BWW REVIEWS: WICKED, King's Theatre, Glasgow, May 6 2014

Before the doors even opened for the Scottish premiere of Wicked, audiences knew they were in for something special. Breaking all records for ticket sales at the King's Theatre over 53,000 tickets were snapped up- selling out weeks in advance.

For those unfamiliar with the story, Wicked offers a glimpse as to what life in Oz was like pre-Dorothy. The tag line for the show is 'the untold story of the witches of Oz' and it centres on the relationship between Glinda the good and Elphaba the 'wicked' witch. It seems that The Wizard of Oz only told one side of the story and that there is a lot more to the misunderstood green girl than you think.

You would expect for a touring show to be scaled down but as someone who has seen the London production more times than they would care to admit- this is not the case at all for Wicked. The sets and costumes are the same quality as the West End version. Wicked is such a visually stunning show and I was so pleased to see that it has the same impact in a touring production.

The roles have been brilliantly cast. Emily Tierney brings a lot of charm and humour as Glinda, a character who you can't help but love despite her vanity. I can't imagine that Elphaba is an easy role to play but Nikki Davis-Jones manages to make it seem effortless. With unrelenting belting songs from start to finish I have no idea where she gets the energy!

While Wicked has long since established its place in the West End I am absolutely thrilled to have it in my home city. This touring production has everything the London one has and I am so glad to see such a wonderful show becoming accessible to people who can't travel to London for theatre.

Wicked is completely sold out for the Glasgow run which finishes on the 31st of May but it returns to Scotland later this year to the Edinburgh Playhouse from November.

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