Claudia Bennett and Cast Photo by Joan Marcus

I don't think that's it. What I think, instead, is that on first blush it is easy to be overwhelmed by the visual splendor put into the show. Susan Hilferty's brilliantly flamboyant costumes, Eugene Lee's inventive and elaborate steam-punkish sets that shape-shift before our eyes, Kenneth Posner's mesmerizing lighting design, and Elaine J. McCarthy's witty projections are a feast for the eyes, orchestrated with non-stop motion by director Joe Mantello and choreographer Wayne Cilento. Tony Meola's sound design reverberates Stephen Schwartz's score throughout the packed theater auditorium. And so, the first response–at least, my first response–was to the intense stimulation of the senses, to the extent that, as brilliant as the work is, it somewhat left the story and characters behind.

Perhaps that is why, when Wicked arrived on Broadway in fall 2003 its reviews were mixed. It greets first-time visitors like a steamroller greeting a dandelion. So much was that the case that plucky, totally wonderful, but far less ambitious Avenue Q managed to wisp past Wicked and score the season's Tony Award for Best New Musical. Despite that, strong word of mouth, juggernaut performances by stars Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, and a fan base devoted to the novel by Gregory McGuire on which the musical is based, made Wicked a box office bonanza. It is still going strong after almost 23 years, now the fourth longest running Broadway show ever, at 8,851 performances (as of July 12) and still counting.

What repeat viewings allowed me to do is look past the eye candy and ear worms, and grasp the complexity and depth of the plot, drawn from the novel by Winnie Holzman's sturdy musical book. Both lead characters, Glinda and Elphaba, have depth and experience nuanced transformation. To a degree, that is true of the love interest to both women, Fiyero, and even Nessarose, Elphaba's disabled sister, who begins as an innocent bystander and ends up defeated by her own bitterness.

Wicked is both a prequel and epilogue to L. Frank Baum's children's classic of 1900, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." It opens with the denizens of Oz celebrating the demise of the Wicked Witch of the West. Glinda, the Good Witch, glides from above on a magical bubble to preside over the celebration. When asked if it is true that she and the Wicked Witch were once friends, Glinda tells them the story of Elphaba, who was her college roommate at Shiz University, and how she transitioned from a highly principled, compassionate girl into the Wicked Witch whose death they now cheer.

In contrast to Elphaba, Glinda arrives at Shiz a spoiled, self-absorbed social climber whose spunky affect, chic wardrobe, blonde hair, lovely face, pert figure, sweet voice, and ability to manipulate those around her make her instantly popular. Elphaba, wearing drab clothes, a long matronly braid, and cursed with garishly green skin and a deep voice, is derided as a freak, yet she lives by a strong code of ethics, is devoted to the care of her disabled sister, and feels deeply for the suffering of animals who are losing their rights in Oz. She longs for a chance to work with the might Wizard of Oz, not for personal gain, but so that she can help him to right the wrongs of the world.

It is telling that both Glinda and Elphaba receive entrance applause, a phenomenon usually reserved for popular performers. While both Claudia Bennett and Aline Mayagoitia give fabulous performances in those roles, they arrive unknown in the Twin Cities; clearly, the roars of approval reflect the mark the two characters have made upon those who have past Wicked experience. Of course, with the show having been made into two recent blockbuster movies, many more audience members are now acquainted with its characters. This is a good time to state, as a fan of the movies, that they are not an adequate substitute for the sublime experience of seeing the show live.

Taking in the meat beneath all the dressing heaped upon Wicked does not diminish the pleasures of those garnishes. Moreover, Stephen Schwartz' score contains an abundance of winning songs. The anthemic "Defying Gravity" brings down the house, powerfully delivered by Mayagoitia. She also scales the heights of empowerment in "No Good Deed," conveys the elation of hope awakened in "The Wizard and I," and expresses wistful longing in "I'm Not That Girl." The one serious romantic song, "As Long as You're Mine," packs real heat between Mayagoitia and Ethan Kirschbaum, as Fiyero. In the course of that song, Mayagoitia shows Elphaba's transition from a scold into a passionate woman. Both actors have voices that do justice to the sweep of its melody.

