Review: Wicked Good WICKED at PPAC

The musical WICKED is officially 12 years old, but it isn't showing its age in the slightest. If anything, in the current political climate, the far away Land of OZ feels more real than ever, and the political issues that drive Elphaba to become The Wicked Witch, draw a spooky parallel with current news stories. That's not to say that this show is all doom and gloom, but rather just an incredibly smart prequel to the much-loved Wizard of Oz with some of the catchiest and most powerful songs ever. Marry an excellent story with a phenomenally talented cast, fantastic sets and a powerful orchestra and you have a production that continues to amaze even through multiple viewings. The national tour of Wicked has resulted in nearly 17 million people watching this show, and it's a pretty safe bet that most of those people would like to see it again.

At its most basic Wicked is a story of friendship and loyalty, and that simple premise is strong enough to serve as an excellent foundation for the more complicated twists and turns that human (and Ozian) life must endure. It's also very much a story that showcases history being written by the victors, and how having the right opinion at the wrong time can be seen as a mistake, instead of as having conviction. Jessica Vosk plays Elphaba--the future Wicked Witch, in this production and manages to really perfectly capture the growing pains of someone who is different, pre-judged, but also smart enough to know what she believes and really go after it, even if it makes other people uncomfortable. Her eagerness in Act I--to both fit in, but also make it seem like not fitting in doesn't bother her is so perfectly expressed that it's heartbreaking. She's stubborn and difficult but also fiercely loyal to her sister-- and she's just a kid living away from home for the first time trying to figure out what is important to her.

Vosk manages to capture all the facets of this very complicated character and bring them to life so perfectly that watching her is an immersive experience. The shift in character from Act I to Act II, when Elphaba is more grown up and is starting to see the way the world and the Wizard really are, is completely believable and perfectly in keeping with this person who the audience really knows and understands. Wicked is known best for the songs and story, but Vosk's acting performance is much rawer than one might typically see in a spectacular musical, and it serves the story perfectly. While other characters come across as more cartoonish, the girl with the green skin really becomes the most relatable.

This standout performance doesn't in any way overshine the other exceptional members of the cast. Amanda Jane Cooper is wonderful as Glinda. She bursts onto stage as a relentlessly charismatic blonde, and is the perfect contrast to Elphaba's dour expressions. She also manages to play the part of an incessantly perky person without making herself incredibly annoying. She's a bit cartoonish, but frequently injects excellent moments of levity and heart at precisely the right moment. Both of the main actresses have perfect comic timing and the jokes land exactly as they should.

Unlike the film The Wizard of Oz, we get to see much more of the Wizard in this play, and his motivations for power and control run a scary parallel to past and present political figures. Stuart Zagnit captures the spirit of this "dime a dozen mediocrity" who through sheer dumb luck manages to become the leader of a country. Like all the characters, the Wizard is complicated in that on the surface he seems like an affable fellow from the Midwest who is just trying to scrape out a living, but then he says things like "the best way to bring folks together is to give them good enemies" and [I told them lies], "but they were lies they wanted to hear." The Wizard is a regular man who happened to crash land into circumstances where people started calling him wonderful, and that feels too good to let go of. Even while knowing it's wrong to perpetuate a lie, it's also a comfortable existence to be the man behind the curtain, and small acts to stay in that position eventually start to snowball and have a real impact on regular Ozians.

Truly it is the mark of excellent writing that a production like this can have so many layers, but there are also songs that will stay with you long after the last curtain drops. From the dramatic and striking "No One Mourns The Wicked" opener to "Defying Gravity" at the end of Act I, these are songs that are so perfectly done that they capture the feeling and magic of the land of Oz while also speaking volumes about the characters singing them. Lest anyone worry, Vosk's performance of "Defying Gravity" is spectacular and will bring tears to even the most stone-faced spectator.

It goes without saying, and the awards and longevity of this production pretty much prove that Wicked is a fantastic show that is well worth watching. In particular, this cast does an exceptionally good job with the already solid source material. Even after multiple viewings, this is a show that can still surprise and delight, which is a rare and wonderful thing.

Amanda Jane Cooper as Glinda and Jessica Vosk as Elphaba Photo by Joan Marcus

Wicked runs September 21 - October 8 at Providence Performing Arts Center, 220 Weybosset St, Providence, RI. Tickets are available at ppacri.org or by calling (401)-241-2787 (ARTS)

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