Review: Wicked

Magic for adults

This is strong and joyful theatre – there is drama, enthusiasm, a skilled orchestra and a great team. Nothing has been done lazily; Everything is in place. The large stage is spectacularly used from corner to corner and from ceiling to floor: aerial flights, soap bubble dances, flames and even a screen full of “water”.

The musical Wicked, based on Gregory Maguire’s novel The Witch, has been a worldwide success, and there is no need to be ashamed of the Finnish production either: Maria Ylipää sings wonderfully as a girl disguised as green, Anna-Maija Tuokko is a captivatingly comical pampered blonde, and Tuukka Leppänen is a believable object of passion. It is about friendship, difference, love and tolerance between girls, but also about the desire for power, pushiness and the falsehood of relationships.

The story takes place before the events of the classic novel The Wizard of Oz , and the lessons are largely simplistic from a fairy tale. The wizard may turn out to be a fake, and the pushed girl will become a skilled magician. An evil father gets his reward, and animal rights are just as important as human rights.

Behind the legends and myths, there are wise meanings and other shades than the black and white of traditional fairy tales. The musical sinks perfectly into at least the adult taste in mysticism. Refined entertainment.