Reminiscence on Wicked

Most Americans will have, at some point in our lives, seen the movie Wizard of Oz. Most of us will only remember the film vaguely from our childhood, recalling something of the lines:

Ding Dong! The Witch is dead.

Which Old Witch? The Wicked Witch!

Ding Dong the Wicked Witch is dead!

The song that the munchkins sing when Dorothy’s house lands on the Wicked Witch of the East. And then we may also recall, if somewhat vaguely, the song “We’re Off to See The Wizard.” The song where Dorothy and the Scarecrow head off on a wild adventure across Oz, meeting the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion along the way.

But, sometime in 1995 our entire perception of Dorothy, the Wizard and the Wicked Witch of the West were comepletely turned on their heads when Gregory Maguire published his book Wicked, The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. The book took the story, turned it around and set it on its head. Then in 2003, the musical had its world premiere in San Francisco, and we were all completely taken aback.

In Wicked we meet a girl that is barely recognizable as the Wicked Witch that Dorothy melts in the Wizard of Oz. Instead we find ourselves face-to-face with a young woman whose green skin is the only thing to connect her to the witch.  Her fiery spirit and passionate care for truth, life and others is something entirely different from the wicked green woman who imprisoned the flying monkeys and wrecked havoc with Dorothy and her friends. This incredibly fascinating musical is currently playing in Appleton, Wisconsin; New York; and San Francisco, California. Get your Wicked tickets today!

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