or reading it) to discover the twists and turns for yourself.

I will say that not all of these things work out with the way that the story of The Wizard of Oz goes (unless the original book plot is a bit different from the movie). Nevertheless, it was a brilliant reimagining.

It is a story of love and sacrifice. A message about secrets and the hurt that they can cause and/or prevent. Most importantly, it is about change. The plot is well done and the songs are beautiful, catchy, and powerful. I loved it! I only wish I could see it again.