Wicked The Musical starts its third UK tour at the Edinburgh Playhouse, from 7 December 2023 to 14 January 2024 before traveling across the country.
The musical follows the story of the friendship between Galinda & Elphaba in their college years and their journey to becoming Glinda The Good and The Wicked Witch of The West.
What this current UK tour shows is that despite running for 20 years around the world, this OZ prequel has lost none of its staying power and even having been translated for tour, it lacks none of its spectacle and wonder.
Led by Laura Pick and Sarah O’Connor, the cast is spellbinding. No surprise considering Pick played the role of Elphaba during more than 350 performances and O’Connor is no stranger to the West End stage having covered parts in Waitress and Frozen. While some small errors occurred during the show – a flying monkey being caught in the wizard head contraption and Glinda dropping her wand downstairs – the actors played this off naturally.
The iconic score continues to delight with musical theatre staples such as Defying Gravity. However, the highlight of the matinee performance was Act 2’s For Good, sung full of emotion and a perfect farewell between our two lead characters. ‘Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better, I do believe I have been changed for the better’, they share with one another, believing they have changed For Good through knowing each other—a simple but impactful sentiment.
Act 1’s Dancing Through Life is another highlight, full of Carl Man’s (Fiyero) charisma and demonstrating the ensemble’s impeccable dancing talent and Laura Pick’s great comedic timing.
The book, by Winnie Holzman, provides plenty of easter eggs and callbacks for Wizard of OZ fans while creating an engaging backstory that does not detract from the original material.
Wicked The Musical’s current UK tour shows that the material does not lack any thrill despite its two-decade dominance over the theatre industry and may even persist for another 20 years.
Featured Image Credit: WICKED The Musical
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Arts Editor 24/25
Press email: arts@brignews.com
