Wicked

Speaking of dramatic work whose story precedes that of an earlier work to classics by the writers who have taken even new births, listening to the CD of the original cast recording of the Broadway musical Wicked, is far and away the best score for a new musical. This musical show is touted as the untold story of the witches of Oz and is loosely based on the best selling novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. Composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz nailed it. The songs are an apparent debt to Stephen Sondheim and this is ought to be like this only. Sondheim's music and lyrics have almost all been flawed by being attached to dejectedly failed books, but that not the criterion for any good composer to not to steal any theme from Sondheim that seems to work for the compositions. The songs of the Wicked are not plagiaristic. They are the representation of Broadway tradition and are from the core original. There are fillips in the songs that make the listeners laugh with delight -- for instance, the yodel effect in the song "Popular." "Defying Gravity" is a potential getaway song since it is more of a thrilling anthem.

The original cast included Idina Menzel as Elphaba, Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda, and Joel Grey as The Wizard when it opened on Broadway on October 30, 2003. As with most musical soundtracks, it can be challenging to figure out what happens just from the songs alone as action and talking occurs between songs. The dramatic work of L. Frank Baum's classic book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is influenced by the iconic 1939 movie, The Wizard of Oz. Its short synopsis is, Long before Dorothy dropped in, two other girls meet in the Land of Oz. One, born with emerald-green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. How these two unlikely friends end up as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch makes for the most spellbinding new musical in years. After listening to the music, one becomes eager to read the book and find another opportunity to see the show. Keeping in view the interest of the listeners, the CD comes with the song lyrics, so those with less than perfect hearing can follow better. Wicked has joined the replay list of many listeners and it's wicked good! After listening to this, any questions as to why the show won many Tony Awards are answered. As soon as the music plays, Chenoweth and the Citizens of Oz sing "No One Mourns the Wicked," which is the representation of the scene we all know about from the original story — the wicked witch is dead. The song has striking minor harmonies and takes you on a captivating back story of the witches and other Ozian characters. Schwartz is the composer-lyricist of several previous musicals and one of Schwartz's previous works was the excellent Working, based on the book by Studs Terkel. It's not just the writing that's great, though. The voices on the cast album are absolutely fantastic. `Wicked'' is indeed the name for this tintinabulating troika of music videos and behind-the-scenes footage featuring the metal madman of rock. Includes ``Crazy Babies,'' ``Miracle Man'' and ``Crazy Train.”