Broadway Down

Wicked has been something of a Broadway phenomenon. It has been at the top of the box-office receipts since its opening in 2003. At of this writing, it is the 13th longest running show and the 10th most popular in terms of tickets sold. Its commercial success stands in stark contrast to the critical reaction it received, which was quite mixed. I decided to go see it largely on this record of commercial success. I figured how could this many people be wrong?

A couple of years ago I determined that I should take advantage of my proximity to New York and start seeing Broadway shows. I saw Hair (twice), God of Carnage, and The Book of Mormon. I have apparently been very lucky in my choices. I was completely thrilled by all of these shows. I was, theatrically speaking, batting a thousand. Then I saw Wicked.

First, the good news. If you have a family and you want to go see a family-friendly show that your kids will surely enjoy, then by all means go see Wicked. The audience I was part of was almost half kids in the 8-14 age group. The production values are quite high, which you would expect of a Broadway show, and the acting and singing is also of professional quality. However, the book is a mess and the songs are completely forgettable.

The problem is that Wicked is supposed to be the back story that reveals how the wicked witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz became so wicked. This is a clever premise. One can imagine mining all sorts of comedic potential from this idea. You can imagine any number of ways in which the young witch, who is named Elphaba, found herself simply unable to resist the temptation to do nasty things when such behavior was least expected or warranted. However, the problem with Wicked is that we soon discover that Elphaba is not wicked at all. She is just a lonely, but good-hearted, misfit who had the unfortunate luck to be born with green skin who is socially ostracized for her oddness and, it turns out, her endeavors as an animal rights activist. I am not kidding.

What could have been clever and witty is instead an after-school-special morality play in which all of the rough edges are smoothed over by a story that bludgeons the audience over the head with the simplistic moral that we should all learn to live with difference and love and respect animals. If I were a 14-year-old I would probably love it. As I am not, I found it a crushing bore. I mean, not only is the wicked witch of the west not wicked, she doesn't even die when Dorothy supposedly melts her. Instead, she miraculously escapes (how is never explained) and essentially walks off into the sunset with the love of her life. Yuck.

The other major character is Glenda (or Galinda as she was originally called), the good witch of the North. Just as the wicked witch isn't really wicked, the good witch really isn't good either. The character is written as a shallow, empty-headed, valley girl who spends most of her time admiring herself in the mirror and perfecting a hair flip and girlish giggle. Most of the comedy in the show comes from Glenda, who is not really a bad sort. Rather, all of her virtues are superficial. Throughout, she and Elphaba alternate between rivalry and friendship, even when Glenda's fiancée runs off with Elphaba, because he at least can see beyond the green skin and appreciate her for who she is underneath.

The book walks a fine line between remaining faithful to the Frank L. Baum story and adding its own flourish, interpretation, and back story. After all, the witch did intend to murder a 14-year-old girl to obtain the ruby slippers and had great fun trying to set the scarecrow on fire. Wicked's Elphaba could never stoop so low, so these events are either ignored or papered over.

The music was a huge disappointment. There are perhaps two or three songs that I found slightly engaging, Gravity being the best. The melodies are completely forgettable, and I have forgotten them. By way of comparison, three of the songs from Hair were covered by pop groups and became top-ten hits in the late sixties--Aquarius, Easy to Be Hard, and Good Morning Starshine. Trust me, you will not be hearing Lady Gaga performing songs from Wicked on the radio. There isn't a hit among them.

Wicked won three Tony awards, Best Leading Actress in a Musical, and two technical awards for scenic and costume design. This gets it about right. Again, by way of comparison, God of Carnage won Best Play, Hair won Best Revival of a Musical, and The Book of Mormon won Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Score.

Sometimes the extremely popular gets that way because it offends no one and appeals to a wide audience. It damns with faint praise to say so, but it is no less true, that Wicked succeeds on this level. There's nothing there to hate. In fact, there's not much there at all.