DES MOINES — This is not Judy Garland’s witch, wizard or even Oz itself.
The world of “Wicked,” playing now at the Des Moines Civic Center, is both darker and more real than the one Garland inhabited. None of the characters are truly evil in this version, but all are deeply flawed.
This is a steampunk Oz, a place of gears and metal matched to Victorian fashion. It is an Oz where the wizard is more malignant than bumbling, where the witches aren’t defined as simply as good and wicked and where Dorothy is literally only a shadow on a screen.
The musical focuses on Elphalba (Anne Brummel) and Galinda (Tiffany Haas), the wicked witch of the west and the good witch of the north, respectively. When the audience meets them, Elphalba is a green-skinned girl used to having the world look askance at her. Galinda (who renames herself with the more familiar Glinda only after one of the characters gets her goat), is the popular one, for whom everything has always come easily.
The two form an unlikely friendship (one of the few true clichés in this story) and jointly go to Oz to meet the wizard. The crisis they face there splits them. Elphalba’s strength allows her to make what she sees as the right choice. Galinda, without Elphalba’s tough background, makes the easy one.
Brummel and Haas are certainly up to the roles. They give both the realism necessary to pull off the most poignant scenes, the ones where the audience cringes with recognition of themselves in Elphalba’s painful awkwardness and Galinda’s stunning shallowness. The growth of the characters through the story feels natural, not scripted.
They have an able cast surrounding them. David Nathan Perlow as Fiyero, a playboy prince, turns in a solid performance, as does Dan Pacheco as a lovelorn Munchkin. Neither overshadows the witches, but both hold their own while sharing the stage with them.
Thursday’s performance (Nov. 10) seemed to have some sound issues early on, where the orchestra nearly drowned out the singers. But it was resolved quickly.
The story will hold the interest of nearly anyone. Adults will appreciate the subtexts within the storyline, while children will enjoy the occasional silliness and songs. It’s probably not for children under age 10, though, due to length as much as anything.
A note about the audience: Ovations at the end of the performance can seem more of a duty than a genuine expression. The audience I saw had no such hesitation, coming out of their seats almost as soon as the final song ended for a well-deserved standing ovation.
“Wicked” runs through Dec. 4 at the Des Moines Civic Center. It’s well worth seeing, and you’ll be thinking about it long after the final applause.
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