EntertainmentTheatre

Wicked at the Milton Keynes Theatre Review

Wicked1Wicked
Milton Keynes Theatre

4 February to 8 March 2014

www.wickedtour.co.uk

Reviewed by Dorothy White

Last night my daughter, granddaughter (aged 11) and myself were lucky enough to have tickets for Wicked at the Milton Keynes Theatre. We braved the wind and rain to go to Milton Keynes. We were welcomed, had our photograph taken on arrival, given drinks before the show started, then invited back for more drinks at the interval. My granddaughter was even filmed after the show giving her opinion of Wicked.

I had seen The Wizard of Oz on the London Stage and absolutely loved it, the only thing I knew about Wicked was that it was based on the three witches as they grew up in the Land of Oz.

From the moment we took our seats and saw the curtain depicting the Land of Oz with the Emerald City sparking in the centre we were enthralled. The theatre was packed! The show began, and so did the magic with a fabulous opening scene with the monkeys appearing from nowhere, then Glinda explaining to the Citizens of Oz how Elphaba came to be born green.

Glinda, the good witch played by Emily Tierney was blonde and beautiful, had many friends and was always good. Elphaba, played by Nikki Davis-Jones was the opposite, she had no friends and had been teased all her life about being green and sometimes she couldn’t prevent the evil from coming through. Glinda and Elphaba became room mates and eventually friends, they offset each other perfectly, I loved the comedy between them. Their singing and acting abilities were amazing!

Joe Mantello, the director of Wicked certainly knew how to bring the best out of every member of the cast, from Nessarose, Elphaba’s younger sister, Boc, Doctor Diamond, Madame Morrible, The Wizard to Flyero, they were all amazing. The musical numbers were fantastic and extremely well choreographed, defying Gravity was spectacular. The whole cast were outstanding!

The orchestra complemented the entire show by never being overpowering.

Elphaba longed to meet a certain person, but that meeting changed her life, she fought for what she believed in, with terrible consequences. I really felt for Elphaba!

The staging was spectacular; the West End couldn’t have done better! The costumes were marvelous for both the men and women; I was fascinated by the imaginative outfits, the coats, the trousers, the dresses, the hats, the hairstyles!

My granddaughter found the flying monkeys quite frightening; I thought they were fantastic, climbing all over the set looking very realistic in their costumes. The flying scenes were cleverly choreographed, especially when the monkeys were set free.

Joe Mantello, the director certainly brought the best out of the entire cast.

I would certainly recommend you see this show, it is suitable for all ages.

Rating: 5/5 thumbs_up

Tickets cost from £22 to £75 (plus £2.85 transaction fee).

For more information or to book tickets click here or call the Box Office on 0844 8717652 (national rate charges – prices may vary depending on service providers).

5Star

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