Show Report

Show Report. Do a personal, “passion piece” on your favorite play or musical. (It doesn’t matter whether or not you’ve seen it live or not, or even if you merely WANT to see it and haven’t yet.) Share with me information about the show, its authors, its history, its story, its themes, but also tell me WHY you PERSONALLY respond to this material. Do you have a story with this show? Why is it significant to you? What about it speaks to you? (750 words min).

It is very hard for me to pick just one musical to write about. Should I write about one I saw on Broadway? And On Stage Show? High School Show? Touring Show? One I have been in? Then I realized I should write a passion piece on a show tat has truly impacted my life. Being in a family of musicians, I have always gone to musicals, plays, concerts, ballets, percussion and dance performances, and I was even involved in chorus, band, and drama club in school. But in ninth grade my high school’s Tri-M Music Honors Society went to see the musical Wicked. I know, you’re probably thinking oh great, she’s another one of them, Wicked is so over done. Well it isn’t the show itself I am passionate about, but it is the experience I had while watching this show. I went to the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh and I was sitting in the audience talking to all of my friends, reading through the program when my friend Kate told me she wanted to go to school for Theater. I had always been set of music education because that’s what all of my grandparents did. But I started to think about how much fun theater would be.



The show began. Scenes came and went like wildfire. This show was truly amazing. It opened on Broadway in 2003. It starred two very amazing actresses, Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth. The first time I saw it, however, had the first national touring cast. But, Wicked the musical was based on Gregory Maguire’s novel Wicked ( He also has a sequel out called A Son Of A Witch.) This story is, in a way, a prequel to the Wizard of Oz. It tells the story how Glinda and Elphaba (the wicked witch of the west) first meet and their journey to friend ship, and then to the days of Dorothy.

The costuming, set, lighting, and sound designs for this musical were phenomenal. Each characters outfit complemented the scene, their personality, and not only contrasted the others on stage, but it also fit with everyone else’s at the same time. The costumes for the people of Emerald City were very different from the people at Shiz (the school the two girls attend). This shows the contrast between the “worlds” they are living in. The set was based off of the giant clock that is mentioned in the book. The frame of the stage is an old, rusty, iron looking frame work with gears and an amazing dragon on top. Before the show opens, a map of OZ is the backdrop. There Is a very minimal amount of set pieces during this show, but it is largely about the frame work that, as I said, is based off of the interworking of a clock. The back of the stage and even the frame for the centers of the stage are still gear like. However, several pieces like benches, beds, chalk boards, the wizards “head,” and “book shelves” go on and off periodically. During a few of the scenes there is a scaffolding or a cat walk like bridge built upstage that is often used for certain scenes as well.

If you haven’t realized by reading pieces of this blog, I tend to love things because they relate to my child hood. I used to watch The Wizard of Oz all of the time with my grandma when I was very young so I loved Wicked because it reminded me of those times. The music Steven Schwartz wrote for this show is also breath taking. I love his orchestrations and lyrics. They are so powerful in sound and in meaning. Watching this show develop over the course of that one night, and talking to Kate about how she wanted to go into theater, I began to realize I did too. I wanted to be able to be a part of something so magically powerful, inspiring, and engaging. I wanted to be able to pass on the entertainment and the feeling of freedom and passion for theater that I felt as I watched this show. When I was applying for college’s I was always asked to write an essay on why I wanted to be in theater. Well, I wanted to be in theater because the indescribable power and emotions I felt the first time I saw Wicked on stage made me want to perform and study theater for the rest of my life. So I know this didn’t give a lot of factual information about the show, but it does describe some key facts and why I am so passionate about it. It is the reason I am in theater today. It is the reason I am going to be happy with my career for the rest of my life.