This past weekend, I returned to the theatre where I saw my very first musical. Actually, it was probably my first encounter with the theatre. That show had been "CATS," and Mom had taken me with her friend Holly and daughter (my friend) Rebecca. I remember being fully and irrevocably bitten by the bug that day, although I didn't know what it was at the time. I remember the four of us had dessert at the Peabody after the show, and I had been so enraptured by the sleek dancers in spandex painted to look like cat fur, that I was positively crabby. It was like I was a baby who had been abruptly awoken from a delightful dreamy nap. I didn't think the others could possibly grasp what I felt about what we had just seen, and truth be told, they probably didn't. Little did I know there would be countless more dreamy naps for the rest of my life.
So this past Saturday night, Mom and I went to Memphis for a brief but delicious getaway and, after dinner at the Peabody and a carriage ride in downtown Memphis, enjoyed my third experience with "Wicked" at that same Orpheum Theatre. I have seen a lot of shows lately and find that I am increasingly critical of my theatrical experiences, so please don't take it lightly when I say that it was one of the most purely magical evenings I've had in any theatre for awhile. I'm shocked to see myself type that, as I had not been a fan of "Wicked" as a stage show from the time I saw the Broadway production up until last Saturday. I thought the show was disconnected, the scenes not working on the same objective as the songs. I thought it was slow and laden with unnecessary filler in an attempt to tie in all aspects of "The Wizard of Oz"--the story it's based around which I've never liked either. The production the first national touring company presented at the Fox did nothing to remedy this opinion. However, this production put on by the second national tour turned my view of "Wicked" on its head.
I've been doing a lot of thinking lately (ironically a line from the show), and I think I want to use this blog again. I will start by using it to record my critical opinions of shows I've seen. This may be boring and pretentious, but I know no one reads my blog anyway. So I'd love to have this as a record of what I'm learning about directing through seeing shows. My mind goes there automatically every time I sit in an audience now, so I may as well challenge myself to think about the show even more from a directing standpoint and really explicate those thoughts here.
That being said, here are my thoughts on "Wicked" in Memphis.
There were so many themes that were illuminated this time that I hadn't fully ingested before. I credit good directing and acting for this. I think this director did a fabulous job of tying every moment of the show to the purpose of the production overall, and therefore everything seemed to be working together (for once) to the glory of the cohesive final product. The actors were fully nuanced, personal and sympathetic. I cared. Here are some things I thought this production was commenting on:
The fallacy of stereotypes-This is a big one, obviously, because the original story of the "Wizard of Oz" is based on them. Essentially, "Wicked"'s purpose is to reveal how putting a person in a box of one personality trait is ridiculous. People's actions are just a product of their desires and needs, and no one is fully good or fully bad. The tagline to the show is "There are two sides to every story." So it's clear the intention is to show how the wicked witch can be good and noble and Glinda the good witch can be devious and selfish. This show did an excellent job of pointing out a way that everything Elphaba did could be motivated by good and how Glinda's actions could be selfish. However, it showed that they are both basically good, well-meaning people as well.
The temptation of popularity/fame/acceptance-This is the motive that all the major characters share. It was recurring in each of them, and the directing illuminated how their stories were parallel in this way. The big question in this show is whether one will do what is right at the expense of their reputation or whether they will sell-out (granted, maybe thinking it's the best thing for the people) for the love and mass-acceptance they can gain from that choice. Glinda chooses the side of popularity at the expense of her own authentic happiness, becoming a puppet for the guileless wizard, but the people do love her. At one point after a speech that fuels the crowd's hatred for Elphaba, when Fiyero accuses her of doing things for popularity, she says, "Who could resist that?" He replies, "You know who could." It is Elphaba's triumph exactly: she is good because of her ability to resist the popularity and the love of the masses. Fiyero breaks out of this trap midway through the show, allowing himself to be smart and siding with Elphaba. Glinda never resists the allure of the crowd, nor does the Wizard or Madame Morrible. All of the characters (yes, even Elphie who lets Galinda make her over and dances at one point) want love, acceptance, and popularity. Elphaba is just the one who wants justice more. She's the one who is able to see past herself and to the greater good of the other outsiders who are persecuted like herself.
The contrast between public and private desires-This ties into the last theme, but it is also shown in all the characters. Fiyero seems to want to live a thoughtless carefree life when he really wants deeper, more authentic relationships. Glinda appears to want to be pretty and popular when she wants the same. Elphaba appears to want to be an individual rebel when she really wants to be pretty and popular, etc etc. The actors did a good job of living through this.
The pain of unrequited love-Isn't this true of every musical? Nessarose loves Boq who loves Glinda who loves Fiyero who loves Elphaba who happily, actually loves Fiyero in return. These two, then, are the only lucky ones at the top of the food chain. This idea of being in love but lonely is woven throughout the show. No, you can't make someone love you (even if you make them your servant, Nessie), and yes, it hurts.
Overall, this show made me buy that every part was for a purpose. Dr. Dillamond and even the lion who seemed so superfluous before were revealed as essential motivation for Elphaba's choice to turn against the Wizard. Even the Wizard's boring second-act solo served to show how his need for popularity fueled his life and assent to the top. He just isn't strong enough to want anything else.
