Sarcasm Included

The Program and the Precious Tickets

The ticket said ‘Grand Circle’. As the enthusiastic musical fan who had never been to a single performance, I had no idea what that meant. I ended up having to climb two sets of unadorned yet glamorous stairs before finding the correct seats. If it were a cinema, I would call the viewing angle atrocious. Tip: if you ever get the chance to see a show at Marina Bay Sands Singapore, spring at least for the SGD125 ones (ours was SGD 95). This being a theatre—and really, we could see everything quite clearly, I had no complaints. In fact, since this was Wicked, I was willing to overlook anything, even if a BlackBerry rang in the middle of the performance (It did. TWICE).

When I walked into the theatre with my friends Jennifer and Maria (not real names, but they did pick these aliases), we nearly gasped. The theatre is undoubtedly new. Its lobby, past the box-office and merchandise store, is dotted with high circular tables, on top of which were fresh flowers. You can buy wine at the concessions (or do they call it something else in a theatre?) and sip it leaning against the tables while waiting for the show to begin. The crowd was diverse. Around half were well-dressed, like I had expected for a musical. The other half came in shorts and sandals, impossible to fault for tourists visiting a warm tropical country. More importantly, though, I was expecting a well-behaved audience, classy, in fact. Which they were. Mostly.

After the initial awe, though, everything slid into the familiar zone. Indonesian tongues were all around us, a fact I found mildly annoying yet impressed with. Who knew there were other people in my backwater lands who realized what an excellent show Wicked is? Ahem. Where was I? Familiarity, right. The stage looked just like how I had pictured it in my mind. The map of Oz served as the curtain, with the requisite Time Dragon on top of the stage. The orchestra was warming up, playing snatches of random musical notes. I knew exactly what would happen the moment the curtain lifted. I should, after obsessing over the show for the last six years or so.

Here’s a taste of what the opening looks like, as performed by Kristin Chenoweth in the 2004 Tony Awards:

Still, the opening caught me by surprise. It came so soon after the announcement that most of the audience were slightly surprised—and therefore failed to register Glinda’s arrival on a bubble and her hilarious speech (“It’s good to see me, isn’t it?”). Everything went smoothly after that. I recognized the lines, the songs (oh…the songs), and the story. The bits that I didn’t expect just completely knocked me out. The choreography was flawless, as were the ensemble cast. The staging was beyond brilliant. The tricks were simple—and I won’t spoil them here, but none of it mattered. We really saw raindrops falling on the cast. Elphaba did fly using her magic spell. I was even awestruck by how quickly and magnificently the costume changes happened. In short, it was the musical experience that I had been waiting to have for a long time. To just believe, for the length of the show, that everything is happening right in front of our eyes, I felt a sense of relief. After such a long time waiting and building the show up so high in my mind, Wicked managed to surpass my expectations.

If you`re unfamiliar with Wicked (read: haven`t heard me give long speeches about the show), it is basically a prequel to the Wizard of Oz. The musical is adapted from a novel by Gregory Maguire with changes to give a lighter tone and a more obvious connection to the Wizard of Oz. The musical explores what happened before Dorothy and Toto came to Oz. The Wicked Witch of the West, originally named Elphaba (taken from the initial of the author of Oz), is not yet evil and powerful. Glinda the Good Witch is not quite as saintly as normally portrayed. In fact, these supposed nemeses go to school together! And become best friends! Their friendship is set against a backdrop of ambition and oppression in the imaginary land of Oz, where the almighty Wizard himself plans to use Elphaba`s talent to make him even more…well, wonderful. Will Elphaba stay friends with Glinda? Is the Wicked Witch really dead? Well, you’ll have to see it for yourself.

Having familiarized myself with the original Broadway cast, though, meant that I couldn’t help but compare it to this Australian production. Make no mistake, these Aussies were good. They had to do an American accent all the way. Apart from a few mishaps, particularly while singing, they were impeccable in this regard. Jemma Rix, who played Elphaba, sounded almost like Idina Menzel, who originated the role and won a Tony for it. From my seat, and in her green makeup, she resembled Idina so much that—if not for her accent and her marginally lower voice (I think)—I didn’t wish she were Idina. Unfortunately, seeing Suzie Mathers’ gleeful portrayal of Glinda the blonde only reminded me that this role had been tailor-made for the one, the only Kristin Chenoweth. Again, Suzie was incredible and very incredibly funny (not to mention, infused more giddiness than expected for someone doing the show 9 times a week) but Kristin is Glinda, sans the ambition, self-centeredness, and the veiled meanness. It was more the mannerisms, such as the one leg kicking backwards in excitement and the uncontrollable giggling, than the operatic singing that made me long for Kristin. Such combination existed naturally in Kristin and it’s impossible to picture anyone, no matter how awesome their voice is, who can do it more naturally than her. You’ve heard her talk, right? She was born for the role. I still wonder why she hadn’t won the Tony Award. No offense to Idina. Look at this performance by the Aussie cast in Singapore, if you’re keen to compare (courtesy of TimeOut Singapore):

There is a reason Wicked has had so much commercial (and critical) success, even with people unfamiliar with the Wizard of Oz. The story is solid and easy to relate to, as proven by the legions of pre-teen girls who have become devoted fans of the show. The music is catchy. The staging, when done right, is guaranteed to win the audience. The comedy is aplenty. Hopefully more Asian audience could embrace the show. Not enough of them gave a standing ovation when the cast took the bow. Oh, and the BlackBerry ringing. They really should learn from this incident. Perhaps in time they will. In the meantime, I could check one thing off my list.

Like I said, I was willing to overlook anything. Even the rowdy Indonesian guys behind us who said out loud that Glinda was “retarded” in Indonesian. For about a quarter of my life, I’ve regarded stage musicals as the highest form of performing arts. Triple threats and live show, who can beat that combination? Seeing Wicked as your first musical is probably not an ideal choice but then again I`m not exactly a first-timer when it comes to Broadway musicals (I`ll tell you all about it some other time). I only wish there were more available to us in South East Asia. God knows this area could use some more culture.

I had been expecting magic and luckily, I got what I desired. To quote my favourite song from the show, I have been changed for good. Before I end this post, watch this clip of the original Elphaba and Glinda performing the dramatic closing of Act 1, Defying Gravity, from the Tony Awards: