Saturday, September 22, 2007

Wicked


I thought, when I came across the expression, Wicked Tickets, that the promoter was speaking some kind of teen slang, since ‘wicked’ usually denotes something that’s anything but wicked. It’s more likely to be awesome or incredible or out of sight (as they used to say in the dark ages).
But in fact the use of the word ‘wicked’ in this case is perfectly sound: it relates to a fairly new musical called ‘Wicked’ which tells the backstory of the two witches from the Wizard of Oz: the one with the emerald-green skin (aka The Wicked Witch of the West) and the beautiful Glinda, who, it appears, is ambitious and very popular, and perhaps not as nice as she appears.
In brief, Wicked explores the idea that the Wicked Witch of the West, known in this version as Elphaba Thropp, was a misunderstood and victimized person whose behaviour is the result of a reaction against a false wizard's corrupt government. Her relationship with Galinda Upland, who in due course becomes Glinda the Good Witch of the North, goes through a series of struggles as they overcome the conflicts that result from their polar personalities, their opposing viewpoints, their rivalry over the same man, and finally, Elphaba's fall from grace.
Promoters are offering tickets for this musical for all sorts of places on its whistle-stop tour, but of course there would be only one city to go and see it in. Yup, Kansas City.

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