Kirschbaum gets to display Fiyero's sunnier, louche side in tandem with Bennett in the buoyant "Dancing Through Life." Bennett portrays the cluelessly self-absorbed Glinda with brio, and later is convincing as she begins to question her assumptions about life. She shines while chirping the humorous lyrics of "Popular" and, with Mayagoitia, in "What Is This Feeling?" Bennett and Mayagoitia's final moment together, in the show's loveliest song, "For Good," rings with genuine emotion.

While Elphaba becomes the Wicked Witch, the real villains of the piece are the Wizard, played with elan by Broadway veteran Tom McGowan, who gives the tense storyline a delightful reprieve by hoofing to "Wonderful," and, even worse, Madame Morrible, the real force between the evil machinations in the not-so "merry old land of Oz," with Susan Cella limning a truly despicable bad guy.

Cristina Sastre digs into the complexity within Nessarose's character, and Pablo David Laucerica is winning at Boq, a Munchkin boy unflagging in his pursuit of Glinda's affection. Drew McVety makes a strong impression as doomed Dr. Dillamond, who inspires Elphaba to a course of action that seals her destiny. The ensemble works wonderfully, singing and dancing and creating the illusion of Munchkins, the Shiz student body, elegant Ozians, and even flying monkeys.

Like many classic fairy tales, Wicked concerns itself to a large extent with the distinction between good and evil. Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine played with that notion in Into the Woods. In that show's "No One Is Alone," characters who have learned through harsh reality that life is not as cut and dried as they once believed, sing, "Witches may be right, giants may be good; you decide what's right, you decide what's good." Glinda and Elphaba's journeys follow a similar path, though their lessons are less about moral relativism and more that evil may be easily, even guilelessly, disguised as good, and that acts of goodness may be easily misunderstood or misrepresented, as evil. We confuse the two at our peril.

But you needn't resist Wicked for fear that it requires its audience to engage in such ponderous thoughts. While it opens the door to such musings, one can just as easily sit back and relish the fantastic look, sound, and sweep of this show, and the remarkable tale it tells.

Wicked runs through August 9, 2026, at the Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis MN. For ticket and information, please call 612-339-7007 or visit hennepintheatretrust.org. For information on the tour, visit tour.wickedthemusical.com.

Music and Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz; Book: Winnie Holzman, based on the novel by Gregory McGuire; Director: Joe Mantello; Musical Staging: Wayne Cilento; Settings: Eugene Lee; Costumes: Susan Hilferty; Lighting: Kenneth Posner; Sound: Tony Meola; Projections: Elaine J. McCarthy; Hair and Wigs: Tom Watson; Special Effects: Chic Silber; Technical Supervisor: Jake Bell; Musical Arrangements: Alex Lacamoire & Stephen Oremus; Dance Arrangements: James Lynn Abbott; Music Director and Conductor: Faith Seetoo; Music Coordinator: Michael Keller; Associate Set Designer: Edward Pierce; Associate Director: Lisa Leguillou; Associate Choreographer: Corinne McFadden Herrera; Casting: The Telsey Office, Craig Burns, C.S.A.; Production Stage Manager: David O'Brien; Executive Producers: Marcia Goldberg & Nina Essman.

Cast: Jessie Jo Aka (ensemble), Claudia Bennett (Glinda), Jennifer Mariela Bermeo (ensemble), Sam Buchanan (ensemble), Sean Burns (ensemble), Susan Cella (Madam Morrible), Olivia Dei Cicchi (ensemble), Reagan Davidson (ensemble), Matt Densky (ensemble), Ben Diamond (ensemble), Kelley Dorney (Midwife), Rose Iannaccone (ensemble), Darriel Johnakin (Witch's mother/ensemble), Mattie Tucker Joyner (swing), David Kaverman (swing), Konnor Kelly (Chistery), Ethan Kirschbaum (Fiyero), Kelly LaFarga (swing), Marina Lazzaretto (swing), Mayagoitia (Elphaba), Pablo David Laucerica (Boq), Tom McGowan (The Wizard), Drew McVety (Doctor Dillamond), Adelina Mitchell (standby for Elphaba), Paola Morales (ensemble), Madison Claire Parks (ensemble), Andy Richardson (ensemble), Donivyn Riley (ensemble), Lauren Sambataro (swing), Christina Sastre (Nessarose), Derek Schiesel (swing), Wayne Schroeder (Witch's Father/Ozian Official, Tregoney Shepherd (ensemble), Brett Stoelker (ensemble), Ben Susak (swing), Melissa Victor (swing), Justin Wirick (ensemble).