My Life in OZ: A 'Wicked' Experience

Patty and I got home from our road trip to Mon Repos Beach, and we had about an hour until we needed to leave for the Theatre to see the Broadway Play, Wicked. I guess we cut it a little close. After accomplishing the fastest get ready EVER, Ryan and I raced to the ferry terminal to catch the ferry. Patty had caught the ferry a few stops before ours, so the three of us rode the same ferry to the Lyric Theatre in Southbank to meet up with Marg and Howard.

For me, that night was 7 years in the making. I had wanted to see Wicked since visiting NY in 2004 with my sister, Lindsey. She had read the book and had suggested we see it on Broadway. But, we weren't able to procure tickets. At least, tickets that were less that $300 each. Then, a year ago, while in Sydney, Ryan and I saw that the show had come to Oz. Again, we tried to get tickets in Sydney with no success. So, I settled with reading the book instead. Yup, that's right. Between 2004 and 2010, I hadn't even read the book. I was halfway through the book when I learned that Wicked was coming to Brisbane. I immediately went online and bought 5 tickets as close to the stage as we could get. I think we were in the 7th row.

I've only seen two Broadway Plays, Mama Mia and Wicked. So, I can't say it was the best I've ever seen. But, I can say it was INCREDIBLE!!! Everything from the set decorations, to the wardrobe, casting, lighting, songs, energy etc.. was brilliant. I was pleasantly surprised when Glinda, played by Lucy Durack, added a bit of comedy to her roll. I didn't see that coming. She was so funny and there was a lot more laughing by the audience during the production than I would have imagined.

SPOILER ALERT !!!!
For those of you who haven't read the book and plan to BEWARE....

However, there were a few things that were markedly different from the book:

~ Elphaba's birth and childhood was portrayed in one 30 second scene of the play. In the book, a lot of emphasis goes into her childhood and into the relationship between her parents.

~ In the play, there were no grandmother chaperons for the girls in school. Instead, Elphaba's father dropped her and Nessarose at school together saying that the "only reason Elphaba was being allowed to go to school was to take care of Nessarose".

~ Fiyero and Glinda were together in the play ~ engaged to be married and all! They made it seem like Elphaba stole Fiyero from Glinda and that's why Glinda was so upset with Elphaba. That never happened in the book.

~ Also, the play made no mention of Fiyero being married with children. Nor did they have Elephaba go to his castle to live with his wife after Fiyero's death. That part of the book went unmentioned.

~The play made it look like Dorothy knew that throwing the water on Elphaba would cause her to melt. But, in the book, Dorothy was trying to help put out the fire, and she didn't know that throwing the water on Elphaba would have that effect.

~In the play, Fiyero and Elphaba were alive at the end... dancing off into the sunset together. That is not what happened in the book. When they died, they were dead!

I do understand the need for creative editing when turning a book into a play. It would be difficult to stay 100% true to a book when writing a play. All in all, it was a fantastic evening. Even with the few subtle differences, we all had the best time!!