Is Wicked the best show I've ever seen?

I saw Wicked at Melbourne's Regent Theatre three times early in the run, when I know some of the cast were unwell or recovering from illness and I’ll go back in a month or so to see how it has developed, but here are some thoughts so far. I saw it from the front centre of the Dress Circle one night, allowing a full view of the staging and then twice from seats very near the front so I could see faces and detail. It’s very beautifully designed, though I think perhaps after all the raves I anticipated more spectacle. I realised that the hype built totally unrealistic expectations – something like Harry Potter meets Cirque Du Soleil or La Veillee des Abysses with added singing! The two central characters were excellent; Lucy Durack as Glinda has wonderful comic timing and seems made for the role, extracting every nuance from the script, every bit of humour and pathos, subtle and not-so-subtle. She carries with ease the singing, mixing pop and even coloratura soprano, but I occasionally found the distinct changes in voice a bit disconcerting, whereas Amanda Harrison’s singing sat very comfortably throughout. Her voice is stunning, rich and powerful and I couldn’t wait for her songs. I’ve hated Defying Gravity in some versions and was really happy she could belt the end without becoming strident and screechy, forming a massive climax for the First Act. Her standby Jemma Stevenson is also good, but has more of a pop sound, which I like less, but younger members seem to enjoy more. I’ve never been a Rob Mills fan but felt he had a right to audition and I didn't believe his fan-base big enough to be the reason for casting him. I felt that he did well enough to silence the sceptics. His dancing's very mechanical and I hope it will loosen up, but I thought that his acting and timing were good. He's obviously worked on his voice and has a sweet tone at times, but the first two nights I couldn’t hear him at all in the duet with Amanda and one night his pitch was off in Dancing Through Life in the big ending. He’s often visibly concentrating on technique, especially for higher notes, which I found off-putting, but he's developed more than I expected and I thought that in all he was credible and enjoyable. However, I hope someone will dissuade him from the limelight-stealing antics at curtain-call. It was really unprofessional to be jigging around drawing attention to himself, bending down waving under the curtain as it fell and one night he ended up on the floor with his hands in front of the curtain after it was fully down. It’s a shame that in Anthony Callea as Boq the show has by far the best male voice in a role with so little singing. People next to me had come from WA partly to see him and were bitterly disappointed that his prominence in publicity and discussion was for such a small singing part. Luckily, they enjoyed the production enough that it almost made up for that. I agree with the numerous comments that he's perfectly cast. He was a quirky and cute munchkin, very endearing in his gawky costumes, apparently a little goofier than some of the overseas Boqs. This is obviously intentional, since Ross Hannaford played the role the same way. I felt for Ross when there was a sigh of disappointment from the audience, but he did well too, just slightly less of everything, especially vocally - particularly the last time I saw the show, when Anthony had almost recovered from his illness. His voice just soared on the high notes and his power worked beautifully in the TinMan scene. I loved the chilling miming of the cut-throat gestures from both performers. I haven’t seen much mention of Anthony’s dancing, which is fluid and graceful and many people didn’t realize how much he’s part of the ensemble choreography as he blends in so well. Rob Guest has the poise and charm necessary to play the Wizard and I especially enjoyed his little dances, but he seemed a little strained in the singing, consistently missing one of the falsetto notes. I really enjoyed his role otherwise, despite some doubts about the writing of the character. I was taken a little by surprise each time by the treachery from him and Madame Morrible. I’m not sure if this was me being inattentive or whether the development was just thin. I couldn’t see why Madame Morrible continued to sponsor Elphaba when she'd rebelled and no motive was suggested for the massive change in attitudes to animals. I thought that Glinda was a bit slow not to notice the green vial the first time the Wizard used it, which rather spoilt the big ‘revelation’ when she realised the connection towards the end. I’d read a review commenting on Maggie Kirkpatrick’s voice as Madame Morrible but I didn’t hear her sing. I thought she did well in the role though, with her dignified, cold bearing and I absolutely loved her costumes and her fuddled language. I thought Penny MacNamee was excellent as Nessa-Rose, both in acting and singing. I love her voice and found her totally convincing throughout, sweet at first then finally angry and vengeful. I felt the characterisation and plot development in general was rather uneven. Galinda’s mix of positive and negative was most successful for me and the transition from vacuous vanity to empathy seemed convincing. I found Elphaba’s character less coherent. She's supposed to be good enough to make us empathise with her as a victim of misunderstanding, propaganda and rumour. Yet some of the lines in ‘No Good Deed' contradict that and while the imprisonment of Dorothy and Dodo is treated humorously, that's hardly a 'good person'. Clips of other Elphabas make them seem more stridently evil. Still, I was very happy with Amanda Harrison’s beautifully musical singing which nevertheless led to big climaxes in songs such as Defying Gravity and would opt for this interpretation. Fiyero’s development seems reasonably round, if a little sudden in its change from total empty vanity and laziness, from playboy to champion of the animals. But Boq’s rather thankless part is given so little to say, sing or do to develop his characterisation. I felt I knew some things about him only from reading synopses – that he was wealthy, for example. I’d have loved to hear a solo to establish quickly his adoration of Glinda, rather than his having to portray it largely through 'looks' during ensemble scenes. I felt that too many important developments or motivations were told, often retrospectively, by just one line of dialogue, rather than shown - for example, sweet Nessa-Rose develops offstage into the tyrant who has removed the munchkins' rights. There's little or no development or reason for Boq’s mistaken belief that Elphaba deliberately harmed him, when he knew Nessa-Rose started the spell to remove his heart. The plot has so many jumps I was a bit lost the first time when admittedly I was tired. The part of Doctor Dillamond, is successfully developed through the plot points, given more substance in a shorter time on stage. Rodney Dobson totally convinced me and drew me in to the tragedy of his situation. The first time also I found the use of US accents emphasized how highly derivative it is, especially in the characterisation of Glinda. However, that’s part of the cleverness of the success of the whole musical, I suppose – the meld of popular styles like Harry Potter, giving scope for wonderful effects and the various ditzy blonde roles of so many films, with a slightly subversive look behind an old classic for good measure. I was sceptical about the depth of the themes beforehand as they sounded cliched, but I liked the points made about propaganda and rumour. I do know this is music theatre, not a play and most music theatre shows wouldn't stand up to this sort of examination. I guess I'm just reacting to the extensive hype and expecting the thematic depth of a play combined with the musical depth of an opera (with flying) and I saw it several times because various friends were visiting. It didn't completely transport me but I did enjoy it and I do think it's a very successful production of a successful work. Several people who have seen Wicked in a number of overseas productions have told me that it’s as good and in some cases better, something Australia should be really proud of. Some felt that our Elphaba and Boq are better than anyone from overseas productions. It's not the best show I've ever seen, but well worth going to. It's a shame that anyone going now can't also see Guys and Dolls, as I did. I think I possibly preferred that. added September 27 I'm going to see Wicked again in a week's time, to accompany a friend rather than because I feel the need but it will be interesting to see how it has developed.