Presented by Matt Byrne Media
Reviewed 7 July 2016
Bravo, Matt Byrne and company!
The popular Broadway musical about the witches of Oz has made a magical amateur premiere that defies gravity to lift the bar for good.
The story – for any neophytes who need to get themselves on a broomstick to the Arts theatre immediately – is of Elphaba and Galinda, two young women who become fast friends at Shiz University but who will ultimately become known as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good before Dorothy ever lands in Oz. It’s an unofficial prequel to L Frank Baum’s timeless novel, The Wizard of Oz and it twists that original tale on its head.
Playing with concepts more relevant today than ever, Winnie Holzmann’s story plays on our assumptions of established characters, our perceptions of right and wrong, bigotries, racism and government propaganda which feeds on fear to shape public opinion in spite of obvious truths. Oh, my!
Despite the serious undertones, Holzmann’s story is a romantic comedy at heart that bears little resemblance to the intense political novel by Gregory Maguire that it’s based on. The music by Stephen Schwartz doesn’t skip a beat – every song is a winner that is executed with utter professionalism by Matt Byrne’s stellar cast.
Dianne K Lang proves it ain’t easy being green, although she makes it look easy as the infamous green-skinned witch. The spontaneous and uproarious applause when she first entered the stage on opening night was a tribute not only to the infamous character, but to Lang’s high standing in the local arts scene. From Breakfast at Tiffany’s to the title role in Evita, Lang is a star through and through and she casts her spell from the moment she arrives. Elphaba’s fighting spirit is marred by self-doubt and loneliness that can only be held at bay by her determination to be true to herself.
Often stealing her scenes is Kat Jade as spoilt blonde dumbshell Galinda. With a voice equal in quality to Lang’s, her exquisite comic timing delivers an adorably dumb powerhouse that you want to slap and hug simultaneously. While both young witches follow their own path, it is Galinda’s conflicted journey that is at the heart of the show, caught between right and wrong, private and public personas, and love and friendship.
There are no weak performances in the cast, but a paragraph on each will make this review longer than the play’s 3 hour run time. Suffice to say, Lisa Simonetti as school head, Madam Morrible, and Rick Williams as The Wizard of Oz, are fantastic as the devils in disguise; no one could fill the role of tutor Dr Dillamond better than Neville Phillis; Zak Vasiliou and Michael Bates excel as the witches’ closest friends Boq and Fiyero; and Sophia Bubner transitions sublimely from wheelchair-bound Nessarose into the Wicked Witch of the East.
It’s a curse not to be able to mention the rest of the cast by name but it’s a burden my editor will have to bear.
Off stage, the stars of the show include Sue Winston, Anne Williams, Renee Brice, et al for the sensational colour and costumes; Sue Pole for her divine choreography; Paul Sinkinson’s gifted debut as a musical director; the crew behind the digital media that enhance the Wizard’s inner chamber and every scene with detailed backdrops (many animated); and, of course, Matt Byrne himself, who is the man of the hour for proving with such resounding success that professional budgets are not needed to reach such heights.
No one mourns this Wicked.
Reviewed by Rod Lewis
Twitter: @StrtegicRetweet
Venue 1: Arts Theatre, 53 Angas Street, Adelaide
Season: 7-16 July 2016
Venue 2: Shedley Theatre, Elizabeth
Season: 20-30 July 2013
Duration: 3 hours, with interval
Tickets: $33 – $40
Bookings: www.mattbyrnemedia.com.au or through BASS and DramaTix
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