{"id":154766,"date":"2024-03-09T08:14:21","date_gmt":"2024-03-08T22:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/?p=154766"},"modified":"2024-03-09T08:15:15","modified_gmt":"2024-03-08T22:15:15","slug":"wicked-regent-theatre-musical-theatre-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wicked-regent-theatre-musical-theatre-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Wicked (Regent Theatre) – musical theatre review"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The prequel to The Wizard of Oz is back to delight anew and delight it most certainly does in a dazzling display at Melbourne\u2019s finest theatre \u2013 the grand Regent.\u00a0<\/span>This is top shelf entertainment in every way. I speak of the talent, the choreography, the staging, the lighting and the sound.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Photos by Jeff Busby<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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We are in the Land of Oz. Galinda (later known as Glinda the Good) has been born with a silver spoon in her mouth. The awkward blonde beauty has tickets on herself and loves being popular.\u00a0Elphaba (later known as the Wicked Witch of the West) is her antithesis. Born green, she is the black sheep of her family. Intelligent, she is shunned by others because of her appearance.\u00a0She and Glinda are made reluctant roommates at Shiz University, where Elphaba has been sent to look after her wheelchair bound sister Nessarose.<\/div>\n
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Headmistress Madame Morrible immediately recognises Elphaba\u2019s magical ability and fosters the latter\u2019s talent for sorcery.\u00a0<\/span>In both their sights is the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, who rules the land from Emerald City. Meanwhile, Glinda has eyes only for a recalcitrant prince, Fiyero, when he arrives at the institution, having been booted out of many others. Only his head is turned by Elphaba, who is concerned about the bad karma at the uni. That is exemplified by the fact that the history teacher and the only animal professor left at the establishment, Doctor Dillamond, is given his marching orders. Elphaba hopes to remedy that and more skulduggery to do with animals when she meets the Wizard of Oz.<\/div>\n
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Instead, in the company of his new press secretary, Elphaba lifts the lid of what is really going on and that the Wizard is a fraud.\u00a0<\/span>He and Madame Morrible are quick to badmouth her \u2026 and the situation is set to get much worse before it gets better. I am full of praise for the two leads and their vocal proclivity. Courtney Monsma frequently rises to operatic as Glinda, while her comedic instincts and sensibilities are magnificent. There are so many laugh aloud moments. She has a wonderful connection with the audience.Sheridan Adams is a dominant force, confident and melodic as Elphaba. Her uplifting (literally) performance of Defying Gravity to end Act I is one of the many high points in the offering.<\/div>\n
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From her entrance, Robyn Nevin shows she is not to be messed with as the formidable Madame Morrible.<\/div>\n
Simon Burke is super solid and impactful as The Wizard.\u00a0Liam Head seamlessly transitions Fiyero from a lightweight pretty boy to a man with a conscience.\u00a0I greatly appreciated Adam Murphy\u2019s calm demeanour as Doctor Dillamond.\u00a0Shewit Belay rises to the occasion as her characterisation of Nessarose changes, while Kurtis Papadinis\u2019 effervescence is the standout feature of Munchkin Boq.<\/div>\n
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Ably supported by a strong chorus, the elaborate set and costume designs, together with the striking lighting provide a visual feast.\u00a0With music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman, based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, this is a mighty production of Wicked.\u00a0Direction from Lisa Leguillou, based on the original production directed by Joe Mantello, is faultless.\u00a0Wicked is a good time family friendly musical, chock full of colour and glamour.<\/div>\n
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What I saw makes me want to take issue with Kermit the Frog, who sang that \u201cIt\u2019s not easy bein\u2019 green\u201d.<\/div>\n
In this show, you are invited to bask in greenness!\u00a0Two hours and 45 minutes, with a 20-minute interval, Wicked is playing at Regent Theatre until 30th June, 2024.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Alex First<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The prequel to The Wizard of Oz is back to delight anew and delight it most certainly does in a dazzling display at Melbourne\u2019s finest theatre \u2013 the grand Regent.\u00a0This is top shelf entertainment in every way. I speak of the talent, the choreography, the staging, the lighting and the sound. We are in the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":154778,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[804,801],"tags":[6751,350,8451,9888,1130,9887],"class_list":["post-154766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","category-theatre","tag-courtney-monsma","tag-regent-theatre","tag-robyn-nevin","tag-sheridan-adams","tag-simon-burke","tag-wicked"],"yoast_head":"\nWicked (Regent Theatre) - musical theatre review -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wicked-regent-theatre-musical-theatre-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wicked (Regent Theatre) - musical theatre review -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The prequel to The Wizard of Oz is back to delight anew and delight it most certainly does in a dazzling display at Melbourne\u2019s finest theatre \u2013 the grand Regent.