This festive season the Edinburgh Playhouse is unleashing the Witches of OZ on Scotland, as the third ‘Wicked’ UK Tour opens in Scotland’s answer to Broadway. ‘Wicked’ tells the story of two unlikely friends, Elphaba Thropp (later known as the Wicked Witch of the West) and Galinda Upland (later known as Glinda the Good), whose friendship struggles through their opposing personalities, viewpoints, same love interest, reactions to the Wonderful Wizard’s corrupt government, and, ultimately, Elphaba’s fall from grace. You can catch ‘Wicked’ at the Edinburgh Playhouse until Sunday 14th January 2024.
Laura Pick is phenomenal as Elphaba, the character who has become a staple pin of musical theatre. This is simply champagne casting. Laura’s depiction of Elphaba’s struggles are tackled with such nuance where the audience instantly resonate with the character, especially since she remains mainly headstrong throughout it all. Elphaba’s musical numbers are some of, if not the hardest musical theatre numbers to tackle. Laura’s vocal performance is stunning, with a whimsical ‘The Wizard and I’, a heartbreaking ‘No Good Deed’ and of course a jaw dropping ‘Defying Gravity’ which leaves the audience gasping for air at the end of act one. Laura is quite possibly the finest actress to take on the Wicked Witch of the West in any UK touring production of ‘Wicked’.
Sarah O’Connor is magical as Glinda. From the offset you get a sense of the underlying conflicts within the character, yet when it comes to the scenes where Glinda can be naive, that is portrayed cleanly, with the clear determination of progress. Yet Sarah’s dynamic with Laura weaves the story together, with the pair showcasing a powerful friendship. Glinda has such a variety in the style of music the character tackles, which needs an actress with a versatile voice, Sarah brings us a more subdued vocal power with Glinda, however that is not a negative as she is a stark contrast to the vocal power we get from Elphaba, which raises the gap between the two characters. Sarah performs numbers such as ‘No One Mourns The Wicked’, ‘Popular’ and ‘Thank Goodness’ with a confident and beautiful voice.
Carl Man dazzles the two witches and audiences alike as Fiyero. There is a less arrogant approach to this portrayal with Carl showing a man who is looking for excitement and more. Carl’s inner conflict between his relationship with the two witches is clear, you understand why he admires them both. With this portrayal Carl accompanies it with great vocals tackling ‘Dancing Through Life’ with gusto and a passionate ‘As Long As You’re Mine’.
Donna Berlin cooks up a hilarious and devious portrayal of Madame Morrible, wringing from the humour from the text and bringing us a headstrong woman with further plans. Simeon Truby brings to life The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Doctor Dillamond which such energy, and a great lighthearted energy for both. These characters hold the risk of carrying the weaker musical numbers of ‘Wicked’ but Simeon breathes fresh air into them and a sense of heart.
Daniel Hope (injury cover for Jed Berry) brings us a bit more of a pricklier Boq who seems more self-indulgent with his own priorities, this has always been the case but Daniel leans into this, making the character more complex, which is more effective for Boq’s journey. Megan Gardiner brings us a beautiful Nessarose, who clearly cares for her sister and is caught up in the division between Elphaba and her father. However, we see the character develop and in act two we are presented with a broken woman, this is a versatile performance from Megan.
The ensemble of this production are incredible, they take on an abundance of Ozian creatures and people, providing versatile choreo, magic and sublime vocals. Thomas Charles, Julie Cloke, Charlotte Coggin (Swing/Dance Captain), Freddie Conway, Áine Curran (Swing), Jade Davis (Swing, Elphaba U/S), Kamau Davis, Russell Dickson (Fiyero U/S), Maddison Firth (Ephaba/Nessarose U/S), Lydia Gerrard (Glinda U/S), James Gower-Smith (The Wonderful Wizard of OZ and Doctor Dillamond U/S), Shoko Ito, Holly Lawrence, Nick Len (Boq U/S), Stephanine Lindo (Nessarose U/S), Will Lucas (Swing & Resident Dance Co-ordinator), Will Luckett (Swing), Rozz Mbwembwe, Georgia McElwee (Madame Morrible U/S), Conor O’Hara (Boq U/S), Shereen Osman, Stuart Rouse, Christina Shand (Swing & Resident Dance Co-Ordinator), Adam Stickler (Swing / The Wizard of OZ & Doctor Dillamond U/S) and Frazer Woolcott (Fiyero U/S).
This is now the third UK Tour of ‘Wicked’ and you would think that the overall production would be compromised for budget cuts etc, however, this is severely not the case. Stephen Schwartz’s music/lyrics, Winnie Holzman’s book and Joe Mantello’s direction has never sounded or looked so good on tour. The show has not been scaled back, in fact it feels modernized, for a production that is over twenty years old, it’s amazing to see it’s still thriving in theatres internationally with no sign of slowing down. Eugene Lee’s Scenic design is utterly stunning and wows audiences as soon as they step foot into the auditorium. Kenneth Poser’s vibrant and dazzling lighting design compliments the set, plus adds depths into the many layers of Lee’s set. Susan Hilferty’s costume design for ‘Wicked’ is the best within musical theatre, it’s so quirky, bright, colourful and stunning. The creative team on ‘Wicked’ created theatrical magic twenty years ago and the musical continues to do so and then some.
‘Wicked’ is a mesmerizing theatrical experience, this is the best musical production touring the UK currently. The cast of this production are the best in the business and work in tandum to bring audiences a spectacular experience. Twenty years on, ‘Wicked’ continues to Defy Gravity.
Get tickets for ‘Wicked’ here – https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/wicked/edinburgh-playhouse/
Photography – Matt Crockett
Theatre Scotland 
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