Sydney Lyric Theatre, September 7
Until December 31<\/strong>
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Wicked <\/em>is back in the Land of Oz. The heartwarming tale of friendship, dressed up in splendorous costumes and fantabulous sets, has returned.<\/p>\n The 2003 musical created by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, is based on Gregory Maguire\u2019s novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. <\/em>The book provides the backstory to the classic fable The Wizard of Oz, <\/em>providing motives and means for the characters and plot twists in the original. The Wicked Witch of the West has a traumatic past, the scarecrow wasn\u2019t always full of sawdust, and Dorothy is a shadowy bit part.<\/p>\n Courtney Monsma, here with Sheridan Adams (Elphaba), dazzles as Glinda. <\/span>Credit: <\/span>Jeff Busby<\/cite><\/p>\n Everyone loves a good backstory: part of Wicked<\/em>\u2019s appeal is the ingenious and detailed reshaping of an iconic childhood fable. But it\u2019s not just neat: with Stephen Schwartz (Pippin, Godspell)<\/em> there is always a side of sedition complementing the compulsory joy of music theatre.<\/p>\n Todd McKenney and Robyn Nevin, are the perfect purveyors of this chilly undercurrent of doublethink. Nevin, as Madame Morrible, wears her malevolence as gracefully as her gowns, while McKenney portrays the Wizard as an affable, ineffectual conman who you underestimate at your peril.<\/p>\n From her entrance, airborne and glittering in a mechanical bubble, Glinda steals this show. Courtney Monsma has graduated from Disney\u2019s Frozen the Musical<\/em> and stepped into Lucy Durack\u2019s big shoes to dazzle the people of Oz with kind words, charisma and brilliant comic timing. Elphaba, played by newcomer Sheridan Adams, doesn\u2019t have a chance when Glinda is on stage, but she makes her mark with her powerful voice, especially in the show-stopping Defying Gravity<\/em>. Liam Head, as Fiyero, is at his best in his earlier numbers, such as Dancing Through Life<\/em>, while Shewit Belay and Kurtis Papadinis, as Nessarose and Boq, are charmingly awkward.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n