A Wicked farewell

I know writing a column about Wicked when it has had such extensive coverage on this site over the last two years may seem a bit redundant, but after attending the final Sydney peerformance on the weekend, I got to thinking about a number of aspects of this production which has been one of the most important imports from Broadway in recent years, of this there is no doubt.

I know writing a column about Wicked when it has had such extensive coverage on this site over the last two years may seem a bit redundant, but after attending the final Sydney peerformance on the weekend, I got to thinking about a number of aspects of this production which has been one of the most important imports from Broadway in recent years, of this there is no doubt.

It has run for 12 months in Melbourne and just on 13 months in Sydney, and it now tours Australia with potentially NZ and tours to the East in the wind.

There have been only a handful of musicals to matchWicked in the iconoclastic stakes. Les Mis, Phantom and perhaps The Lion King (certainly for Broadway longevity) fall into this category and Billy Elliot and Jersey Boys are climbing up the icon ladder. After the poperas of the 80s, it seemed for a time that despite some successful new musicals there were not going to be any super hits that would capture worldwide international attention.

Then along came Lion King and hot on its heels Wicked. Stephen Schwartz’s musical was never expected to be a big hit, if you read the great book Defying Gravity about the life and times of Stephen, you will learn that the show had low expectations from the theatre industry in general; and very nearly became a flop.

It was only Schwartz’s determination and belief in the show coupled with his co-writer Winnie Holzman who fought tooth and nail for major changes during its out of town tryouts that helped the show to open in New York. Yet initially it was not a big hit, critics were luke warm, at best, and it quickly found its way onto the half price ticket booth, with pundits predicting a six month run before it disappeared.

Then something happened; Glinda must have waved that wand of hers because suddenly (in much the same way as Les Mis which also opened to low expectations and poor critical rersponse)  a groundswell began and grew and grew and grew. I first saw the show in January 2004 and it was pretty easy to get a ticket, three weeks later (having loved its broard theatricality and the wonderful cast) I went back to see it again on a Wednesday matinee, no go. I managed to scrape one ticket, and the magic had begun. Suddenly the crowd was going crazy, it was like being at a rock concert. On Broadway, the magic has never stopped, it continues to be the biggest seller every week despite many many cast changes. Soon there will be a movie. Show business is so wonderfully unpredictable and the Wicked groupies and fans have multiplied over and over as the show continues to become a social phenomenon.

Watching it last Sunday, it was a joy to see the sort of audience enthusiasm that I had witnessed on Broadway. I have always been disappointed when seeing it in Australia, that there isn’t that (what I cam only describe as) Saturday matinee enthusiasm. The “wow” factor from the audience, wooping and screaming, cheering Elphaba along, roaring when she pops out of the flloor at the end, cheering when Glinda turns the tables on Madame Morrible. This sort of audience reaction is new to the Australian cast and it says a lot abiout the reserve of Australian audiences as a whole, that while enjoying the show, their reactions have been quiet compared to other markets where the show has played. Last Sunday, with the Wicked groupies packing the theatre, they gave the show the sort of reception it gets every day in New York.

What a strong cast we have had in Australia. When Lucy Durack arrived as Glinda in the bubble on Sunday, there was a long, longextended screams and applause for a girl who has hardly missed a performance and has given so much to the role she had dreamed of playing for years. Lucy, Maggie Kirkpatrick and Rodney Dobson have been the ongoing original team that have played the show most performances, joined very closely (and as we know tragically) by the casting of Bert Newton early in the Melbourne season. Fiyeros, Boqs, Nessa Rose has come and gone, but these constants have lead a very strong and talented cast.

Of course, it is no secret Elphaba has presented challenges to the Australian company and it was right that Jemma Rix played the final performance. Jemma  has been there since day one as an Elphaba standby, but never has a standby been on as many times. To my count the Australian production has had SEVEN Elphabas; namely Amanda Harrison, Jemma Rix, Patrice Tipoki, Zoe Gertz, Jennifer DiNoia, Carmen Cusack (the latter two American imports) and Pippa Grandison. Wow. Why? You may ask.

The Answer is complicated.

Amanda Harrison’s struggles with the role (despite her incredible performance) gave way to Jemma Rix doing regular shows each week (as is often the way, with most companies having one Elphaba do six and the other do two). Jemma’s two grew into many more and Amanda retired from the Melbourne company, returned triumphantly to open Sydney but again was striken by vocal dilemmas, again Jemma came to the fore. To ease the load two Americans came in for short periods, Patrice Tipoki (originally an understudy) took four shows in the latter part of the Sydney season, Pippa Grandison popped in for a while and Zoe Gertz regularly understudied all of them going on some 50 times as well as understudying and playing Madame Morrible (a world first to cover both roles I think).

I haven’t seen all of these girls, but have seen many of them, and they all had their strengths, it is a challenging role and Jemma clearly has played it more than  any and is rightly the no 1 choice for the tour. From being an alternate she has risen and stayed and carried a lot of this part of the show on her shoulders.  Congrats to her. A new star is definitely born. It’s a tough role as the many Elphabas have proved.

So Wicked continues in Australia… Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and beyond. May they continue the magic and as John Frost said on Sunday, it won’t be too long and we will be planning the revival!