The spectacular musical ?Wicked? is based on the novel ?Wicked: the Life and Times of the Wicked Witches of the West? by Gregory Maguire. He creates a fantasy world where animals talk and there are many imaginary characters like the Munchkins. He makes it all sound so real and vivid. The main story is based on the Wicked Witches of the famous novel ?The Wizard of Oz?.



The story deals with the witches lives much before Dorothy arrives in Oz. The protagonist is Elphaba, a little girl with green skin who grows up to become the Wicked Witch of the West. The Wizard believes that Elphaba is a wicked witch and makes everyone believe him. The truth is that she is just a smart little girl who has been greatly misunderstood. She shows the audience a whole new concept of good and evil. The Wizard due to his beliefs eventually leads the little green girl to become the Wicked Witch. Glinda, the Good Witch, is beautiful and is considered to be much superior. The meeting of Glinda and Elphaba starts the play.

The characters of the play are mostly the same as the ones in the Wizard of Oz. You have the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion and the Wizard himself. The play contains simplified parts of the novel and is not the entire story of the novel. It is a spectacular show of colorful costumes, lovely music and humorous dialogues. It entertains children and adults alike.

The musical ?Wicked? is being staged at many of the top theatres in the country. They have shows in Chicago, New York and Boston. With a star cast of Ben Vereen, Rue McClanahan, Shoshana Bean and Megan Hilty, the Land of Oz is brought to life and the audience is kept enthralled throughout the show. The music is by Academy Award winner Stephen Shwartz and lyrics are by Tony Award winner Wayne Cilento. The director, Tony Award winner Joe Mantello, has breathed life into the story and has made the ?Wicked? one of the most magnificent musicals of the year.

The play took over two years to materialize and it involved over 150 people to get it together. The set took over a year and a half to make in Calgary, Ontario. Once it was ready, it had to be transported all the way to the Curran Theatre in San Francisco. The initial production cost was 14 million dollars but it more than recovered the cost in the first year itself by grossing 56 million dollars. It proved to be a theatrical masterpiece and a super hit.

The ?Wicked? has been playing to full house audiences every week and is being staged in many cities. Fans are thronging to the theatres to behold this spectacular production. Getting hold of ?Wicked? tickets is tough and you should probably contact the box office as soon as you know tickets are being sold. In case you are unable to get tickets at the box office, then you need to look at other options like online ticket sales.