Wicked

In 1939 audiences around the world were dazzled by the colourful adventure “The Wizard of Oz”, the movie adaptation of L Frank Baum’s classic novel featuring Julie Garland travelling down a yellow brick road alongside some memorable companions. The movie popularised iconic characters from the Tin Man to the Scarecrow, whilst introducing new songs into mainstream culture such as “Over the Rainbow” and “We’re Off To See The Wizard”. But it also introduced us to two embittered enemies whose rivalry had a tight grip on the Land of Oz – and it’s these two characters who form the basis of “Wicked”.

You see, there’s a lot that happened before Dorothy hurtled into the town, swept up by a chaotic tornado. Before her and Toto went on their adventure, two characters would go through life changing moments that would define the land for years to come.

In “Wicked”, we learn how these two characters came to be. We start the story in the playground as two unlikely friends form the basis of the story. One of them is Glinda, a beautiful and popular girl with high ambitions, whilst the other is Elphaba – cursed with pearl green skin, shunned by her classmates and full of intelligence. Pretty soon their relationship develops into a bitter playground rivalry, one that will mirror the battle between the two later in their lives as they both grow up to become figures we recognise from Dorothy’s adventure – Glinda the Good Witch and Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West.

This musical production at the Apollo Victoria Theatre features its own memorable songs, which have contributed to its long lasting popularity both in the West End and across the Atlantic on Broadway. Musical numbers include “For Good”, “No Good Deed”, “Defying Gravity”, “As Long As You’re Mine”, “One Short Day”, “Popular” and “No One Mourns the Wicked”.

Its current popularity has been felt throughout its run, with “Wicked” earning a lot of praise when it opened on Broadway in 2003. It had already been highly anticipated as an adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” and by the time it reached the West End, success was already cemented before its first performance.

It opened at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in September 2006 and has continued strong since, taking bookings far into the new decade.