So, if you haven't guessed it by now, know one thing - I AM A HUGE SUCKER FOR MUSICALS!! Obviously including this one, which, now that I've watched, has effortlessly found itself a solid place in my list of 'Top Musicals To Ever Grace Mother Earth'; it's definitely made my personal Top 5, I'll tell you that. It is good, there's no denying that particular fact. Perhaps, not as good as Phantom of the Opera which I saw in London more than half a decade ago but I'd say it comes pretty darn close. But of course, quite personal opinion here. Also note I'm a sucker for the world of fantasy, which is another reason why this one is so near the top of my charts.

Just what is 'Wicked' about? Well, I'll tell you, but first...

How many people out there have never seen or even heard of the movie 'The Wizard of Oz'? I'm betting...no one. Chances are everyone knows about that movie. After all, weren't the songs just literally beaten into our heads and engraved there for centuries and centuries to come? Surely we all remember 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz', and Dorothy's (Judy Garland's) 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'.

Whatever it is, if you remember that movie, you'll remember the story was unbelievably simple and almost to the point of being stupid. Not this musical though, especially since it fills in a lot of the missing pieces to make the story work. Of course I wouldn't say the story really worked entirely with the original movie; I mean, there are some points that would make no sense if you take the perspective in the Wicked musical.

So finally, what is it about? It chiefly centers around the two main witches of Oz, namely Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West. It tells of both their pasts and leads all the way up to the point where Dorothy comes into the picture and once she leaves back to Kansas; including also the aftermath-conclusion of her visit on the two witches and how their tales turn out.

To put it simply, if you take this point of view regarding things, then the Wicked Witch of the West - who's real name is revealed to be Elphaba - truly wasn't exactly wicked at all. She was more along the lines of misunderstood, as is put, she was born with green skin. Glinda on the other hand, seems to fit naturally with her initial role in the original movie, though she appears more of a ditsy, perkish dumb blonde in this adaption. The two therefore come from deeply contrasting backgrounds and so, miraculously become friends through celebrating their differences. They become closer throughout the whole musical and in the end regard each other as best friends.

What made this musical so brilliant to me was first and foremost the incredibly touching storyline. It felt really good, seeing a different side to the citizens of Oz. Amanda Harrison and Lucy Durack who play Elphaba and Glinda respectively in the Melbourne version (the version I got to watch) had amazing chemistry in their acting together; they were both also very profound vocalists - Amanda for her stunningly strong, impressive belts and Lucy for being able to voice Glinda-ism perfectly through her exquisite soprano singing.

The sarcasm and comedy antics were key-on in my opinion and totally worth the watch as it is. These two stirred up emotions within their audiences as if it were nothing. For goodness sakes even I was near tears at various points of the musical. And while they were the stars of the show, the other two male leads - characters Fiyero and Boq - were also splendid singers. It was honestly magical. Also, one cannot forget the great musical scores that brought this whole musical home. Songs such as 'Popular', and the one song that blew me away like mad, 'Defying Gravity' were beyond memorable. I really REALLY liked this.

Now I have no plans to reveal any part of the actual stage performance for those itching to see it themselves. I am however, going to stick a few of the songs from the musical up here just to let anyone reading this have a feel of how the songs were really like. Sadly, I couldn't find a 'Defying Gravity' sung by Amanda that was satisfactory on Youtube so I decided to leave that out. It's truly an amazing song nonetheless, and Amanda sang it beautifully. Of course, that doesn't in the least bit put to shame the other scores of the musical.

Here's the first one, called 'The Wizard and I'. It's the first song of the musical that involves Elphaba (Amanda), and yes, it is Elphaba's debut solo of the musical.

Regrettably, the embed feature on the two following videos were removed, and so, all I could do was provide the URL addresses if any one's interested. They really are worth the watch - 'Popular' for the fun of it and 'For Good' for the song's touching sense regarding true friendship.