The Wicked performance at the Home of the Arts, presented by Matt Ward Entertainment, was a night to remember. Not only was it a splendid evening filled with beautiful set design, costuming, lights and musicality but there was a feeling of suspense in the room for the more dramatic songs of the night. There were no disappointments when it came to delivering each and every hit from the musical. At its core Wicked is a tale about not fitting in and defying expectations, but is also offers up a lot of heartfelt and romantic elements throughout.
From ‘No One Mourns the Wicked’ to ‘The Wizard and I’ to ‘Dancing Through Life’ and ‘Popular’, the first act was thriving and made for an enjoyable start to the show and featured the talented Samantha Dodemaide as Elphaba and Emily Monsma as Glinda. Excellent production design work from Maria-Rose Payne made for a lively and fitting display. Not to mention the set construction by Darren Curtis and flying and rigging work by Theatre Safe Australia ensuring that the set was beyond real. Costumes and hair and make-up were on point and the orchestra was lively and emotive. With tunes such as ‘What Is This Feeling?’ and heartfelt classics such as ‘I’m Not That Girl’ and ‘Defying Gravity’ it wasn’t hard to see that the audience appreciated the repertoire of songs from the musical with consistent cheering.
The story, based on the 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, focuses on the perspective of a Witch in a way that often stories don’t. Focusing on a supposedly evil character and shedding light on their perspective and ultimately their humanity is an aspect of Wicked that makes it a very special musical. It all starts when Elphaba and Glinda meet each other at Shiz University as sorcery students to discover, little by little, that there’s more than meets the eye. Unlikely friends but friends nonetheless, the two begin to acknowledge each other’s differences and come to an understanding after plenty of initial misunderstanding.
The interesting charisma between the two is demonstrated through the tune ‘What Is This Feeling?’ where their true feelings come to life. But when all is said and done it’s pieces like ‘For Good’ that turn the tables and show that Glinda and Elphaba shared a special, if not brief, connection between each other. These songs all tell a story and that is the beauty to watching a musical, you get to experience it all through song. Through the wonderful voices of Dodemaide and Monsma it hasn’t hard to fall in love with the story of Wicked even if you haven’t come across it before. It really all comes to life, in particular when Elphaba starts to fly, and the discovery of her powers come into play. Not to mention the flying monkeys, and Elphaba’s efforts to save them.
When Elphaba starts to fly for ‘Defying Gravity’ you know it’s getting good. But there were also other enjoyable moments that weren’t so dramatic such as Fiyero’s ‘Dancing Through Life’ and Doctor Dillamond’s ‘Somethin’ Bad’ that make the journey along the way all the more enjoyable. Each and every song brings something to the story of Wicked and it gets better in the second act, and more complicated, as evergreen Elphaba falls for Glinda’s love interest. ‘As Long As You’re Mine’ is a passionate number between Elphaba and Fiyero that intensifies as the two embrace each other throughout the song. There’s nothing quite like unexpected love and when Glinda realises this she has her own version of ‘I’m Not That Girl’.
Overall a charming piece of musical theatre is Wicked at the fantastic Home of the Arts stage on the Gold Coast. Don’t miss your chance to see it.
25 June - 6 July 2019
Home of the Arts, Gold Coast
Joanna Letic