Random Musings

Because I was in London for a rather limited period of time, I was only able to choose ONE West End musical to watch.

Naturally, it had to be “Wicked” because I’d heard so much about it from friends who say it’s the greatest new musical there is on West End. The Independent hails “Wicked” as “the West End’s most successful new musical”, and it is quite possibly the hottest production on West End right now, apart from the newly-released “Oliver!” starring Rowan Atkinson which might give it a run for its money in the weeks and months to come.

(By the way, I passed up my beloved Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Carousel” over “Wicked”…which was a very painful decision to make. I don’t think I can find “Carousel” being staged in many other parts of the world apart from West End and maybe Broadway. And by the next time I get to visit West End again…I’m not sure if “Carousel” would still be running. Chances are it wouldn’t be.)

…

Sets

So I entered the Apollo Victoria Theatre with very high expectations, eagerly anticipating a night of fantastic musical theatre.

First of all, let me just say that “Wicked” definitely had the best sets I’d ever seen in a musical. But then again, it was the only musical I’d ever seen on West End thus far, so that wouldn’t come as a surprise.

But by any standards, the sets and props for “Wicked” were just jaw-dropping. I’d never seen a stage so elaborately set up and so well-designed before. The enormous mechanical dragon at the top portion of the stage was alone worth three-quarters of the admission price.

And the lighting for the entire production was first-class too.

I reckon musicals on West End and Broadway are able to build far more sophisticated sets as compared to those who come to our Esplanade, simply because the productions here are just temporary…whereas those on West End and Broadway can run for years.

Music

The reason why they use the term “musical” in the phrase “musical theatre” is because music (or the songs, rather) is a essential part of any musical production.

The songs make or break the musical.

A great musical cannot possibly have mediocre or above-average songs and expect to make up for it in terms of acting, book, plot twists, sets, lighting and effects. It just doesn’t work that way. If the songs are only incidental to a musical, then we might as well be watching a play instead.

Now I usually pay a lot of attention on the songs in any musical. And when I heard the overture to “Wicked”, followed by the opening number in the musical…let’s just say that I was a bit underwhelmed by it all.

And throughout the musical, I paid great attention to both the music and the lyrics of all the songs, and my conclusion was that the songs weren’t as good as I hoped they would be. Well, to put it simply, there wasn’t a single song that made a deep impression on me (and I wasn’t trying to be difficult ok).

That’s the bottomline. For some reason, the songs in “Wicked” didn’t move me at all. And neither did they strike me as being fantastic or brilliant. Were they enjoyable? Yes they were. Did they contribute to the movement of the plot and were they a critical element of the show? Of course they were. But they just didn’t seem outstanding to me.

(It’s kinda like the songs to “Avenue Q” as well. What is it with the songs to new musicals nowadays? Why aren’t they as strong as those in the musicals of the good ol’ days? I dunno.)

And it is precisely because of the lack of quality songs (in my opinion) in “Wicked” which made me conclude that the musical did not live up to my lofty expectations of it.

Acting

In terms of acting and singing, one couldn’t ask for anything more really.

As would be expected of a West End production, the acting all round was superb. I particularly enjoyed Glinda’s performance (played by Dianne Pilkington). Her voiced soared like a true soprano in full bloom, being held back at times only because her role required for it to be so. I felt Dianne Pilkington was the real star of the show, slightly eclipsing the performance put in by Kerry Ellis (who played Elphaba).

Book / Plot

One regret I had was that I didn’t manage to find the time to watch “The Wizard Of Oz” one more time before travelling to London, hence my recollection of the original movie (upon which “Wicked” is based on) was hazy at best.

Hence, it is my suspicion that I might have missed out on a number of references throughout the musical that linked back to the original movie classic, which was a pity.

However, I have no doubt that the entire plot of “Wicked” was brilliantly thought-out. And many of the lines were incredibly funny too!

Conclusion

Overall, one would have to say that “Wicked” guarantees a night of value-for-money, delightful entertainment. The many standing ovations it received at the end of the show was a testament to that.

However, as mentioned, one should not watch the show with the expectation of music or lyrics of the highest calibre.

And because the songs in any musical are rather important to me, I have to admit that I left the Apollo Victoria Theatre that night feeling slightly underwhelmed by the whole experience.

And part of me wondered if I should have gone for “Carousel” instead.

…

My Grading

Sets – 10

Music / Songs – 6

Acting – 8

Book / Plot – 9

Entertainment Value – 9.5

Overall – 8.5