Telling a story for the ages for “The Wizard of Oz” fans (and isn’t that everybody?) “Wicked” still dazzles and delights as it enters its third decade.
The national tour of the blockbuster musical (the fourth-longest running show on Broadway) onstage at the Orpheum Theatre through Oct. 13 is as colorful and thrilling as it was in its successful pre-Broadway premiere here in San Francisco in 2003.
While it perhaps doesn’t pack quite the same emotional punch as it did when new on the scene, the Tony Award-winner by Stephen Schwartz (music) and Winnie Holzman (book) based on novelist Gregory Maguire’s prequel to L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” remains the brilliant back story of the famed witches who went on to cross paths with Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion (and were immortalized in the beloved 1939 movie adaptation).
As the green-bodied Elphaba, who became the cackling Wicked Witch of the West, Lauren Samuels portrays the show’s most sympathetic and dynamic character with gusto, really breaking out in her big number “Defying Gravity.” With subtlety and all-out emotion, she illustrates how the slighted soul simply was misunderstood. She’s a great everywoman.
As “good” witch Glinda (originally Galinda!), Austen Danielle Bohmer is tuneful (she gets the popular song “Popular”) but perhaps not as believably spunky as some of her predecessors in the role.
Interestingly, experiencing “Wicked” in 2024 (particularly for audiences already familiar with the truly ingenious plot) offers more than the fantastic tale of a friendship and rivalry between two female sorcerers. And, of course, a love triangle, with Fiyero (Xavier McKinnon) who romances both.
Upon repeated viewing, and especially during this election year, “Wicked’s” themes addressing prejudice, the nature of power and social injustice really come to the fore. The sad fate of Doctor Dillamond (a goat who teaches at the school where Elphaba and Glinda meet, played by Kingsley Leggs); the subjugation of the flying monkeys; and the machinations of school headmistress Madame Morrible (Aymee Garcia) and The Wizard (Blake Hammond) are downright political.
Directed by Joe Mantello, and with sets by Eugene Lee and costumes by Susan Hilferty, “Wicked” looks as good as ever, not an easy feat given the standard-setting cinema classic to which it’s indelibly tied. Dancing Emerald City residents are decked out eye-catching steampunk wardrobes; Glinda, in full skirt and ruffles, wafts in a bubble; and, excitingly, the iconic pointy witch’s hat and glittering shoes are cleverly introduced.
Seeing “Wicked” live may be the perfect prelude to the long-anticipated, years-in-the making movie version directed by Jon M. Chu. With the first film of a two-part series slated for theatrical release on Nov. 22, it’s just a matter of time before audiences likely will make Cynthia Erivo (as Elphaba) and Ariana Grande (as Glinda) the quintessential witches of “Wicked.”
“Wicked” continues through Oct. 13 at the Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market St., San Francisco. Tickets are $80-$300 at broadwaysf.com.
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