It might be looking tired, but Wicked is still the ultimate musical feast.

Capitol Theatre, Sydney

September 24, 2014

With a Broadway musical and film adaptation, along with countless other spin-offs, L. Frank Baum’s tale of Oz has been practically exhausted. Yet, there’s another untold story – one that occurred just before Dorothy arrived. This is the story of Wicked, a musical juggernaut that returns to Australia in a celebratory 10th anniversary season.

It’s a brilliant and engaging narrative that is, beyond the basic premise, starkly different from Baum’s classic, and Gregory Maguire’s Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (upon which the musical is based). Winnie Holzman delicately weaves these existing stories within her own, twisting the story to focus on the two protagonists and their unlikely friendship. Glinda is popular and privileged, and Elphaba is the green-skinned outcast. Along the way, Holzman also introduces other familiar characters: the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Lion, and The Wizard.

Not only does Holzman establish a fresh perspective of a hackneyed tale, and a unique vernacular and comedic style, but she also manages to subtly tackle matters of political, environmental and social justice. Elphaba is the main crusader...