When our family rocked up to watch the Wicked musical at His Majesty’s Theatre (HMT) in Aberdeen, I wondered if I was the only person in the world who had no idea what would happen.
Voices in the lounge chatted over the bits they liked best and who their favourite characters were. One lady had even seen it somewhere like Australia I think.
Anyway, when it began, I was actually very pleasantly surprised.
If you don’t know the story, it’s about the ‘prequel’ story of two witches. The Good Witch and The Wicked Witch of the West who become unlikely friends. Obviously, it helps if you know a little about the Wizard of Oz, so that you ‘get’ the little references splattered through, but it does stand alone with a very surprising ending. 🙂
Emily Tierney, the actress playing Glinda was really very funny with her cute and dippy role, playing the ultra popular and chic good witch with impeccable taste in fashion.
The stand out performance for me was Ashleigh Gray, a fellow Scot, who plays the believably geeky and very green Elphaba (The Wicked Witch of the West from Wizard of Oz). When she sang ‘Defying Gravity,’ I had goosebumps, prickles and shivers down my spine. It was that good. Elphaba was the perfectly dour and distrusting opposite of the bubbly Glinda, and it was amazing how well they acted together.
The supporting cast was fantastic, and like the true professionals they are, when there was a wee blip with a bed failing to wheel out for one scene, the two witches improvised so beautifully that I missed it all completely until my husband mentioned it afterwards.
I also have to mention Carina Gillespie who plays Nessarose for her voice, as singing so well from a seated position must be incredibly difficult, yet she managed to stun with comfortable ease.
At first, I thought it would appeal to girls more than boys as it certainly had a lot of girlie scenes, but there were plenty of boys in the audience who all seemed to enjoy the show. My youngest came out of there wanting to be the leading man Fiyero, played by Samuel Edwards.
Have a wee peek at the official UK Tour trailer.
The musical has been running for around a decade and a slew of awards world-wide.
The story starts with the two future witches meeting at sorcery school, with lots of opportunities for amazing costumes, lights and staging. I’m told that it’s a massive production and that we get the full west end effect that rarely happens with touring productions. It showed. Glittering, dazzling and absolutely mesmerising.
From where I sat in the stalls, there was a standing ovation from many in the audience for the performance. I do have to say that it’s one of very few shows I have ever been to where that’s happened.
To sum it all up, all I can say is “Toss, Toss.’ If you want to know what that means, I’m afraid you’re going to have to go and see it for yourself 🙂
When
It’s on at HMT in Aberdeen until 30th May 2015.
Details are here.
Recommended for ages 7+.
Where Does The Tour Go Next
If you want to find out more about Wicked On Tour, visit the website for other venues and dates.
Use the hashtags #WickedOnTour or #WickedUK to find out more, or sneak a peek on their Twitter account, @WickedUK
For the Aberdeen Box Office, @apawhatson
I am really pleased we managed to see the show, and would like to thank the Wicked on Tour team for providing us the opportunity to be there.
Hi, I saw the show years ago in London and I honestly thought that the production up in Aberdeen was better! I didn\’t think it would be but I agree they did a remarkable job! Glad you liked it, definitely a show that appeals to all ages even my younger cousin enjoyed it although its not at all football orientated haha!Great post 🙂 x
I saw the show a few years ago. I’d love to see it again.
I could easily watch it again too. I don’t think I’d tire of listening tot he songs at all.