Wicked Review

Book Review: I read Wicked between jobs after starting the first chapter while visiting Adrienne in Atlanta. She was reading it for a book club and I ended up going out to buy it. This is not a fast read or an easy read. This is not Harry Potter. I would describe this as political science fiction with an emphasis on class discrimination in a multi-race society. What defines "person". I loved it and it made me ponder quite a bit about politics in a very make believe society. It was unexpectantly rich in both detail and thought. And it was a nice change from the medical nonfiction I've been reading lately.

Musical Review: I saw this last night-- stood in line to try to win a lottery ticket to one of the $25 seats and ended up purchasing a $40 ticket when my name didn't come up. I sat in the front corner of the side orchestra section and it was a wonderful seat with a great view-- usually is sold for $90 but it was all by its lonesome, and so was I, so we matched quite well. This musical is funny, entertaining, and not at ALL thought-provoking like the book. It is the eye- and ear- candy of this story. The politcal veins that run through the book are at the edge of the story, with a typical musical love story right in the middle. That being said, it's shallow and entertaining songs had people laughing and cheering throughout--myself included! Unlike Les Miserables, Phantom, Miss Saigon or Rent, it does not pull you into the story-- the story remains a story and the references to the original movie are sprinkled with glee throughout. There's a moment or two of "awwwww", and a moment of sadness, but mostly it's puzzle pieces filling in a backstory you didn't even bother to imagine. There's even a "Lemons and oranges and Pears-- oh my!" and other such puns on original quotes. I loved it also.

So I think OZ universe has 3 different stories. The musical is more related to the movie than to the book, though I know the book inspired the musical. Does that make sense? I love both- but for very different reasons. The book left me disturbed and thinking....the musical left me all happy and gleeful inside with lots of new tunes running through my ipod this morning.

If you get a chance to see Wicked, especially on reduced tickets, go for it. It's Wicked cool. (Had to say it, I am in Boston afterall).