Wicked Tour lands again at the Orpheum Theatre

Claudia Bennett as Glinda and Aline Mayagoitia as Elphaba in
the North American Tour of WICKED, photo by Joan Marcus.

The touring production of Wicked has flown back to the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis for a run through August 9. Although the show has been on Broadway for 22 years, and on tour for 21, the show retains its Popular-ity with audiences. 

I'm accustomed to well-known performers receiving entrance applause, but in Wicked, it's the characters of Glinda and Elphaba that receive the applause when they first appear.

For those who somehow missed this phenomenon, Wicked is based on Gregory Maguire's novel, which created a backstory for the witches of Oz originally created by L. Frank Baum and popularized through the perennial-favorite 1939 film. 

In this retelling, the eventual witches are schoolmates at Shiz University and become friends before the events of the original book and film. We also learn the origins of other characters in the story, plus a subplot about talking animals that isn't explained well enough for theatergoers who didn't read Maguire's book. But that's a minor quibble.

The Orpheum Theatre during Wicked load-in.
Photo: MN Theater Love

Claudia Bennett and Aline Mayagoitia as Glinda and Elphaba seemed quite young to me at the start of the show, but as their characters aged, I appreciated the depth they both brought to their older and wiser witches, and they have the vocal chops to really sell the songs most of us know so well. I love that the heart of the show is the relationship between these two women. The story is relatable to anyone. 

The whole cast is excellent and the production is, as always, a technical masterpiece. We bloggers had the opportunity to visit the Orpheum during the show's load-in, and seeing everything that goes into the staging makes the seamlessness of the production even more impressive. 

The set itself is built on the stage from the floor up, with plenty of elements coming in from the wings and flies. It takes 30 hours for the traveling crew and the local stagehands to assemble the set, while taking it down only takes five hours. As for the full touring company of 65 people, they perform 8 shows a week, 52 weeks a year, and they've got it down to a science. 

We also learned that the tour travels in 13 semi trucks, including one that's just for show merchandise! After 22 years and two movies, they offer plenty of options for t-shirts, tote bags, and everything else. 

Claudia Bennett as Glinda and
Aline Mayagoitia as Elphaba in
the North American Tour of
WICKED, photo by Joan Marcus.

A brief rant/public service message: Wicked may be a show that can appeal to the whole family, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the show will consistently capture the attention of small children. 

If kids can't sit still for two and a half hours without talking or being entertained by loud snacks, please stay home and watch the movie.

Unfortunately, the folks seated behind me didn't do that, and it was very distracting. Theater tickets aren't cheap, and I don't understand how people can spend that much money for their kids to squirm through a show they aren't interested in!

Rant over, if you have a group of adults and well-behaved theater kids, take them to Wicked, and everyone will have a good time. But you may want to budget extra money for the merchandise stand.