Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre

Wicked

23 October 2009 No Comment

Wicked – The Hit Musical at the Apollo Victoria Theatre

Wicked is the magical story of how two unlikely friends become so and how they end up as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good, characters which feature in Frank L. Baum’s classic and much loved story – The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.Galinda / Glinda and Elphaba meet at Schiz University located in the mythical Land of Oz (nothing to do with Australia).

Elphaba is born the colour of emerald green with a very fiesty personality. Galinda on the other hand was born very beautiful, ambitious and very popular. When they first meet they are very suspicious of each other but thanks to Maddam Morrible they get pushed together and become better friends than either of them could of possibly imagined.

Together they go to see the Wonderful Wizard of Oz who turns out to be not so wonderful. Wicked is their story…Based on the story Wicked: The Life and Times of The Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire with music and lyrics by the fabulous Stephen Schwartz. The show features catchy tunes which will stick with you for a long time including Defying Gravity and Popular.

London’s top hit musical say Classic FM and dubbed The West End’s most successful musical by The Independent on Sunday, Wicked is quite simply a spectacular show and one not to be missed!

Visit the official UK Wicked production website: www.wickedthemusical.co.uk

Buy Wicked Merchandise

Click these links to buy:
Buy Wicked 2010 Wall Calendar
Buy Wicked 5th Anniversary CD
Buy Wicked Original 2003 Broadway Cast Recording
Buy Apollo Victoria Wicked Souvenir Programme
Click here to buy other Wicked Merchandise

Wicked Performance Details

Theatre: Apollo Victoria Theatre

Previews From: 7th September 2007
Opening Night: 27th September 2007
Booking Until: 30th April 2011

Evening Performances: Monday – Saturday at 19:30
Matinee Performances: Wednesday & Saturday at 14:30
Duration: 2 hours and 50 minutes including an interval

Wicked Reviewed by Musicalverse

This is my first Musical Theatre review so it may not be the best in the world and so I apologise in advance in the hope not to lead you into the false impression that what follows is a brilliant work of literacy (there is probably a number of spelling and grammar mistakes if you look carefully). With this disclaimer out the way here is my opinion of Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre.

I went to see Wicked on January 14th 2009 having finally picked up the courage to travel from my home in Bristol to the Apollo Victoria in London having wanted to see Wicked for just over a year and I have to say that the production more than lived up to my expectations.

The story is based on the novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire which in turn is a reimagining of Frank L Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz which means that many of the characters will be instantly recognisable to many people. The story tells of how the characters in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz came to be told primarily from The Wicked Witch of the West’s point of view and Kerry Ellis as Elphaba does a brilliant job of making you really like Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West).

Dianna Pilkington likewise really brings the G(a)linda character alive, i’ve read many people criticise her ‘childlike voice’ but I honestly think that it really fits in with her character. Not forgetting the remainder of the cast that make Wicked such a must see show.

Wicked is framed by a brilliant set which takes over the stage culminating in a time dragon situated right at the top – you will most notably see this when you enter the auditorium and will only really see it during the show if you are sitting where you can see the whole stage, I was sitting right at the front (seat B17 if you are interested) where it was visible if you craned your kneck upwards. Howver it’s only used once or twice and seeing it (or not) doesn’t effect the dramatic effect of the performance in any significant way.

If you’ve got the soundtrack then you will already know how uplifting and brilliant it is and trust me it sounds even better in the Apollo Victoria compared to listening to it through laptop speakers. I have a number of favourtie tracks but Defying Gravity just has to grab your attention and seeing Elphaba ‘fly’ on the stage is a moment that will stay with you for a long time.

Throughout the entire performance I was getting goosebumps by just how impressed I was with Wicked which leaves me with only word that I can use to describe it – Wicked!

Please note: this review is based on the cast as of 14th January 2009 which has since changed.

Wicked Reviewed by Musicalverse Readers

There are currently no reviews of Wicked by Musicalverse readers, if you would like to submit one please click here.

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Wicked Fan Sites / Forums

A fan site dedicated to Wicked worth visiting for any Wicked fan is run by Carol de Giere – it has so much detail and information about the musical and it’s composer, Stephen Scwartz: www.wickedwestend.co.uk

Including news, photos, links and more Flying High with Wicked is a blog dedicated to Wicked focusing on productions around the world including the West End: flyinghighwithwicked.blogspot.com/

Another unofficial fan site to visit is Wicked UK which operates forums and lots of news: www.wickeduk.co.uk

A forum dedicated to Kerry Ellis (who has played Elphaba in the West End – just not at the moment) which includes topics about Kerry, Wicked, Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, We Will Rock You and many other theatre based topics can be found at www.noonebutyou.co.uk (Registration required).

Book Your Wicked Tickets Online

There are many ways you can purchase your Wicked tickets online, here are some of the main STAR member ticket agents:

Ticketmaster
Click here to book Wicked Tickets with Ticketmaster Online
Click here to book Wicked Premium Tickets with Ticketmaster Online

Ticketmaster is operating the online and telephone box office for Wicked, you will be charged the face value of the ticket plus a £2.50 booking fee per ticket and a £2.75 processing fee.

Lastminute.com
Click here to book Wicked Tickets with Lastminute.com

Lastminute charge a booking fee of up to £6 however this is waived on selected performances for top and second price seats until the 3rd April 2010.

If you book your tickets through Lastminute.com your tickets will be held for you at the Apollo Victoria Theatre box office for you to collect on the day of the performance.

Wicked Theatre Break With Superbreak
Wicked theatre breaks can be booked with Superbreak which include your theatre tickets and an overnight stay in a hotel.

Click here to book a Wicked Theatre Break with Superbreak.