\u00a0This is top shelf entertainment in every way. 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Frank Baum\u2019s 1900 children\u2019s book The Wonderful Wizard\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Movies"","block_context":{"text":"Movies","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/movies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Wizard-of-Oz-10.jpg?fit=1024%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Wizard-of-Oz-10.jpg?fit=1024%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Wizard-of-Oz-10.jpg?fit=1024%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Wizard-of-Oz-10.jpg?fit=1024%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":141358,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/rodgers-hammersteins-cinderella-regent-theatre-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":154766,"position":1},"title":"Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Regent Theatre) – theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"May 27, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"So, you think you know the Cinderella story \u2013 the one about the poor \u201cservant\u201d to the evil stepmother and her taunting stepsisters?\u00a0Well, think again, for the creatives behind the musical have shaken things up, even if the essence of the tale remains unchanged.\u00a0\u201cYes\u201d, Cinderella still gets to go to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Theatre"","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/rsz_1ainsley_melham_shubshri_kandiah_and_ensemble_in_cinderella_c_ben_fon.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/rsz_1ainsley_melham_shubshri_kandiah_and_ensemble_in_cinderella_c_ben_fon.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/rsz_1ainsley_melham_shubshri_kandiah_and_ensemble_in_cinderella_c_ben_fon.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/rsz_1ainsley_melham_shubshri_kandiah_and_ensemble_in_cinderella_c_ben_fon.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":170371,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/romeo-and-juliet-the-australian-ballet-at-the-regent-theatre-ballet-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":154766,"position":2},"title":"Romeo and Juliet (The Australian Ballet), at the Regent Theatre – ballet review","author":"Alex First","date":"June 7, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Australian Ballet\u2019s glorious retelling of the classic Shakespeare tragedy Romeo and Juliet is colourful, powerful and passionate. This is a step back in time to wealthy, medieval Verona, where rivalries explode and danger lurks. The innocence of first love is shattered through the antipathy of the Montagues and the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ballet"","block_context":{"text":"Ballet","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/ballet\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/rsz_romeo_and_juliet_sydney_opera_house_credit_daniel_boud_109.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/rsz_romeo_and_juliet_sydney_opera_house_credit_daniel_boud_109.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/rsz_romeo_and_juliet_sydney_opera_house_credit_daniel_boud_109.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/rsz_romeo_and_juliet_sydney_opera_house_credit_daniel_boud_109.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":165720,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/beetlejuice-the-musical-regent-theatre-musical-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":154766,"position":3},"title":"Beetlejuice The Musical (Regent Theatre) – musical theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"May 19, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"So much fun. Eddie is just perfect (bad pun for lead Eddie Perfect) as the smelly old demon Beetlejuice, in the riotous musical of the same name. Beetlejuice is bemoaning the fact that he is invisible and ignored by all unless he can get a living person to say his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Music"","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/rsz_3_beetlejuice_the_musical_-_australian_production_-_photo_by_michelle_grace_hunder_1.jpg?fit=800%2C462&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/rsz_3_beetlejuice_the_musical_-_australian_production_-_photo_by_michelle_grace_hunder_1.jpg?fit=800%2C462&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/rsz_3_beetlejuice_the_musical_-_australian_production_-_photo_by_michelle_grace_hunder_1.jpg?fit=800%2C462&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/rsz_3_beetlejuice_the_musical_-_australian_production_-_photo_by_michelle_grace_hunder_1.jpg?fit=800%2C462&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":470,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/httptheblurb-com-aureviewsghost-the-musical-regent-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":154766,"position":4},"title":"Ghost the Musical (Regent) – theatre review","author":"David Edwards","date":"May 6, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Adapted from the Academy Award-winning 1990 film starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore (it won Oscars for Best Supporting Actress \u2013 Whoopi Goldberg \u2013 and Best Original Screenplay) Ghost the Musical is a beauty, a real crowd pleaser. 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In fact, it is a buoyant hoot, with some extraordinary musical performances and no shortage of colour and glitter. 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