Wicked' remains a timely spectacle

Musical presciently captures our current sociopolitical zeitgeist

- JOSHUA CHONG

"Wicked," the musical prequel to "The Wizard of Oz," has been a theatrical mainstay since it premiered on Broadway in 2003, playing to sellout audiences and spawning replica productions worldwide.

But Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman's show, which offers a compelling backstory of an unlikely friendship between the two rival witches of Oz, certainly feels like it's having a moment in 2024. There's "Wicked"-mania in the air and, at least from my perspective, it extends well beyond the typical gaggle of preteen fans screlting "Defying Gravity." (That's a combination of screaming and belting, for you non-musical theatre nerds.)

What's behind this resurgence?

Well, for one, a highly anticipated film adaptation is set to premiere later this year, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. But I don't think that's the only reason why the musical continues to resonate today.

Credit must be given to Holzman, who adapted "Wicked" from Gregory Maguire's novel of the same name. She's crafted a work that so presciently captures our current sociopolitical zeitgeist.

Masquerading beneath all the pageantry, show-stopping numbers and glittering costumes in director Joe Mantello's production, "Wicked" is ultimately a powerful allegory about how societies can sleepwalk into fascism. And it's a pretty bleak and terrifying one, featuring an ignorant group of Ozians with a mob mentality, a not-so good Glinda "the good witch" who places personal ambition ahead of any morals, and a political leader in the so-called Wizard who is all smoke and mirrors.