'Wicked' In Detroit: Not Just Another Pretty Farce

By Michael H. Margolin, EncoreMichigan

If you are considering paying as much as $165 for a premium ticket on New Year's Eve for "Wicked," you will want to know if there is a lot on the stage to look at and listen to.

Well, indeed there is, as this blockbuster musical – now the 14th longest running musical on Broadway with its spawn of touring companies – plays for the third time in Detroit -- this time at the Detroit Opera House, where the show continues through December 31.

The story itself is a clever one, based on Gregory Maguire's book, the untold story of the witches of Oz, especially Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda the Good. Their story begins when they meet in Shiz College: Elphaba, the outsider born with green skin and Galinda, the blond who is immensely popular. (As she will tell you several times during the course of the evening.)

Soon they hate one another, then they are roommates, then, yes dear hearts, they become bosom buddies and guide us through the assault on Oz by Dorothy and the banishment of the Wizard with a number of surprises along the way such as Elphaba's parentage.

Oh, did I say they were both in love with the same man? He is Fiyero, who says of himself, proudly, "I am...self absorbed and deeply shallow."

Nominally the lead, Elphaba provides the heart of the show, as played by Anne Brummel. Her songs are the show's anthems, "I'm Not That Girl" and "No Good Deed" sung with emotion in a voice like chocolate. Then there is her variation on the famous WWW laugh, made famous by Margaret Hamilton in the original "Oz" movie. It surprises and delights.

As Galinda – she later rechristens herself "Glinda" in sympathy with her teacher, Dr. Dillamond, who somehow cannot get her name right. (He is also the last animal teacher, a goat, at Shiz, a p.c. subplot in the show about animals having their power of speech taken from them.) – Tiffany Haas is smashing in the part.

And if there are comparisons to be seen and heard in her performance to comic bombshell/singer Kristin Chenoweth, well that is because the role was developed, in part, in workshop around Chenoweth who originated it on Broadway. But Haas does her own very funny, very well sung thing: The show bounces off her and around her.

By now, you are thinking that you have got your money's worth – and on a weeknight, if you are lucky, you may still pick up a ticket for under $100. (Many performances are rumored to be sold out – or close to it!)

But wait, more to come: The supporting cast is uniformly fine: Emily Ferranti (Nessarose, Elphaba's sister), Dan Pacheco (Boq, the lovelorn factotum) and David Nathan Perlow (Fiyero, the man who loves not wisely, but, finally, well and croons like a Prince.)

Among the character roles, there are three excellent performers who make Oz come alive: Jody Gelb (Madame Morrible, head of Shiz), Martin Moran (a touching portrayal of the goat teacher) and Don Amendolia as the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, whose number "Wonderful" is, indeed. And if you think of Robert Morse, well, he originated the role in "Wicked's" first outing in San Francisco before Joel Grey played it on Broadway.

By now, you are thinking that you have got your money's worth – and on a weeknight, if you are lucky, you may pick up a ticket for under $200, but over $100.

But, yet, there is still more value. The director, Joe Mantello knows how to make a show move, flow like a bonny stream with eddies and cascades. Working hand in glove with Wayne Cilento's musical staging, it is a dream partnership. Cilento borrows from Broadway and ballet dance, but synthesizes it into a movement vocabulary that suggests the oddness of Oz.

Stephen Schwartz wrote the tuneful but not so remarkable music and lyrics with banal rhymes, but the kind of songs that give the singers ample room to show off and to move the plot smartly along. His book writer, Winnie Holzman, writes good performing roles and the humor is often, well, funny – my favorite being a wonderful, silly line that describes the goat teacher's escape, but I will not spoil the fun by printing it here.

Finally there is Eugene Lee's Tony-winning set, a giant mash up of Victorian scaffolding and wizard-like gears. Scenes are seamlessly unfolded as his wonderful constructions seem to float on and off, and the scene of the WWW being "empailed" with Dorothy's water and melting is done cleverly. Add to this Tony winner Susan Hilferty's colorful, unique costumes – with a hint of fashionista aplomb as in Christian Lacroix – the show's visuals trump many a show on the Great White Way.

So, you may just feel immensely satisfied even at the steep prices. Though you might not leave the theater humming the tunes, you will remember Haas twirling her hair, the flying monkeys, the sensational finale to Act I, the sneaky satirical opening of Act II and the joy of a happy ending.

I did.

For tickets and showtimes, visit EncoreMichigan.

Michael H. Margolin reviews local theater productions for www.EncoreMichigan.com, the state's most comprehensive resource for news and information about Michigan's professional theaters. Follow them on Facebook @EncoreMichigan.com.