WICKED THE MUSICAL SINGAPORE 2016 [REVIEW & MEDIA CALL HAPPENINGS]

WICKED The Musical (Singapore 2016) Review Plus Media Call Happenings 

Review

WICKED The Musical is pure ecstasy, both for the eyes and ears - from the costumes, settings, singing to the sense of pace or momentum of both Act I & II. Elphaba's (Jacqueline Hughes) butt-kicking high notes pulled up the lever of the show's overall capacity to well, entertain. Glinda (Carly Anderson) on the other hand will make you infectiously toss your hair the next morning you wake up. Just don't forget one thing, drop the Reese Witherspoon innuendo. 

This show is not all evil, what you can be assured of is that WICKED has a heart. And it ain't green. 

The musical follows two female characters, Glinda and Elphaba who lived in a fantasy world of wizards, witches, magic and spells. Think of Hogwarts, Harry & Ron. The friendship that evolves and the consequences of their own choices. Filled with wonder and enchantments, this magical stage musical follows their extraordinary journey from being sorcery students to becoming the iconic Glinda The Good and Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West from L. Frank Baum's beloved tale, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz."

Elphaba's wicked ways - the flying and all were executed like a pageant filled with jarring momentum. One wouldn't have a difficult time getting impressed with Hughes and Anderson,  each of them owned their space, letting the audience perspective sift through their characters.

WICKED reinforces the themes of friendship and ways of embracing one's identity. It climaxes well, in fact holds entertainment all throughout the end of Act II. Audience weren't left in the dark, had my own fair share of fun within the musical itself. Others find WICKED confusing, I can't blame them. I did had my moments too.

Albeit the musical being interwoven with the Wizard of Oz, I was left with a couple of questions. How did Glinda house herself inside a gigantic bubble? Was it her choice or was it the Oz who decided for her? What was the real reason Elphaba was born green? Why did the Wizard of Oz choose the monkeys, why not rabbits who are smart in their own ways? Does it relate to the human evolution of some sort?  

I wished they have done more with letting the audience feel more involved with Oz - I mean, made us feel that we were actually there with them. Costumes and settings were undeniably spectacular, flawlessly made but it was all there to it. To me it lacks the depth, it was fascinating to look at but no deeper understanding was attempted to be conveyed. 

I wouldn't dig much for the other characters, they're mostly forgettable. Unfortunately, most of the songs too. Lastly, why is the WICKED green? There's not much of Elphaba that we knew of, the only thing we can remember about her is that she's clad in black with a tall peaked hat, aside from being green of course. 

Nevertheless, WICKED may harbor criticisms but I think it will continue to remain as fitfully entertaining. The story isn't too shallow to begin with, the charisma is hard to beat. With all its green shenanigans, you'll enjoy its wicked grandeur.


Media Call

Press call started rather late, we were advised that the production is far more complicated to set up.

Stage is off-kilter AND yes, done on purpose as that is what OZ is all about. Everything moves seamlessly and your eyes will lit up with all those green stuff scattered on stage!

Started rolling out with ONE SHORT DAY. Glinda & Elphaba trying to explore the mysteries of the Emerald City and is about to meet the Wizard of OZ. You'll feel charmed listening to this song with its bodacious harmony and arrangement, not to mention the parade of costumes that comes along. 

Last but ain't the least, FOR GOOD. The farewell song by both witches which I highly think is the highlight of the entire musical. Elphaba's Defying Gravity is a runner-up of course. It invests a lot of emotions, defines FOR GOOD as the new forever and as a step to improvement. The blending of Anderson & Hughes' voice is such a unique lullaby.

This is one of the longest press con I've attended this year, as this is actually considered as the ASIAN Press Conference for media and press entities from HongKong, Philippines and of course, Singapore. I was truly honored to become part of the SG Press Group for WICKED 2016. These countries were all gathered in one day to witness what WICKED 2016 has on its green plate.

(top-left) ABS-CBN Reporter/Host Ginger Conejero  in Elphaba's PEG!

(top-right) TV & Radio Host/Newspaper Editor/Columnist & Eventologist, Tim Yap sandWITCHED!

(bottom-left) Tim Yap & the flamboyant Miss Tessa Prieto-Valdes, a fashion designer, columnist and socialite-philanthropist.

Tim Yap and the rest of the Manila Press Group were all so nice. I had a bit of tummy ache whenever Tim throws out some funny killer lines to Ginger. He saw Ginger's green face and to quote:

"Di bale Ginger, maayos naman ang pagkaka-contour mo today."

(top-left) Fiona Xie, Singaporean Actress/Host

(bottom-left) Apparently another member of the HongKong Press did Elphaba's makeup of the day. I wonder if she roamed Singapore streets with this face? 

 Cause I will. 

BRADLEY JADEN as Fiyero. 

Jacqueline Hughes (Elphaba) & Carly Anderson (Glinda)

THANKS FOR LOOKING ♡

DISCLOSURE: Author was invited to the press/media call/media screening night. All opinions and thoughts expressed in this post are her own and remain 100% uninfluenced. All images are the property of wickeRmoss unless stated otherwise. Use of these images without any consent is prohibited. 

WICKED The Musical (Singapore 2016) Review Plus Media Call Happenings