Since Wicked’s debut in 2003, it has scooped up over 100 international awards and still continues to be a West End hit 13 years on.
So of course we jumped at the chance to go and see the show for ourselves at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre, where it recently played its landmark 3500th performance.
Think back to L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which tells the story of Dorothy on her quest down the yellow brick road. Gregory Maguire re-imagined the stories and characters of the original in his novel and Wicked was born and turned into the musical 8 years later. It tells the unlikely friendship between two girls who meet as sorcery students and their adventures in Oz where they ultimately become Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West and the ‘wonderful’ wizard is not what he may seem. The characters grip you from the beginning and take you on their own individual journeys through family, friendship, love, defeat and triumph. The two protagonists, Glinda and Elphaba (played by Savannah Stevenson and Emma Hatton), do not only take you through the magical tour of Oz itself, but also represent strong women and an even stronger friendship that, despite the abstract theme and dazzling wizardry, seems completely relatable and inspiring.
Having never seen the play before, it was impossible not to become mesmerised by the stunning music. The infamous song ‘Defying Gravity’ will leave you with goose bumps and the hairs on your arms standing on-end. However, this is to be expected as the music is all written and composed by Grammy and Academy Award winner Stephen Schwartz. The show is completely packed with the perfect amount of funny punchlines, charming characters, show-stopping songs and incredible costumes that will leave you want to see it again and again.
The combination of witty jokes and the heart-warming moral of the storyline makes it the perfect theatre visit for young and old and is obviously why it remains such a huge hit.
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