Overview
The Wizard of Oz was a Hollywood classic film famous for being the first colour film in history - the audience's perspective literally changing halfway through the film from black and white to colour. It's only fitting then that its meta-story Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz also shows audience another broader perspective on life.
Wicked is not just some yuppie extension of a successful film, it's its own work of genius. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, the plot seamlessly weaves between heavy philosophical elements - examining Socrates' statement about the 'unexamined life', and questioning whether the truth is 'facts... (or) what everyone agrees on', and pure beautiful spectacle: the entire show - its costumes, stage, actors, cost $12.5 million. Even the little details - like the wigs, were carefully thought-out. Wicked has 69 wigs in total, each custom built and costing around US$1600 to US$2700, and some actors making up to eight wig changes from the beginning of the play until the end.
Wicked's plot follows Elphaba (Jemma Rix) and Galinda (Suzie Mathers), and how they become known as 'The Wicked Witch of the West' and 'Glinda the Good'. The musical is a rollercoaster ride of entertainment densly packed with love triangles, modern day American political references, singing, philosophy, dancing, mechanical dragons and bubbles.
It's the show of 2013 I say.
