There’s no place like home for ‘Wicked’

FOR GOOD: Austen Danielle Bohmer (left) is Glinda and Lauren Samuels is Elphaba in the National Tour of Wicked at the Orpheum Theatre as part of the BroadwaySF season. Photo by Joan Marcus 2024

Now that Wicked is back in the city where it began more than 20 years ago, I thought I’d dip into my archive and see what I thought of the sparkling new musical when it had its world premiere at San Francisco’s Curran Theatre in June 2003.

Writing for the Oakland Tribune and the assorted papers that comprised what was then called the Alameda Newspaper Group, I felt the show was just short of bewitching. I used words like “colorful,” “ambitious,” “entertaining” but bemoaned the Stephen Schwartz score as “only fitfully fresh or interesting…some hummable melodies but mired in the 1970s. Too many songs feel like we’ve heard them before, and we don’t necessarily want to hear them again.” And the less said about the choreography by Wayne Cilento the better (I described one of the embarrasing dances as “the Spastic Scarecrow”).

But the stars were bright and shining. “Everything is right with (Kristin) Chenowth and (Idina) Menzel,” who originated the roles of Elphaba (who becomes known as the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda (eventually Glinda the Good Witch) respectively. My opinion then was that Chenoweth stole the show, and her song “Popular” was easily the highlight.

Wicked has been back to San Francisco several times over the last 20 years, and the current national tour is kicking off the new BroadwaySF season at the Orpheum Theatre. Each time the show has been back, it has looked like a million bucks, and the ominous set by the late Eugene Lee and the rich, fanciful costumes by Susan Hilferty still look fabulous. The now-beloved show is being well maintained, which is an achievement seeing as how age is not always kind to hit shows. The New York production is now the fourth-longest-running show in Broadway history.

DEFYING GRAVITY: Lauren Samuels is Elphaba in the National Tour of Wicked. Photo by Joan Marcus 2024

So Wicked is an institution (much like Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables or The Lion King before it), and like most mega-hits, there will be a movie. And soon. Broken into two parts, Wicked: Part One (directed by Palo Alto native Jon. M. Chu) opens the week before Thanksgiving.

Given the seemingly never-ending hoopla around Wicked, I watched the current national tour thinking about two things: what is the alchemy that has made it so resonant with audiences (especially with women of all ages) and what might the movie be like?

Frankly, I think there’s a lot in Wicked that doesn’t work. The politics from Gregory Maguire’s stunning novel have been minimized to the point of silliness; the rushed origin stories for the Tin Man, Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow raise more questions than answers; and there are some outright bad songs, including the aptly named “Something Bad” along with “I’m Not That Girl” (exactly the wrong “poor me” song for Elphaba), the sappy/bombastic “As Long as You’re Mine” and the strident “No Good Deed.”

But here’s what the show gets right: “The Wizard and I,” Elphaba’s breakout “I want” song; “Popular,” Glinda’s stellar comic moment laced with burgeoning empathy for her green college roommate; “Defying Gravity,” Elphaba’s through-the-roof (nearly literally) cris de coeur brilliantly staged by director Joe Mantello and one of the most thrilling Act One closers in memory; “For Good,” the show-ending duet for Elphaba and Glinda and an enduring paean to abiding friendship.

THANK GOODNESS: Austen Danielle Bohmer (center left) is Glinda and Xavier McKinnon (center right) is Fiyero in the National Tour of Wicked. Photo by Joan Marcus 2024

Those are the moments when Wicked truly connects, and the show rises above razzle-dazzle spectacle. The tour cast has a real star in Lauren Samuels as Elphaba. She conveys intelligence, strength, and deep compassion born from a lifetime of stoic suffering. Austen Danielle Bohmer’s Glinda was different from any interpretation I’ve previously seen, and while some of the comedy worked, her vocals were too often uncertain, and there wasn’t sharp enough contrast between her Glinda and Elphaba, an enemy who turns into a friend.

Other members of the touring company have some nice moments. Aymee Garcia as horrible Madame Morrible and Blake Hammond as the Wizard are vivid and grand as the show demands, and Xavier McKinnon as Fiyero, the love interest who comes between friends, has some genuine allure.

After the high of “Defying Gravity” comes the low of most of Act Two, where there’s one middling song, “Thank Goodness,” for a conflicted Glinda, one attempt at Broadway charm, “Wonderful” for the Wizard and Elphaba, one good song, the aptly named “For Good,” and a whole lot of filler and bluster.

Thinking about the movie, especially since it will be in two parts, there are so many opportunities to deepen and complicate the story and the characters. With actors like Cynthia Erivo (Tony winner for The Color Purple) as Elphaba and Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton, Fellow Travelers) as Fiyero, there’s a real chance to do something bold and interesting. I also have high hopes for Ariana Grande as Glinda.

But what I really hope is that better songs replace some of the mediocre ones and that the second half, which takes place in some indeterminant time after the first – months? years? did these kids even graduate from college? – and that the Wizard of Oz origin stories find a better place in the narrative thrust of the Wicked tale.

After all, given how potent the stage production has been for two decades, there’s a very real possibility that younger generations will have more love for Wicked than for The Wizard of Oz.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Wicked continues through Oct. 13 at the Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market St., San Francisco. Running time: 2 hours and 45 minutes (including one intermission). Tickets are $80-$404 (subject to change). Call 888-746-1799 or visit broadwaysf.com.
Limited in-person $59 rush tickets available at the Orpheum box office two hours before curtain.
Limited digital $25 rush tickets available via the TodayTix app.