Review: Wicked
WICKED TAKES YOU AWAY
One of the most expensive productions becomes a huge success
Helsinki City Theatre has been investing in musical theatre for a long time. Right after the first night, I dare to name the musical Wicked as a great success. It is the most expensive, or at least one of the most expensive, of HKT’s productions in recent years.
HKT boldly included Wicked in its repertoire as only the third theatre in Europe. Before that, it has only been seen in London and Stuttgart. It premiered at Broadway’s Gershwin Theatre in October 2003. However, before that, in the spring of 2003, a kind of test drive of Wicked was made at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco.
The first reception in the media was mixed, but the musical was immediately warmly received by the audience. This was also the case after the premiere in Helsinki. And not without reason.
Old Oz brought back to life
After Harry Potter blew up the box office of films, it is expected that the musical Wicked will also be popular with the general public in Helsinki. Stephen Schwartz, the composer of the musical Wicked, and Winnie Holtzman, the author of the book, who followed the premiere in Helsinki, were excited about the Finnish version, which does not fully follow the original content and does not follow the Broadway formula.
The story is largely a variant of the plot of L. Frank Baum’s novel The Wizard of Oz . The story lives in a fantasy world with the themes of good and evil, acceptance of differences, friendship, but also selfishness and sacrifice.
Maria Ylipää and Anna-Maija Tuokko have been confirmed as the star couple, Elphaba and Glinda. Both of them are able to take their difficult vocal roles well and, above all, you can see all the way to the audience how these friends support each other with their performances. His extensive experience in musical theatre is evident.
In the 2000s, Finnish musical theatre has made a dizzying rise in level. Ylipää and Tuokko prove it once again. HKT has taken a risk and won. I have to congratulate the theatre’s management on their ability to put together a team of well over 30 performers and such a star duo.
Behind it was especially Madame Morrible’s Ursula Salo, who is so horribly mean and opportunistic in her role that it cut the viewer.
Heikki Hero as Dr. Dillamon, on the other hand, wins everyone’s sympathy. Nessarose Vuokko Hovatta shows well her talents as both an actress and a singer.
Hans Berndtsson, who has already directed Beauty and the Beast and Mary Poppins at HKT, has also directed this musical Wicked. I haven’t seen any other versions of the musical Wicked, so I can’t compare. In the Helsinki version, there is plenty of speed and there is no dead spot. The events are captivating.
The lighting design has required a lot of work, as evidenced by the lighting effects. The decision by which Elphaba disappears from the stage will puzzle him long after the performance has ended. Thanks must also be given to choreographer Rebecca Evanne and the dancers and conductor Kristian Nyman and his orchestra. A musical cannot succeed without these areas rising to the same level as the other elements of the performance.
The costumes for the musical Wicked are also top-notch. The entire visual look and the whole is on a level that has not been seen in Finland so far.
Of course, an experienced viewer can pick up similarities both in the parts of the songs and in the performance itself. Having seen a total of 13 different versions of Evita, I couldn’t help but remember Elphaba, dressed in a white sleeveless evening gown and long white gloves, speaking to his people from behind the microphone high up in the ceiling. Evita and Elaine Page in London from about three decades ago came to mind at the same time.