Wicked: it’s got something to do with Oz, right?

When I started working near Victoria station I noticed that Wicked the musical was playing at a theatre just moments away from my building. How convenient! I thought. I must see that! I said. So when my company moved offices and I still hadn’t seen it I hurried onto ticketmaster and got myself a ticket for my very last day of working in the ‘hood. Seemed almost poetic really. The end of a mini-era.

So off I toddled, feeling very excited but also a little apprehensive. You see, I wasn’t prepared. I’d heard it was some kind of prequel to the Wicked of Oz about how the wicked witch of the west came to be so bad and I’d seen the episode of Ugly Betty where she goes to see it on a date. But that was it. For a girl who’s been known to sing every song lyric along with the cast, it seemed I was being kinda crazy and impulsive! (I know, I know, sad that this is my idea of crazy!)

Turns out it’s not an official prequel at all. It’s more of a satiric reinterpretation of the Wizard of Oz, challenging everything you thought you knew. It’s a tale of corruption, propaganda, discrimination and extremism. Disney this is not.

And not knowing what was coming next made it all the more exciting. Instead of singing along I was on the edge of my seat wondering what might happen next, and eager not to miss any of the funny bits. I didn’t even remember the story of the Wizard of Oz well enough to think, ‘they eventually have to resolve things to get us to x point’. So when the lady next to me said, ‘I’m going to feel so sad now when she dies!’, I was a bit distressed!

So here’s what you’re waiting for, the gerrod.com rating… I’d give it 8 out of 10. There aren’t any songs that made a big enough impression to have me singing them on the way home but I recommend any musical lovers go see it. In fact I’m still thinking about the political subtext and wondering how many other children’s stories we just took on face value. I never considered that maybe the wicked witch had a reason to behave that way or maybe the wolf’s government was refusing foreign aid and he hadn’t eaten pork in a really really long time.