10/23/2009
By GARY DEMUTH Salina Journal
The Wicked Witch of the West is now a role model for young girls?

That green-skinned cackling embodiment of evil has become an inspiration to those who feel outcast and marginalized by society?

Gosh, Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.

While the play, which opened Wednesday at Wichita's Century II Concert Hall, is a visual spectacle with complex special effects -- including flying monkeys and witches soaring to the rafters on broomsticks -- it's the relationships of the characters that really make the show work, said Mark Edelman.

Edelman is the founder and president of Theater League, a nonprofit performing arts organization that produces Broadway musicals and plays in theaters around the country.

"The show focuses on a young woman who overcomes great obstacles to reach her potential," Edelman said. "Sometimes even the most popular girl and guy see themselves as unattractive. The show is about self-image, about people who are put down and have to rise up and take charge of their lives.

"That's what helped make the show a success and why lots of people have come back to see it again and again."

Many of those dedicated fans have been slews of teenage girls, said Michael Spicer, executive director of Salina Community Theatre, 303 E. Iron, who saw the show in Kansas City, Mo.

Green skin and zits

"I was in Cleveland and met a gentleman there who was the son of one of the producers of the show," Spicer said. "He told me that when the show opened, it was a tough sell. The critics weren't kind to it. Then it found a 14-year-old-girl market and took off."

It wasn't long after show's Broadway opening that producers found teenage girls were coming back to the show again and again, Spicer said. Girls seemed to strongly identify with the awkward Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, rather than the beautiful, confident Glinda, the Good Witch of the North.

"The relationship between Glinda and Elphaba is a very teenage one," Spicer said. "It's about being accepted or not accepted, being popular or unpopular."

Elphaba's green skin, which repels her fellow students and makes her an outcast at the university, serves as a powerful metaphor for teenage angst, Spicer said.

"Her green skin is like zits," he said. "What can she have that she can't get rid of? But she finds a way to overcome it and becomes an activist for the oppressed."

View of the witches

The musical, based on the bestselling novel of the same name by author Gregory Maguire, opened on Broadway in 2003. "Wicked" is a prequel to the beloved children's classic, "The Wizard of Oz," by L. Frank Baum and the classic movie musical starring Judy Garland.

In this version, the familiar story is told from the point of view of the witches in the Land of Oz -- specifically, it charts the relationship between Elphaba and Glinda, who meet as college roommates at Oz's Shiz University.

The musical explores the young witches' tenuous friendship, romantic rivalry and Elphaba's growing political awakening towards the corrupt government and exploitation of animals in Oz by the shady Wizard.

First time in Kansas

"Wicked" arrived in Kansas for the first time -- not by tornado, but in 17 tractor-trailers that haul the show's massive sets, costumes and cast and crew of 75. Its run goes until Nov. 8.

"It's exciting to bring Broadway shows to Kansas, and this show has a special resonance for Kansas," Edelman said.

"This is the largest Broadway national tour that's ever played in Wichita, and it's being done in one of the most intimate theaters the show has played in," Edelman said.

The production, which takes nearly four days to set-up, is a visual spectacle that's as close a recreation of the original Broadway production as possible, Edelman said.

"It's a true three-dimensional experience," he said. "High schools or community theaters couldn't do this, and you can't get this with movies or television."

For Spicer, "Wicked" was a satisfying viewing experience because it had a fully realized concept, one that seamlessly blended visual spectacle and color with a complex, politically charged story and a melodic, emotional score by Stephen Schwartz, composer and lyricist of the classic musicals "Godspell" and "Pippin."

"When people pay $110 or $120, they want to see it on stage in front of them in costuming, lighting and set," Spicer said. "And this show delivers."

nReporter Gary Demuth can be reached at 822-1405 or by e-mail at gdemuth@salina.com.