Wicked Review

Overall Rating

The openings to both Acts, and the closing to both Acts - all hugely moving numbers!

None.

Wicked was the first musical I ever saw in the West End, and I was not disappointed.

From the moment the dragon towering above the stage came to life to signal the beginning of the show, I was spellbound in my seat. This show has everything - enormous, colourful, glittering and above all, realistic sets, a cast of hugely talented actors and actresses who carried their parts perfectly, a script that moved you to tears when required, and laughter when needed! The story was brilliant - it tied in neatly with The Wizard of Oz, and flowed nicely throughout - there were no parts to the show when you would be thinking hmmm, get on with it. I loved it all.

I was a bit hesitant about Elphaba (the Wicked Witch) - would her greenness look genuine, or ridiculously OTT? Thankfully, it was the former. Elphaba (played by Kerry Ellis) was perfection - her slightly sarcastic humour made her slightly bitter, hurt character be revealed as the tragic heroine she really was. And Glinda the Good Witch, the comic relieve of the show, certainly didn ' t disappoint. Popular, her first solo number, and a real laugh, was one of the songs I was highly anticipating - and it was just as it should be. Sweet, hilarious and catchy, it had everyone smiling throughout, and earned Dianne Pilkington a 5 minute long ovation.

Defying Gravity had everyone quivering in their seats, with the hair on the backs of their necks standing on end. Once again, Miss Ellis 'ovation was well deserved.

I won ' t give anything else away, as the surprises in this show are phenomenal, so I ' ll finish on one note - if you want to see a show that ' ll have you enthralled from the beginning to end, that ' ll have you singing along, that can move you to tears and make you laugh till your stomach hurts, see Wicked - it ' s simply mesmerizing!