Last night, Ianiv and I had a date night out to see Wicked, currently touring across Canada with Broadway Across America.

I’ve read all of the Wicked trilogy (Wicked, Son of a Witch, and A Lion Among Men) and have always wanted to see the theatrical adaptation. I was not disappointed! The production tells the story of Elphaba as a young girl, growing up in the shadow because of her green colour. She attends University with her sister, Nessarose, who is wheelchair-bound and meets there Glinda, the popular and petty opposite of Elphaba. Both fall in love with the same man, Fiyero. And through it all is a political struggle for the rights of Animals (sentient animals who can talk).

At University, Elphaba discovers her “quirky” side is an aptitude for being a witch and begins to dream of someday doing good. However, on her path to doing good, and meeting the Wizard of Oz, her good deeds are misconstrued and used against her to brand her as “wicked.”

The 2011 Wicked Vancouver cast included Ann Brummel (Elphaba), Marilyn Caskey (Madame Morrible) and Tiffany Haas (Glinda understudy). We had an understudy for The Wizard as well. Despite having two understudies, the play was beautifully performed. The first scene with Glinda was a little rocky, but she seemed to find her footing after that and performed perfectly. Ann Brummel did an amazing job as Elphaba. Truly beautiful.

What did you think of the performance?