My favourite musical of all time is Wicked. It’s the first ever musical I saw in the West End when I was fourteen, with my earliest memory of the show coming from a singing lesson at the theatre class I went to when I was younger. Our group learned What Is This Feeling when I was about 10 years old and I remember coming home that day, hopping on the family computer and using Google to find out everything I could about the witches pre-Wizard of Oz. This was back in the day of good old Limewire, so I can only apologise to my parents for the horrible viruses that probably came from me downloading dodgy recordings of the soundtrack.
Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to see the show many times in the West End and for me, it never gets old. So, it only seems right that my first West End trip of 2022 was to see the new cast in action! My flatmate and I have been talking about a trip to see the show for a while as he’s never seen it so I suggested we try our luck at the production’s £30 front row lottery. Luckily for us, we managed to snag three tickets for a Saturday matinee so our friend got to come along too!
Our seats were separated as customers are only permitted to purchase up to two of these specially released tickets so myself and Steph were sat in A35 and A36 of the stalls, while Paul was in A17 as it was his first visit and the view was much better. I’d definitely recommend trying to grab these £30 tickets if you can as you feel like you’re right in the middle of the action at a pretty low price point!
I probably wouldn’t recommend the seats on each far side of the front row if it’s your first visit to Oz as some of the action can be missed, however, if you’re a return visitor like me then it is a fabulous choice! A17, according to my flatmate, is a great seat for a first visit as you don’t really miss anything.
I was really excited about this visit to Wicked as the new 2022 cast had only just started perfomances the previous week. Leading the new cast was Lucie Jones as Elphaba, Gary Wilmot as The Wizard, and Sophie-Louise Dann as Madame Morrible. Unfortunately, a couple of the new cast were off during our performance so in place of Helen Woolf, the fantastic Samantha Thomas taught us how to be Popular, while Carl Man provided cover for Fiyero – making a RETURN to the cast(!) as both Ryan Reid and his cover Michael Colbourne were unable to perform.
I was especially excited to see Lucie’s take on Elphaba knowing she had been auditioning, and preparing, for the role for many years. It was clear through Lucie’s portayal just how much this show, and character, meant to her as she showed a depth and understanding to Elphaba I hadn’t seen before. It’s safe to say she’s cracked the role already, providing the audience with a gentle take on Elphaba to begin, with perfect comic timing during her delivery. of the character’s blunt humour. The Wizard and I displayed her character’s suble optimism for her appointment with The Wizard, which made the manic crescendo of Defying Gravity at the end of the first act all the more believable.
A highlight of Jones’ performance was No Good Deed with the audience audibly impressed by her gorgeously controlled belt. It will be interesting to see how she develops as she becomes more comfortable in the role.
It was fantastic to see West End legend Gary Wilmot take on the role of The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz. His upbeat and cheery charm only made for the reveal of Wizard’s true intentions all the more sinister. In particular, his final scene in which The Wizard finds out he has been a father to Elphaba all this time (something he has always longed to be) provided me with a lump in my throat which no portrayal of The Wizard has ever done before. Sophie-Louise Dann’s delivery of Morrible was polished, making it hard to believe she had officially stepped into the role the previous week. Dann was made for the part and her delivery of Morrible’s quick-witted responses to Glinda’s constant pestering were a particular highlight.
Overall, it was a strong performance from the entire cast. I’m looking forward to visting the show again when the remaining new cast members return to the stage and each lead has settled into their role.
Looking for tickets to Wicked? I recommend using the TodayTix app for some amazing deals and the opportunity to purchase one of their Daily Dozen on offer. This allows patrons to buy top-priced tickets on the day of the performance for £29.50.
Let me know in the comments your thoughts on the show if you’ve been to see it, or if you plan to visit in the future!
A video from another theatre-goer of the new cast’s first curtain call.
I have seen the show twice with different cast members. Loved both and will go again sometime. Love the idea of £30 tickets and will attempt to get sometime.
What a brilliant review. Has to be my favourite musical and I’ll definitely try the lottery for the £30 tickets